Food plants from late bronze age lagoon sites in Languedoc, southern France: Reconstruction of farming economy and environment

During the late Bronze age, settlements in Languedoc, southern France, were located on the shore of lagoons lining the Mediterranean, while, in the hinterland, settlements were mainly in the form of villages or cave sites. Information on food plants has been restricted, until now, to sites in the hinterland. In this paper, the archaeobotanical results obtained from two lagoon-shore settlements, La Fangade at Sète, and Portal Vielh at Vendres, are reported. The former provides the first waterlogged assemblage for this period in the French Mediterranean while the latter consists of a dry settlement. Emmer and hulled, six row barley are the most common cereals occurring at the two sites. Other cereals are less frequent, although einkorn chaff is common at La Fangade. Flax, and especially opium poppy, are well represented while faba bean is the only pulse of some importance. Many wild fruits were gathered, especially acorns. Comparison with data from the hinterland suggests that the main difference lay in the cultivation of opium poppy and flax in the lagoon sites. However, may be largely an impression, resulting from the differences in manner of preservation at hinterland and lagoon sites. Local production as distinct from importation of crops is considered and the conclusion is drawn that, at least at La Fangade, hulled barley was grown locally. The arable weed flora indicates that sowing took place during both autumn and spring at La Fangade.     

Palaeobotanical evidence for social difference? The example of the early medieval domain of Serris-Les Ruelles, France

Serris-Les Ruelles is an early medieval demesne (manor house) showing the bipartite structure which is typical of this kind of landed property. The organisation is based on social difference: on the one hand the lord in his manor house, on the other the peasant in their village. The difference is apparent from the inorganic remains. Two out of four possible criteria were applied to investigate whether the difference is also apparent in plant food. The result of the investigation was negative. The reason might be that the spatial and economic separation between lord and peasant was not yet wide enough where food was concerned.     

Food storage in two Late Bronze Age caves of Southern France: palaeoethnobotanical and social implications

This paper presents new archaeobotanical results from two previously studied Late Bronze Age caves situated in Southern France, Balme Gontran and Baume Layrou. At each site a thick black layer, characterised by a very high density of charred seeds, is shown to be composed of the remains of burnt crop stores. In Baume Layrou a small proportion of desiccated plant remains was preserved in addition to the bulk of carbonised material. In Balme Gontran, Triticum spelta and Panicum miliaceum predominated and were independently stored. Lens culinaris, Vicia faba and Setaria italica were secondary species of some importance and could have been stored as well. Storage at Baume Layrou was above all composed of hulled Hordeum vulgare, Triticum spelta and P. miliaceum. Other possibly stored species were Triticum aestivum/durum/turgidum, T. dicoccon and V. faba. It seems that most of the crops were grown in pure stands, with the exception of S. italica and Triticum monococcum which may have been mixed in small proportions with common millet and emmer respectively. Crops were stored in ceramic vessels, probably also in bags and wooden containers like baskets. Millet grains were stored in their husks while glume wheats were dehusked. Dehusking before storage does not seem to have been the common practice at the time. It seems moreover rather unsuitable for grain storage in caves. In Baume Layrou a small proportion of cereal kernels had started to germinate, presumably due to the humidity of the cave. We are making the assumption that the caves were not used for usual long term storage but to store food supplies for a small group of people who intended to live here for a short period, perhaps taking refuge during disturbed times. Crops could have been dehusked to reduce the weight and volume of the load to transport to the caves on steep and difficult paths.     

Plant husbandry and vegetation of early medieval Douai,northern France

This paper describes the results of the archaeobotanical examination of early medieval occupation deposits (8th to 11th centuries A.D.) at Douai, northern France. Carbonized as well as waterlogged seeds and fruits were recovered in great numbers. In addition to the macrofossil analyses, a palynological examination of occupation deposits was carried out. Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) was the most common cereal, followed by rye (Secale cereale). Common oat (Avena sativa) and hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare) must have played a fairly modest role. In addition to cereals, field pea (Pisum sativum) was an important crop plant. Four types of plum (Prunus domestica) fruitstones are distinguished. Sweet cherry (Prunus avium) as well as sour cherry (P. cerasus) were cultivated. Other cultivated fruit trees included peach (Prunus persica) and medlar (Mespilus germanica). Sloe (Prunus spinosa) fruits, including those of the var. macrocarpa, were gathered from the wild. The palynological data suggest that the Douai area had virtually been cleared of forest. A comparison between pollen and seed proportions points to serious discrepancies between the macrofossil and microfossil plant records. Weeds of arable land (Secalietea, Polygono-Chenopodietalia) and vegetations of ruderal habitats (Sisymbrietalia, Artemisietalia vulgaris) are well represented. Molinietalia vegetations in the valley of the Scarpe river were probably exploited as hay meadows; good pasture land was provided by the Arrhenateretalia grasslands.     

Archaeobotanical investigations in Liguria: preliminary data on the early Iron Age at Monte Trabocchetto (Pietra Ligure,Italy)

The archaeological site we studied is part of an early Iron Age hill fort (8th/7th cent. b.c.), located 800 m from the coast on the top of a hill named MonteTrabocchetto. This paper concerns an excavation, called saggio O, which disclosed a very varied stratigraphy characterised by highly anthropogenic layers and by a pit, presumably used as a silo for food storage, which was very rich in charred seeds and fruits. The study of the pit content showed the dominance of Hordeum vulgare, while Triticum dicoccon, T. monococcum, T. aestivum/durum, Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica were less strongly represented. Some edible Leguminosae were also found (Lens culinaris, Vicia faba var. minor and V. ervilia). In the frequented areas around the pit, herbaceous weeds and fruit tree macro-remains were present (Prunus cf. spinosa, Corylus avellana, Quercus sp. and Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris). The identification of a large number of botanical taxa has provided important information on food of plant origin and agricultural practices during the early Iron Age on the Ligurian coast, the proto-historic archaeobotanical aspects of which are largely unknown.     

A study of the carbonized seeds from a La Tène D1 rural settlement, “Le Camp du Roi” excavation at Jaux (Oise), France

This paper presents the results of the study of the macroscopic plant remains found in the granary of a La Tène D1 native farm situated on the plateau overlooking the river Oise, near Compiègne, northern France. The composition and the deposition of the harvest in the storage building are discussed. Some evidence of agricultural practices are deduced from the weeds associated with the grain.     

Plant remains from the early medieval lakeshore settlement Fonyód-Bélatelep (Lake Balaton,Hungary) with especial emphasis on the history of fruit cultivation in Pannonia

During the excavation of an early medieval lakeside settlement at Fonyód-Bélatelep, Balaton (7th-9th century A.D.), remains of cultivated and wild plants were found in the culture layer. The main cereal crops of the Avar culture were Hordeum, Triticum and Secale. Panicum also played an important role. In addition to the cereals, 13 species of fruit trees were present. It appears that fruit cultivation survived from Roman times into the early medieval period.     

Botanical analysis of a bundle of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) from an early medieval site in northern Poland; a contribution to the history of flax cultivation and its field weeds

A bundle of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) radiocarbon dated to 1210±70 uncal B.P. (830±90 cal A.D.) was analysed for its macrofossil content. Apart from stems, capsules and seeds of flax., a large number of diaspores (fruits and seeds) from other plants was identified. Field weeds were the most numerous taxa present, among them three flax field weeds,Spergula maxima, Camelina alyssum andCuscuta cpilinum. Development of the specific flax weed community is discussed. Indicator values are used to characterize the edaphic conditions of this early medieval flax field. The field weeds spectrum also suggests that this flax was sown as a summer crop after an earlier crop of millet.     

Micromammals (rodents and insectivores) from the early Late Pleistocene cave site of Bois Roche (Charente, France): Systematics and paleoclimatology

We present the study of rodents and insectivores from the 1995 season of excavation at the early Late Pleistocene site of Bois Roche (Charente, France). The site is a small cave with a low ceiling, used as a den by hyenas. It contains a large herbivore assemblage (mainly bovids and equids) with a smaller representation of medium-size taxa (cervids), many microvertebrates, abundant coprolites and deciduous hyena teeth, and a few lithic artifacts (Middle Paleolithic) introduced into the cave by gravity and slope wash. The rodent fauna consists of Eliomys quercinus cf. quercinus, Apodemus sp., Microtus gregalis, Microtus oeconomus, Arvicola terrestris and Dicrostonyx torquatus. Insectivores are represented by Neomys cf. fodiens. The most common species is M. gregalis which forms 93.7% of the total MNI. The micromammal fauna suggests an open landscape, with some vegetation mainly of the steppe or tundra type, with areas of water and more wet vegetation and some areas with trees. The micromammal association of Bois Roche is characteristic of a cold or very cold dry climate.     

The paleoclimate of the Eastern Mediterranean during the transition from early to mid Pleistocene (900 to 700 ka) based on marine and non-marine records: An integrated overview

Climate change is frequently considered an important driver of hominin evolution and dispersal patterns. The role of climate change in the last phase (900-700 ka) of the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT) in the Levant and northeast Africa was examined, using marine and non-marine records. During the MPT the global climate system shifted from a linear 41 k.yr. into a highly non-linear 100 k.yr. system, considerably changing its global modulation. Northeast Africa aridity further intensified around 950 ka, as indicated by a sharp increase in dust flux, and a jump to overall higher levels thereafter, coinciding with a lack of sapropels in the deep eastern Mediterranean (930-690 ka). The increased dust flux centering at ∼800 ka corresponds to the minima in 400 k.yr. eccentricity, a minima in 65 °N solar forcing and in the weakest African monsoon precession periodicity. This resulted in expansion of hyper-arid conditions across North Africa, the lowest lake levels in eastern Africa and the lowest rainfall in the Nile River headwaters. In the eastern Mediterranean an increasing continental signature is seen in glacial stages 22 (∼880 ka) and 20 (∼800 ka). Lower arboreal pollen values also indicate arid conditions during these glacial stages. The southern and eastern parts of the Negev Desert, unlike its northern part, were hyper-arid during the MPT, making them highly unsustainable. The fluctuations in the stands of Lake Amora follow global climate variability but were more moderate than those of its last glacial Lake Lisan successor. In the northern Jordan-Valley Hula Lake, frequent fluctuations in lake level coincide with both global climate changes and minor changes in water salinity varying from fresh to oligohaline. It appears therefore that the most pronounced and widespread deterioration in climate occurred in northeast Africa from 900 to 700 ka, whereas in the Levant the corresponding climatic changes were more moderate.     

Questioning the relevance of shifting cultivation to Neolithic farming in the loess belt of Europe: evidence from the Hambach Forest experiment

Despite widespread criticism, the shifting cultivation model continues to inform discussion of Neolithic farming in Europe, beginning with early Neolithic (Linearbandkeramik or LBK) communities concentrated in the loess belt of western-central Europe. Hundreds of LBK and later Neolithic sites have been excavated in this region and many of them sampled for charred plant remains. Archaeobotanical data on the weed floras harvested with crops provide the most direct archaeological evidence of crop husbandry practices, including the permanence of crop fields, but have played a limited role in the debate over shifting cultivation. The Hambach Forest experiment, conducted in the 1970s-80s near Cologne, Germany, provides valuable comparative data on the weed floras growing in newly cleared cultivation plots in an area of longlived mixed oak woodland on loess-based soil. Correspondence analysis of the Hambach weed survey data suggests that weed floras of fields managed under a shifting cultivation regime would be rich in perennial species, including woodland perennials. Comparison of these results with Neolithic weed assemblages from the loess belt of western-central Europe strongly suggests that Neolithic crop fields were not recently cleared of woodland vegetation but were long-established. Received September 5, 2001 / Accepted February 26, 2002     

A review of recent advances in the study of early angiosperms from northeastern China

The last 10 years (1998–2007) were very productive and important in the study of early angiosperms in northeastern China. The new discoveries of the earliest well-documented records of angiosperms such as Archaefructus, as well as Hyrcantha decussata (= Sinocarpus decussatus), provided fresh knowledge for better understanding the primitive characters of the ancient angiosperms and also their aquatic (or wet) habitat and their herbaceous nature. Some new approaches such as the combination of molecular and morphological characters joined together to place Archaefructus in the angiosperm phylogenetic framework. These fossils demonstrate that we should expect more ancient angiosperms to be found in the pre-Cretaceous which will continue to add important new understanding to the nature of the origin and evolution of the angiosperms.     

Nutrition, aspects of land use and environment in medieval times in southern Germany: plant macro-remain analysis from latrines (late 11th–13th century a.d.) at the town of Überlingen, Lake Constance

From high medieval courtyards at überlingen, Lake Constance (Bodensee), 17 archaeobotanical samples from seven latrines (11th–13th century) were analysed for plant macrofossils. They contained small amounts of cultivated plants and many well preserved seeds and fruits of wild plants. The most numerous cereal finds were of Triticum spelta followed by Secale cereale. Recorded oil plants were Papaver somniferum and Linum usitatissimum. Cultivated and gathered fruits such as various Prunus species, Pyrus communis and Malus domestica, Rubus sp. and Fragaria vesca were eaten by the people of überlingen. Only one seed of Ficus carica was found which may have been imported; no other imported plants could be recognised. Agrostemma githago and Vaccaria hispanica were prevalent weeds. The presence of the latter probably indicates the cultivation of cereals on the steeper slopes above überlingen. It is shown that in central Europe, V. hispanica became a troublesome weed only around the 12th/13th century A.D. Grassland species—mainly from more or less wet locations—and ruderal plants of nitrogen-rich soils were well represented in the samples and characterize the surrounding area. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at     

Rib lesions in skeletons from early neolithic sites in Central Germany: On the trail of tuberculosis at the onset of agriculture

As an infectious disease, tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Paleopathological and paleomicrobiological studies indicate a long standing association of the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its human host. Since the occurrence and the epidemic spread of this pathogen seem to be closely linked to social and biological factors, it is of particular interest to understand better the role of TB during periods of social and nutritional change such as the Neolithic. In this study, 118 individuals from three sites in Saxony‐Anhalt (Germany) dating to the Linear Pottery Culture (5400–4800 BC) were examined macroscopically to identify TB related bone lesions. In two individuals, Pott's disease was detected. In addition, periosteal reactions of varying degrees and frequency were observed mainly along the neck of the ribs in 6.5% (2/31) of subadults and 35.1% (20/57) of adults, with one site standing out markedly. Rib lesions, however, are not specific indicators of TB as they can also be caused by other diseases; so additional investigations were undertaken using histology and micro‐CT scans to say more about the disease process. Supplementary molecular analyses indicate the presence of pathogens belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in individuals of all sites. Furthermore, we discuss the occurrence and spread of TB during the Neolithic with regard to nutritional aspects and possible risks of infection. The data presented provide important insights into the health status of Early Neolithic populations in Central Germany. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.