A comparison of early Neolithic crop and weed assemblages from the Linearbandkeramik and the Bulgarian Neolithic cultures: differences and similarities

The spread of early agriculture from the Mediterranean to central Europe is still poorly understood. The new subsistence reached western central Europe during the second half of the 6th millennium cal b.c. This paper presents a comparison of crop and weed species from 33 Bandkeramik sites from Austria and Germany and six Bulgarian Neolithic sites. The aim is to investigate whether the early cultivation system brought in from the eastern Mediterranean was adapted to European conditions in Bulgaria or further West. Some characteristics of the potential weeds are interpreted with respect to the cultivation systems and the origin of the species.     

Morphological studies of free-threshing wheat ears from a Neolithic site in southwest Germany, and the history of the naked wheats

Two hundred and seventy carbonized naked wheat ears from the Neolithic pile dwelling at Hornstaad-Hörnle IA/Lake Constance (Germany) were analysed. The characteristics of internodes and glumes show that only tetraploid naked wheat types were cultivated. Following the history of free-threshing wheats it seems conceivable that the tetraploid naked wheats spread from their point of origin in the Middle East (7th/8th millennium B.C.) via a Mediterranean route to southwest Europe, reaching the northern foothills of the Alps about 4000 B.C.     

The history of cereals in the region of the former Duchy of Swabia (Herzogtum Schwaben) from the Roman to the Post-medieval period: results of archaeobotanical research

Archaeobotanical results from the investigations of cereal finds in southwestern Germany and northern Switzerland have been mapped. Seven phases are distinguished, from Roman to early modern (Post-medieval). Methodological problems are discussed concerning sampling, identification, preservation, type of site, feature and assemblage, which influence the representation of the results. The main results are as follows. In the Roman period, Triticum spelta was the main crop, except in the upper Rhine valley (Oberrheinebene) where T. aestivum was more abundant. In the Migration period and Early Medieval period several crops are of similar importance. The reason was a rather simple economic system, a subsistence economy for each village, and perhaps cereal and grassland rotation (Feld-Gras-Wirtschaft). In the High Medieval period, Secale cereale was the dominant grain in the northern part of the region up to the Danube (Donau). In Switzerland, T. spelta dominated. In the landscape in between, from Lake Constance (Bodensee) to the upper Neckar valley, there was a mixture of both. These rather clear spectra, commonly dominated by one cereal species, express the changed economic system: the three field system (Dreifelderwirtschaft) and an increasing role of the market economy. Even in the Late Medieval and Post-medieval periods S. cereale and T. spelta remained the main crops. The present dominance of T. aestivum and Hordeum vulgare is a very recent development, less than a century old. The less important cereals, T. monococcum and Panicum miliaceum, occur regularly until Post-medieval times. T. dicoccum was very rare in this region from the Roman period onwards.     

Cultivated plant remains of the late Neolithic Michelsberg Culture at Heilbronn-Klingenberg (southwest Germany) - a comparison of different features, find assemblages and preservation conditions relating to the representation of archaeobotanical remains

A large area investigation was undertaken of the plant remains from a Michelsberg Culture (late Neolithic) settlement. The charred macroscopic remains and imprints in pieces of daub were expected to show both the spectrum of the cultivated plants there, and also the degree of their cultivation and use. The loess covered hill-top lies in a landscape with favourable climatic and soil conditions and is blocked off by two parallel ditches running in an arc. Ditches and pits filled with different sediments were investigated. The daub, unearthed in several pits, had been deliberately mixed with chaff of the glume wheats einkorn and emmer to temper it when it was originally made. The investigated imprints and charred plant remains give hints of spatial distribution of crop processing activities. To determine the amounts of the crops that were cultivated and used, it is necessary to study the charred remains. The degree of ubiquity (frequency of occurrence) of grains in the pit sediments seems to be the best indicator of the representation of cereals. Four main cereals were found: Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, T. aestivum/T. durum and Hordeum vulgare var. nudum. Pisum sativum also was an important cultivated plant, much more than Lens culinaris. The role of Linum usitatissimum and Papaver somniferum is less clear.     

Fresh investigations into the natural and anthropogenically influenced vegetation of the earlier Holocene in the Elbe-Saale Region,Central Germany

At present the central part of the Elbe-Saale area is characterized by subcontinental climatic conditions. Palynological investigations at Zöschen show that, even in pre-Neolithic times, the composition of the primeval forest in this part of Germany had its own distinctive features. On the basis of the palynological results, the existence of natural steppe Holocene is improbable, the region being covered by forests since ca. 9 500 B.P., i.e. the Preboreal. The appearance of anthropochores or culture dependent plants and the beginning of flood loam sedimentation as a result of soil erosion indicate human impact from ca. 6 000 B.P., i.e. the end of the older Atlantic. At Eilsleben changes of tree and shrub frequencies are combined with the occurrence of anthropogenic indicator herb species. These palynological features suggest agricultural expansion phases that are interrupted by regression phases in the early and middle Neolithic (ca. 6 500-2 500 B.P.).     

Palynological investigations into the Late Pleistocene and Holocene history of vegetation and settlement at the Löddigsee, Mecklenburg, Germany

A Late Pleistocene and Holocene sediment core from the nowadays terrestrialised portion of the Löddigsee in Southern Mecklenburg, Germany was palynologically investigated. The lake is situated in the rarely investigated Young moraine area at the transition from the Weichselian to the Saalian glaciation. The high-resolution pollen diagram contributes to the establishment of the north-eastern German Late Pleistocene pollen stratigraphy. The vegetation distribution pattern after the end of the Weichselian is in good agreement with other studies from North-eastern Germany, but also has its own characteristics. The Holocene vegetation development reveals features from the north-eastern and north-western German lowlands. A special focus was laid on the environmental history of the two settlements on an island within the lake (Late Neolithic and Younger Slavic period), which were preserved under moist conditions. Both settlements were constructed during a period of low lake level. Although there is evidence of agriculture in the area during the respective periods, the two island settlements seem to have served other purposes.     

The impact of crop processing on the reconstruction of crop sowing time and cultivation intensity from archaeobotanical weed evidence

Reconstruction of crop sowing time and cultivation intensity, based on arable weed ecology, can resolve archaeological questions surrounding land use and cycles of routine activity, but crop processing may introduce systematic ecological biases in the arable weeds represented in products and by-products. Based on previous ethnoarchaeological work, there is a predicted bias against indicators of spring sowing and intensive cultivation in fine sieve products (and a corresponding over-representation of such species in by-products). Recent work on modern weed floras using functional weed ecology has identified distinctive functional attributes associated with different sowing regimes and cultivation intensity levels. Evaluation of the predicted biases using functional attribute data for modern weed survey studies of different sowing regimes (in Germany) and cultivation intensity levels (in Greece) suggests that there is a likely bias against spring sowing indicators in fine sieve products but not (apparently) against intensive cultivation indicators. An archaeological case study is presented in order to illustrate how bias relating to crop sowing time may be identified and interpreted.     

Settlement and landscape history at the Federsee,south-west Germany,as reflected in pollen diagrams

The Federsee mire in the Alpine Foreland of south-western Germany contains a record of a remarkable archaeological landscape. Since the first excavations in the 1920's, botanists and mire geologists have studied the relationship between landscape development and settlement at this site. In a new study, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, various disciplines embracing both archaeology and the natural sciences have come together to address outstanding questions and problems. Pollen analysis can only be carried out within the Federsee mire since no other suitable mires are found in the vicinity. Because of the size of the Federsee basin (30 km² at the end of the last glaciation), the regional pollen component, consisting predominantly of arboreal pollen, prevails over the herbaceous component which mainly reflects activity associated with settlements. Nevertheless, phases of settlement are clearly reflected in the radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams and can be correlated with Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements that are dated either by dendrochronology or radiocarbon. In addition, some settlement phases were identified for which no archaeological evidence is yet available. As a consequence of human impact during the Atlantic and Subboreal periods, a gradual opening-up and change in structure of the forests is recorded. There is evidence for an exceptionally high level of human impact associated with two Bronze Age settlements that were present in the central part of the Federsee mire. Each of the five transgressions of the Federsee so far identified occurred at the end of a settlement phase. These may have resulted from anthropogenic activity rather than climatic change. A contribution to the 8th IPC, Aix-en-Provence, Sept. 1992     

The Early Neolithic site at Hoge Vaart, Almere, the Netherlands, with particular reference to non-diffusion of crop plants, and the significance of site function and sample location

The construction of a new motorway necessitated the excavation of an Early Neolithic site in the Dutch Flevopolder near the Hoge Vaart canal. In 1994-1996, an area of ca. 1700 m² was excavated in 0.5x0.5-m squares. The excavation revealed 150 surface hearths and more than a hundred deep hearth pits. The finds, mainly flint and pottery, as well as¹⁴C dates from charcoal demonstrated that the area had been used mainly during the Early Neolithic (ca. 4900–4500 cal. B.C.). The investigation of the Early Neolithic remains included detailed botanical analyses of 182 samples and hand-sorting by the excavation team, which included archaeobotanists, of tens of thousands of samples sieved over 2-mm-mesh sieves. No remains of cultivated plants were recognised among the 87 taxa (40 identified to species level) that were preserved, mainly in carbonised form. These results are compared with other Early Neolithic sites studied in the Netherlands, such as Swifterbant S3 and Schokland P14. The possible significance of site function and sample location as important factors influencing presence/absence of cultivated plant remains at a particular site is discussed.     

The relationship between maternal characteristics, birth weight and pre-term delivery: evidence from Germany at the end of the 20th century

Using data from a sample of German women, this paper analyzes the relationship between maternal characteristics and infants' birth weight and pre-term delivery. Besides typical epidemiological factors that influence the weight of infants, such as the gestational age and maternal BMI at the beginning of the pregnancy, we find a West--East gradient. Within West Germany, there is a small North-South gradient in birth weight, with larger birth weights in the north. Better educated mothers give birth to heavier babies and have a somewhat decreased risk of pre-term delivery. Income plays a minor role, while occupational status is not associated with the weight of infants at all.     

Botanical macro-remains and insects from the Eemian and Weichselian site of Oerel (northwest Germany) and their evidence for the history of climate

The late Pleistocene site of Oerel which represents the Eemian and the Weichselian interstadials Brörup, Odderade, Oerel and Glinde as well as parts of the stadials Herning and Rederstall was investigated for botanical remains such as fruits, seeds, wood, leaves and mosses, as well as insect remains. A large number of taxa were identified. They show the different environmental conditions, in particular several changes of water level leading to the formation of lakes and diverse forms of mires up to raised bogs. The trophic conditions, too, changed several times. The macrofossil record supports the pollen evidence of dense forests during the two early Weichselian interstadials and tundra vegetation during the later ones. Several indicator species show comparably warm summers but very cold winters during the Brörup and Odderade while the climate during Oerel and Glinde was generally cool. Climatic reconstructions using the MCR method were performed on the basis of the beetle finds.     

The value of the archaeobotanical analysis of desiccated plant remains from old buildings: methodological aspects and interpretation of crop weed assemblages

Plant material like threshing remains has been used systematically as filling and insulation material in buildings for a long time. Such plant material can be found in several places, for example in floor cavities (internal floor deposits, Fehlböden) or in beam holes. For the first time in Switzerland, desiccated plant material like this has been investigated. In this article the analysis of the material from three different sites is presented, each dated to a different period, from the late medieval period to the time just before the industrial revolution. The samples consisted of chaff from Triticum spelta in bulk, and smaller amounts of other cereals such as T. monococcum, Avena sativa, Panicum miliaceum and Secale cereale, plus various weeds. The assemblages in the late medieval samples show evidence of three-field rotation: the high percentage of grassland species is interpreted as an indicator of the fallow land phase within the three-field system. A higher ratio of annual to perennial plants in the more modern samples indicates the development of more intensive tillage and cultivation. Methodological questions regarding sampling strategies of the floor cavity subsamples are investigated. The analyses suggest that the volume of these subsamples should be more than two litres.     

Height and weight in Germany, evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel, 2002

This paper examines the socio-economic variation in height and weight using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Results reinforce previous research insofar as height is associated with socio-economic differences. For example, a low maternal schooling level or a lower position in the income distribution is negatively correlated with the height of West Germans. Furthermore, there is a west-east and a north-south gradient in height in Germany. BMI is also determined by individuals' characteristics with similar underlying patterns. That is, in both West and East Germany, women with low income and low education have a higher BMI whereas the better educated women weigh less.     

Branch wood from the lake shore settlements of Horgen Scheller, Switzerland: Evidence for economic specialization in the late Neolithic period

596 waterlogged, uncarbonized branch wood specimens from four cultural layers of the late Neolithic lake shore site of Horgen Scheller (between 3080 and 3030 B.C.) on Lake Zilrich, Switzerland, were examined. The following parameters were analysed: taxonomy, diameter and age of the twigs, cutting season, and distribution of the branches over the area as well as their distribution in the different cultural layers. The twigs were divided into the following three groups, based on differences observed in these analyses: conifers, deciduous trees with catkins, and deciduous trees without catkins. Branch diameter examinations revealed that branches of deciduous trees were thicker on average than those of conifers. While branches from deciduous trees without catkins were gathered at the age of seven years on average, those of conifers and deciduous trees with catkins were older. Waney edge analyses showed that the majority of the twigs were cut within the winter months. Among the deciduous trees without catkins there is, however, a markedly higher proportion of branches cut in summer than in the other two groups. The taxonomic examinations demonstrated that 70% of the specimens consisted of twigs of eitherCorylus avellana L. (hazel),Taxus baccata L. (yew), orAbies alba Mill. (silver fir), thus implying the great economic importance of these species in the settlements of Horgen Scheller. To our knowledge this is the first report that a remarkably high proportion of yew twigs (26.8%) has been found in an analysis of subfossil twigs. The possibility is discussed that the inhabitants had specialized in obtaining yew from the region. Concentrations of wood finds, possible remains of buildings, became evident from the analyses of the distribution of the branch wood over the excavated area. A very similar spatial distribution pattern of the taxa was found through the different cultural layers. Therefore it seems likely that existing structures were reused when a new settlement was built. The data also show that the building outlines slowly moved towards land over time. A rising lake water level could have led to gradual dislocation of the settlements.     

Late Neolithic agriculture in eastern Austria: archaeobotanical results from sites of the Baden and Jevišovice cultures (3600–2800 b.c.)

The article presents archaeobotanical results from six late Neolithic excavation sites in eastern Austria. Two of the sites belong to the Jevišovice culture (3200–2800 cal b.c.), the remaining four to the Baden culture (3600–2900 cal b.c.). Results show that farmers around 3000 cal b.c. were relying on the use of Triticum monococcum and Hordeum vulgare as principal cereals, with Triticum dicoccum and Panicum miliaceum as additional crops. Common millet was found in quantity at one of the Jevišovice sites and shows the remarkably early westward spread of this species. Single records of Triticum spelta are discussed in the light of the recently proposed ideas about an independent central European origin of spelt. Another record concerns the “new-type” glume wheat, providing further evidence for the once widespread occurrence of this cultivar. Triticum aestivum (hexaploid naked wheat) and Setaria italica (foxtail millet) were found as rare admixtures at the Jevišovice settlements. Pulses were represented by Pisum sativum and Lens culinaris, oil plants by Papaver somniferum and Linum usitatissimum. One of the Jevišovice sites offered a good opportunity for a study of the undisturbed spatial distribution of charred plant remains within a burnt house. Among wild plants, the occurrence of Stipa sp., Teucrium chamaedrys, Asperula cynanchica and Plantago media point to the presence of dry steppe grassland in the vicinity of the settlements, which was probably used for grazing. Woodland plants were mainly represented by fruit-bearing plants growing in clearings and forest edges, reflecting both the deliberate collection of wild fruits and the growing human impact on the vegetation.     

Spatial distribution of resting stages,rate of emergence from diapause and times to adulthood and to the appearance of the first clutch in 3 species of cyclopoid copepods

The spatial distribution of dormant copepodids of 3 species of cyclopoid copepods — Cyclops vicinus, Mesocyclops leuckarti and Thermocyclops crassus — was studied in 4 small lakes in South Germany. The rate of emergence from diapause and times from the resting stage to adulthood and from adulthood to the appearance of the first clutch was studied at 4 constant temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20 °C) in the laboratory. Resting stages of C. vicinus were always concentrated in the deepest parts of the lakes and were found relatively deep in the mud. M. leuckarti- and T. crassus-copepodids preferred shallow areas in deep lakes but were concentrated in the deep areas in shallow lakes. Copepodids of both species were always concentrated in the uppermost mud layers.Rate of emergence from diapause was strongly temperature-dependent. At high temperatures (20 °C) copepodids of all species under study emerged within 2 weeks. At lower temperatures C. vicinus copepodids showed the highest rate of emergence. At 5 to 10 °C only few M. leuckarti- and T. crassus-copepodids had emerged after the investigation period (7 weeks). Both C. vicinus and T. crassus showed the highest rate of emergence at the natural end of diapause but even at that time only few T. crassus-copepodids emerged at 5 °C. Times to adulthood at 5 °C were shortest in C. vicinus. At higher temperatures this species was passed by M. leuckarti. Times from adulthood to the appearance of the first clutch at 5–15 °C were shortest in C. vicinus. T. crassus produced no clutch at 5 and 10 °C.     

Agriculture and food from the Roman to the Islamic Period in the North-East of the Iberian peninsula: archaeobotanical studies in the city of Lleida (Catalonia, Spain)

The urban archaeological excavations carried out in the city of Lleida (Catalonia, Spain) have opened the way for an interdisciplinary project on the ancient landscape, agriculture and food. Here we present the results of the archaeobotanical study of seeds and fruits from this project, centred on the Roman and Islamic periods of the city, between the 2nd century B.C. and the 11th century A.D. During the whole of this period the cultivation and consumption of cereals was found. The most important cereals were hulled barley and naked wheat. This was already known from the later prehistoric era in the area and is similar to findings at other sites from the same period in the western Mediterranean. These cereals are accompanied by some leguminous crops and the presence of grapes and figs is very significant. The expansion of vine cultivation, together with a certain amount of tree growing was one of the basic contributions of the Roman world to proto-historical (Bronze- and Iron Age) agriculture in western Catalonia, as in other parts of Europe. In the Islamic period, there seems to have been an increase in the number of fruit tree species; however for taphonomical reasons this has to be confirmed by future investigations. Flax, already known in prehistoric times, and Gold-of-pleasure must be added to the finds. Also since the Roman period some other taxa, such as celery or fennel, might have been grown. During the time period considered in this paper, there was a wide range of plants grown and consumed. This clearly contrasts with everything known about earlier periods in western Catalonia, during which the only cultivated plants were cereals and flax.     

Eemian and Early Weichselian vegetation and climate history in Central Europe: A case study from the Klinge section (Lusatia, eastern Germany)

The paper presents vegetation and climate reconstructions for Eemian and Early Weichselian in Central Europe based on detailed pollen data of the Klinge section. The sediments exposed in this profile were accumulated from the Saalian termination up to the Early Weichselian glaciation. A succession of forest communities, typical for the Eemian interglacial has been recorded. Pollen data indicate some oscillations during the very end of the Eemian (biozone E7). The climatic reconstructions show the heat supply rising gradually from the beginning of the interglacial to its middle part. A long-term cooling trend in January temperature was reconstructed for the second half of the interglacial. The difference between the optimum (zone E4b) and Pinus-Picea-Abies zone (E6) amounts to 4 °C, during the Pinus zone (E7) the temperature further decreased by 8 °C. The changes in July temperature were not so dramatic (about 3 °C).