The diet of Eneolithic (Copper Age, Fourth millennium cal b.c.) pile dwellers and the early formation of the cultural landscape south of the Alps: a case study from Slovenia |
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Authors: | Marjeta Jeraj Anton Velušček Stefanie Jacomet |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 132 Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1381, USA;(2) Institute of Archaeology, Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;(3) Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science IPAS, Basel University, Spalenring 145, 4055 Basel, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Analyses were performed of plant remains from the Late Neolithic (in Slovenian terminology corresponding to Eneolithic or
Copper Age, ca. 4300–2300 b.c.) pile dwelling Hočevarica in the Ljubljansko barje (Ljubljana Moor), Slovenia. This settlement existed between ca. 3650
and 3550 cal b.c. Seeds, fruits, wooden piles, macroscopic charcoal and pollen from the cultural layers were analysed. The remains of domestic
plants such as charred grains of Hordeum vulgare (barley), Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum (einkorn and emmer wheat) and Papaver somniferum (poppy seeds), as well as seeds of weeds such as Chenopodium album-type indicate early cultivation in the area. In addition, numerous remains of nuts and berries, especially of Quercus sp., Cornus mas, Rubus fruticosus and Corylus avellana demonstrate that the gathering of wild plants was an important part of subsistence. Palaeoecological and archaeobotanical
data from Hočevarica further suggest that cleared land was used for agriculture and pastures during the Neolithic, and that
different wood was cut for construction and for fuel. The species assemblage from Hočevarica is very similar to those recovered
from northern Alpine lake dwelling sites, however, several new taxa (e.g. Lathyrus sativus, Vicia sp.) appear in the assemblage. One of the most surprising finds is the seed of wild grape (Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris), which are the oldest on-site remains of grapevine from Slovenia. |
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Keywords: | Archaeobotany Plant economy Human impact Lake shore settlement Eneolithic (Late Neolithic) Ljubljansko barje Central Slovenia |
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