Archaeobotanical Analysis Research Articles

Coastal farmers during the Early and Middle Holocene: Archaeobotanical and grain impression studies on the east coast Korea

Our research investigates early plant use along the central east coast of Korea, focusing on four Neolithic sites, including Munamri, Osanri C, Jikyeongri, and Songejonri. We employed two approaches – archaeobotanical analysis on charred plant remains and identification of grain impressions on Neolithic vessels. We demonstrate the usefulness of grain impression observation, when it is combined with a more conventional macroscopic botanical analysis, in documenting early plant resource management. We identified domesticated foxtail millet and broomcorn millet along with common weedy taxa of the same genera of millet in both methods. Our study raises a possibility of adoption of broomcorn millet and possible utilization of native soybean and azuki earlier than previously suggested. Charred broomcorn millet was found in the Early Neolithic feature at Munamri, dating as early as 6100–5940 cal. BP on charcoal associated. The Initial Neolithic pottery at Osanri C reveals a possible azuki bean impression with a direct AMS date on its encrustation as early as 7160–6900 cal. BP. Charred soybean was also identified in Early Neolithic feature at Munamri where charcoal fragments were dated to 6100–5870 cal. BP. Both are smaller than modern domesticated taxa, but comparable to those in other Neolithic sites. Considering their small quantity and sizes, we need to increase the dataset to confirm the possibility of bean cultivation by the Early Neolithic period. Both archaeobotanical and impression studies confirmed that by the Middle Neolithic period the central east coastal communities farmed foxtail and broomcorn millets and utilized azuki and soybean. Weeds of millet tribe or subfamily in both impression and charred remains reflect the agroecology of millet farming field.

New evidence on the southeast Baltic Late Bronze Age agrarian intensification and the earliest AMS dates of Lens culinaris and Vicia faba

This article explores the Late Bronze Age agrarian intensification in the south-east Baltic. In recent years several studies have illustrated that to date there is no solid evidence on Neolithic farming and that the agricultural history of the region was probably distinctly different in comparison to other parts of northern Europe. The recently excavated Kukuliskiai settlement (887–406 cal bc) in coastal Lithuania provides new data, which contribute to the discussion on the development of early farming in the south-east Baltic. Archaeobotanical analysis revealed that local Late Bronze Age communities cultivated a wide range of cereals and pulses, with consumption of wild plants being of minor importance. We also report the earliest finds of Lens culinaris in the region and the earliest AMS 14C dates on grains of Vicia faba and Avena sp. The composition of botanical assemblages also has some indications of manuring and landscape maintenance, presenting a possibility of permanent fields. Finally, we suggest that adoption and intensification of farming alongside other social, economic and technological innovations could have reached the region from the Nordic and Lusatian cultures via the Baltic Sea communication network.

The Fifth-Century AD Riverine Barge of Santa Maria in Padovetere (Ferrara, Italy): A Multidisciplinary Approach to its Environment and Shipbuilding Techniques

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary investigation of the wreck of a riverine flat-bottom sewn barge dated to the fifth century AD. The wreck was recovered west of the city of Comacchio (Ferrara, North Italy), near the sixth century church Santa Maria in Padovetere (SMP). It was found in the silty sediments filling a paleo channel of the Po River and is one of the very few well-preserved inland watercrafts from the Roman period known in southern Europe. Thanks to the high level of conservation of the organic matter, archaeobotanical analyses of the bilge sediments, rope fragments, caulking, and wood elements and chemical analyses of the pitch have revealed the local provenance of the barge’s materials, the craft’s possible use, and the environment in which it sailed. A geomorphological study of the area where the wreck was found led to a reconstruction of the flooding event that could be responsible for the barge’s abandonment.

People-plant interaction and economic botany over 47,000 years of occupation at Carpenter’s Gap 1, south central Kimberley

Systematic archaeobotanical analysis, conducted in conjunction with archaeological enquiry at Australian archaeological sites, is still rare despite recent developments. It is still rarer that previously analysed macrobotanical assemblages are revisited over time. Extending on macrobotanical research conducted by McConnell in 1997, this paper presents the results of a recent analysis of Carpenter’s Gap 1 non-woody macrobotanical remains (seeds, fruits, nuts, and other floristic elements) from the deepest square with the longest chronology, Square A2. Over 47,000 years of time is represented in the sequence, and excellent chronological control, coupled with preservation of carbonised and desiccated macrobotanical remains in the earliest cultural units, allows an examination of plant exploitation over time and human responses/adaptations to periods of documented climatic instability. Carpenter’s Gap 1 macrobotanical remains show that diet, subsistence, and site occupation were intimately associated with botanical resources derived from ecologically productive monsoon rainforest environments.

Plant Supplying Strategies in an Islamic Omani Harbour City: Archaeobotanical Analysis from a Workshop (B39) in Qalhāt (XIVth-XVIth c. AD)

Few archaeobotanical studies have been undertaken on Islamic period sites in eastern Arabia. Excavations conducted by Dr. Axelle Rougeulle (UMR 8167) at Qalh?t in the framework of the Qalh?t Project, have provided the opportunity to improve our knowledge on plant consumption and supply strategies. Samples from the workshop B39 (14th-16th century AD) excavated in 2014-2015 have provided a substantial amount of seed and fruit remains that are the object of this study. First, the distribution of plant remains within B39 provides us with hints to the use of the different spaces. Thus it is suggested that some domestic activities such as food preparation and the cleaning of crops prior to their consumption took place in room E. Most of the remains correspond to crops of tropical origin such as Asian rice (Oryza sativa), finger millet (Eleusine coracana ssp. coracana), mung bean (Vigna cf. radiata), mat bean (Vigna cf. aconitifolia), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and sesame (Sesamum indicum). Their presence at the site raises the question of their origin, either as imported goods or crops cultivated locally. In the case of an importation, the Indian subcontinent seems to be the most probable centre of origin although other regions, notably Yemen, may also be considered. Further, we discuss the possibility for the introduction of tropical crops into local agrosystems present near the site.

BEDROCK MORTARS IN THE SEMIARID NORTH OF CHILE (30° S.): TIME, SPACE, AND SOCIAL PROCESSES AMONG LATE HOLOCENE HUNTER-GATHERERS

Bedrock mortars recur in the record of many prehispanic communities. However, few studies discuss their relationship with social processes. In the present work, we discuss a regional study of bedrock mortars in the semiarid north of Chile, specifically the Limarí River basin (30° S). Using a combination of formal, spatial, contextual, archaeobotanical, and absolute dating analyses, we assess the chronology of bedrock mortars and how they related to social processes of hunter-gatherer populations of the region (2000 BC to AD 1000). In particular, we suggest that an increase in production of bedrock mortars among pottery-using hunter-gatherer groups (AD 1–1000) can be observed, associated with a greater intensity of plant collection and use, and a diminution in the importance of hunting. This situation led to a set of new social relationships structured on the practice of collective grinding and shared use of bedrock mortars. These results show the importance of this material record as a means of approaching aspects of prehispanic social life, and demonstrates a methodological framework within which to interrogate this materiality by combining different analytical levels of bedrock mortars’ variability.

Data for: Early Agriculture in Sri Lanka: New Archaeobotanical Analyses and Radiocarbon Dates from the Early Historic Sites of Kirinda and Kantharodai

Data for: Early Agriculture in Sri Lanka: New Archaeobotanical Analyses and Radiocarbon Dates from the Early Historic Sites of Kirinda and Kantharodai

Data for: Early Agriculture in Sri Lanka: New Archaeobotanical Analyses and Radiocarbon Dates from the Early Historic Sites of Kirinda and Kantharodai

Data for: Early Agriculture in Sri Lanka: New Archaeobotanical Analyses and Radiocarbon Dates from the Early Historic Sites of Kirinda and Kantharodai

Early agriculture in Sri Lanka: New Archaeobotanical analyses and radiocarbon dates from the early historic sites of Kirinda and Kantharodai (Kandarodai)

Archaeobotanical evidence from two Early Historic sites in Sri Lanka, Kantharodai and Kirinda, is reported, providing significant evidence for agricultural diversity beyond the cultivation of rice. These data highlight the potential of systematic archaeobotanical sampling for macro-remains in tropical environments to contribute to the understanding of subsistence history in the tropics. Direct AMS radiocarbon dating confirms both the antiquity of crops and refines site chronologies. Both sites have Oryza sativa subsp. indica rice and evidence of rice crop-processing and millet farming. In addition, phytolith data provide complementary evidence on the nature of early rice cultivation in Sri Lanka. Both Kantharodai and Kirinda possess rice agriculture and a diverse range of cultivated millets (Brachiaria ramosa, Echinochloa frumentacea, Panicum sumatrense, and Setaria verticillata). Pulses of Indian origin were also cultivated, especially Vigna radiata and Macrotyloma uniflorum. Cotton (Gossypium sp.) cultivation is evident from Kirinda. Both sites, but in particular Kirinda, provide evidence for use of the seeds of Alpinia sp., in the cardamom/ginger family (Zingiberaceae), a plausible wild spice, while coconuts (Cocos nucifera) were also found at Kirinda.

Variable Ovicaprid Diet and Faecal Spherulite Production at Amara West, Sudan

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the results of integrated geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses of desiccated and charred ovicaprid dung pellets from the New Kingdom pharaonic settlement of Amara West (Sudan). These analyses reveal diagnostic phytolithic evidence for considerable variations in plant diet amongst the site’s ovicaprid population. These data shed light on aspects of ancient animal husbandry practice, the settlement’s subsistence economy and residents’ exploitation of natural resources. We also observe that specific phytolith types correlate with the presence (and quantity) or absence of calcium carbonate faecal spherulites in analysed dung pellets. This evidence, augmented by experimental analysis of analogous modern plant material, suggests that dietary Ca intake is implicated in faecal spherulite crystallization within the ovicaprid digestive system.

Archaeobotanical Studies at Sumaki Höyük (Batman, Turkey) in 2014

Our study focuses on the archaeobotanical analyses of 2014 season of the Sumaki Höyük, which is located east of Beşiri town in Batman province. It was excavated within the framework of Ilısu Dam and HES project by the Batman Museum at the charge of Dr. Aslı Erim Özdoğan.Sumaki Höyük yields Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB) and Early Pottery Neolithic, namely Pre-Proto Hassuna and Proto Hassuna phases, dated to 7310 - 7040 cal BC - 6480 - 6400 cal BC. The uppermost phase is a small farm or a district belongs to Abbasid / Hamdani Periods dated to cal. 770-890 AD. Most of the 2014 botanical samples are collected from the phases dated between cal. 7030-6580 BC and cal. 6830-6470 BC. The archaeobotanical remains were obtained by flotation of 348 lt soil of 45 samples that were collected from different loci at Sumaki Höyük. The remains are preserved either by carbonizing or mineralizing. Two domesticated families Poaceae and Fabaceae are predominant. The earliest domesticated form of wheat Triticum dicoccon (Schrank) Schübl. Grains, as well as pieces of spikelet forks, are determined. Among the Fabaceae family Lens culinaris Medik. (lentil), Vicia ervilia (L.) Willld. (bitter vetch), Pisum sativum L. (garden pea) and Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea) species are vegetal source of nutrition of semi-nomadic inhabitants of Sumaki Höyük. The existence of Linum L. (Linen) might be the indicator of weaving and/or oil consumption.

Late Holocene Palaeoenvironment of TSE Dura, a Later Stone Age (Lsa) Rock Shelter, North-Central Nigeria

Abstract Palynological and archaeobotanical analyses were conducted on excavated sediments from Tse Dura, a Later Stone Age rock shelter in north-central Nigeria with the aim of reconstructing the environment conditions at the site within the last millennium. From 933 ± 29 BP to 802 ± 29 BP, the environment alternated between Guinea savanna with dry conditions, and secondary and riverine forests with humid conditions. During these periods of environmental fluctuations, the LSA populations engaged in the management of economic plants the most significant of which included Dioscorea spp. Pennisetum glaucum and Elaeis guineensis, and exploited wild plants such as Pavetta crassipes, Sarcocephalus latifolius and Lophira cf. lanceolata for dietary and ethnomedicinal purposes. Around 310 ± 30 BP cal, the environment became very wet after which it was succeeded by a drier period. It was during this period that Sorghum bicolor became prominent, and the environment attained its current status dominated by Guinea savanna elements and secondary forests.

Sobre la capacidad de almacenaje de los "horrea" rurales romanos: teoría del Escepticismo Cuantitativo

Se presenta un balance sobre la información que nos aportan los análisis arqueobotánicos para el estudio del almacenaje de cereal en época romana, que requería de unas condiciones óptimas de temperatura y humedad para su conservación. El objetivo de este artículo es cuestionar algunas propuestas de capacidad de los horrea romanos indicando los múltiples factores que condicionan no sólo la construcción de los graneros, sino también la organización y disposición del cereal almacenado. En definitiva, tratamos de plantear la Teoría del Escepticismo Cuantitativo (TEC) con el fin de abordar la problemática de los cálculos de capacidad de almacenaje desde un punto de vista arqueológico.

Archaeological and Archaeobotanical Research at an Early Medieval Site in Wildno, Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship

The paper presents the results of the archaeological excavation of the Early Medieval site at Wildno (site 10) and the initial results of ongoing archaeobotanical analysis of plant macro-remains from the same site. During rescue excavation many archaeological features were found. Among them a few probable huts, smokehouses and tar pits were discovered. Inside them, plant macro-remains were found. Analyses showed remains of cultivated plant and weed species, which provides evidence of farming practice during early medieval times. The cultivated plants were Linum usitatissimum, Panicum miliaceum and Triticum aestivum.

Documenting the Evolution of Agrobiodiversity in the Archaeological Record: Landraces of a Newly Described Domesticate (Polygonum erectum) in North America

Relatively few farmers today actively maintain crop biodiversity, but for most of the history of agriculture this was the norm. Archaeobotanical analyses can reveal the processes that led to the evolution of crop biodiversity throughout the Holocene, an issue of critical importance in an era of climate change and agrobiodiversity loss. Indigenous eastern North Americans domesticated several annual seed crops, called the Eastern Agricultural Complex, beginning c. 1800 BC. Using population morphometrics, this paper reports new evidence for the evolution of a domesticated sub-species of one of these crops, erect knotweed (Polyongum erectum L.), and its subsequent diversification under cultivation. Morphometric analyses were conducted on archaeological erect knotweed populations spanning its ancient cultivated range, and these were directly dated to c. 1–1350 AD, anchoring the evolution of this crop in both time and space. Domesticated erect knotweed first appears c. 1 AD in the Middle Ohio Valley. A diachronic series of populations from western Illinois shows that this species was domesticated again c. 150–1000 AD. This study shows how agricultural knowledge and material were maintained and shared (or not) by communities during an important era in eastern North America’s history: when small communities were aggregating to form the earliest urban center at Cahokia, in the American Bottom floodplain. A distinctive landrace was developed by farmers in the American Bottom which is significantly different from cultivated populations in other regions. Subsequent Mississippian assemblages (c. 1000–1350 AD) indicate divergent agricultural communities of practice, and possibly the eventual feralization of erect knotweed. Archaeobotanical studies have a vast untapped potential to reveal interaction between communities, or their isolation, and to investigate the evolution of crops after initial domestication.

A survey of the Late Roman period (3rd-6th century AD): Pollen, NPPs and seeds/fruits for reconstructing environmental and cultural changes after the floods in Northern Italy

In this paper, we focus on the most critical but low-studied Late Roman phase (3rd-6th century AD) of Mutina, an important Roman colony situated in Northern Italy. During this period, partly including the Late Antique, the seasonal variability with inconstant precipitation might have been responsible for devastating flood events. In the Po Plain, lying on four regions of Northern Italy (Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto), an impressive set of flood events occurred that resulted in evident, sometimes thick sediment strata, in between the Roman archaeological layers, and after their full deposition. The research is a key example of integrated archaeobotanical analyses based on five archeological sites (on-site records) excavated within the modern city of Modena and studied for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Plant micro- and macro-remains were analysed in the framework of interdisciplinary archaeological studies, aiming at reconstructing the main floristic, vegetational and palaeoecological features of Mutina and its surroundings.Since early phases of the Roman age, there have been wetlands and thinly scattered mixed oakwoods that together with human environments, i.e. cereal fields and gardens, characterised the plant landscape of the area. Interestingly, during the Late Roman period, the woodland cover increased. Overall, the archaeobotany studies highlighted the effects of the floods on the city of Modena and its surroundings showing that subsequent episodes of floods favoured the expansion or spreading of wetlands with the development of hygrophilous woods in the later phases, after the flood of the 6th century AD.

Life goes on: Archaeobotanical investigations of diet and ritual at Angkor Thom, Cambodia (14th–15th centuries CE)

This is the first time an archaeobotanical analysis based on macroremains, both charred and desiccated, from Cambodia is reported. The archaeobotanical samples are rich and provide evidence of rice processing, consumption of non-indigenous pulses, and the use of economic crops. The evidence is supported by data from inscriptions, texts and historical ethnography. This study demonstrates that the city of Angkor in the 14th and 15th centuries CE, despite its decline, was still occupied. Angkor’s inhabitants continued their everyday lives cultivating and consuming their staple food, rice, with a suite of pulses, and also used the harvests in the performance of rituals.

Archaeobotaniotanical analysis of abundant cereal finds from Kraków Nowa-Huta Mogiła 62 – getting back to the old story

Archaeobotanical analysis of abundant cereal finds from Krakow Nowa-Huta Mogila 62 – getting back to the old story

Cultivation of Naked Barley by Early Iron Age Agro-pastoralists in Xinjiang, China

ABSTRACTWe report an archaeobotanical analysis of flotation samples taken from Shirenzigou, an Early Iron Age agro-pastoralist site dated between the fourth and first century BC, located on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, China. The charred macro-botanical assemblage is dominated by naked barley grains with a few broomcorn and foxtail millet grains. In the context of Trans-Eurasian exchange of cereal crops, southwest Asian crops (wheat and barley) and two Asian millets (broomcorn and foxtail) were introduced to Xinjiang a few centuries to a millennium before Shirenzigou was occupied. The choice of barley cultivation in preference to wheat and millet may have been possibly driven by the relatively extreme local environment and the scheduling requirements of mobile pastoralism. Barley is well suited to this environment, and the choice of naked barley in preference to hulled barley may have been driven by the whole grain tradition prevailing in East Asia.

Plant Based Subsistence Strategy of the Medieval Ishmaelite (12th–13th c.) Population in the Carpathian Basin (NE-Hungary)

ABSTRACTDuring the excavation carried out at the outskirts of Hajdúböszörmény (NE-Hungary) in 2011, the remains of a 12–13th century settlement were brought to light. Linguistic and historical research has previously presumed that one of the main centres of medieval Hungary’s Muslim (Ishmaelites) population is located in the northern-eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain. At Hajdúböszörmény–Téglagyár ‘2’ archaeological site several household units were systematically sampled for archaeobotanical analysis. The recovered ceramics differ from the known ceramic production of the Árpád Age, whereas significant differences were detected in the zooarchaeological assemblage, too. The archaeobotanical record, representing 23 features, consists of 2679 items of charred macro-botanical remains that belong to 54 taxa. The record is predominated by the presence of cereals among which rye (Secale cereale L. subsp. cereale) and common barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) are the most frequent. Besides the dominance of cereals, pulses and vegetables, as well as gathered fruit remains were identified. By the comparison of results to other Árpád Age sites, we assume that the revealed ethno-archaeobotanical information identifies a population that used similar plant resources, but in a different way and strategy than the known Christian population of the Carpathian Basin.