Palaeoenvironment and plant use in the Upper Capsian: Macro-botanical and microbotanical remains from Kef Hamda (Tunisia)

Kef Hamda is an open-air site settled on a 35 x 10 m terrace along the el Garia crest of the Tunisian Ridge. The site was discovered in 1973, and has been the focus of more recent excavations in 2014 by a team lead by the Institut National du Patrimoine of Tunisia and the Sapienza University of Rome. It is dated between the 9 ¿ 8 th millennium cal BP, with evidences of a lithic complex belonging to the Upper Capsian. Systematic analyses of macro-plant (seeds and wood charcoals) and micro-plant (phytoliths) fossils have yielded a rich assemblage that provide pioneer data on the woody environment and the use of plants for consumption, fuel and basketry, among other uses. Preliminary results indicate the collection of several food plants such as legumes (Lathyrus/Vicia sp.), acorns (Quercus sp.), pine nuts (Pinushalepensis), juniper (Juniperus sp.), lentisk (Pistacialentiscus) and elderberry (Sambucus sp.). No crop seeds or domesticate animals have been recorded, in spite that pottery fragments were identified in the upper levels. In addition, macro and micro fossils of Alfa grass (Stipatenacissima) suggest that this plant could be used to produce basketry items, such as mats, cords, and containers, among others