Plant food economy and environment during the epipalaeolithic in southwest Anatolia : an investigation of the botanical macroremains from Öküzini and Karain B

Located in southwest Turkey, not far from the seacoast, the natural caves of Öküzini and Karain B were inhabited by prehistoric populations during the Late Glacial and beyond. The Epipalaeolithic populations left traces of different occupation phases dated between 16.560 ±180 uncal BP (18.200-17.400 cal BC) to 12.130 ±100 uncal BP (14.400-11.800 cal BC) in Öküzini, around 15.000 uncal BP in Karain B. The topic of this research was to examine the macrobotanical remains associated with the Epipalaeolithic occupations, with the underlying aims to acquire insights about the economy of these communities and their use of the environmental resources. A first research paper addresses the issue of plant macroremain identification, in particular the identification of „thick shelled“ plant remains. Morphological comparison with the range of potential species and present geographical distribution made it possible to refine the determination to a double species: Amygdalus orientalis or A. graeca. These plants could grow in the surroundings of the sites on rocky slopes or sandy hills and had to be collected during late summer. All wild Amygdalus seeds are toxic, so that their use as food can be disputed. However, through examination of the detoxification possibilities, nutritional properties and ethnographic analogies for the use of wild almonds, we came to the conclusion that the seeds probably played a notable role in the diet of the Epipalaeolithic population of southwest Anatolia. A comparison with further published prehistoric “nutshell” finds from the Near East supports a long and widely distributed tradition of wild almond use. The analyses of the whole plant macroremain assemblages (excluding wood charcoals) identified at least 18 taxa and “categories” of remains, mainly carbonised. The importance and the role of the plants – particularly in the diet and their bearing on the seasonality of occupation of the sites – have been evaluated with quantitative and qualitative data. Nuts (principally Amygdalus, wild almond), fruits (principally Pyrus, wild pear), bulbs, roots or tubers (underground storage organs) seem to have occupied a particularly important place in these communities during all Epipalaeolithic phases, at the expense of small-seeded plants. The attested plants would have provided carbohydrates, lipids and micronutrients complementing well the meat diet. The cost of acquisition of the major plant resources was estimated: nuts and underground storage organs were generally considered as high ranked resources, providing a resource easy to gather and to process for a high calorific return. The almonds had a higher cost of acquisition. Their richness in fats and their availability at the onset of the winter season however could justify the additional work required for their detoxification. Judging from the seasonality indices of the plants and ungulate fauna at Öküzini, the cave could have been inhabited periodically in all seasons, but particularly in spring and autumn. A third paper presented the use of firewood and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction using anthracological and other environmental data. The diversity of fuel wood used was moderate and at both sites Acer (maple), Amygdalus (wild almond) and Fraxinus (ash) were the most common and important taxa. Secondary taxa were composed of Maloideae, Pyrus (wild pear), Prunus (wild plum), Quercus (cadufoliate oak), and Rhamnus/Phillyrea (buckthorn/mock privet). No chronological changes were observed. The major difference between both caves was the presence of hygrophilous and mesophillous taxa in Öküzini, whereas Coniferous wood was more common in Karain B, leading to the interpretation of an opportunistic exploitation of the surroundings of each site. Despite the poverty of the Late Glacial vegetation, there was no indication of use of alternative fuel material. These Epipalaeolithic populations seem to have responded to shortages rather through mobility than intensification. The anthracological results have been integrated to present-day knowledge of the environment of southwest Anatolia in an attempt to reconstruct the local vegetation. Among the different models of optimal foraging, the diet breadth model predicts that the resource a forager chooses from an available set of resources depends on their efficiency rank and abundance in the environment. Knowing from former investigations what plant resources were collected by the Epipalaeolithic populations from Öküzini and Karain B, we used this model to estimate the richness of the various classes of plant resources in the environment of the sites. An exploitation of high ranked plant resources, the nuts and the roots, bulbs or tubers, instead of small seeds, probably reflected their good availability in the environment. On the other hand, although the pattern of fuel use did not show any indices of wood scarcity, the reconstruction of the vegetation resulted in an environment not particularly rich in plant resources. The density of population being low, we suppose that the Epipalaeolithic populations living in this region adapted to their natural conditions in moving regularly their camps

Identifying endocarp remains and exploring their use at Epipalaeolithic Öküzini in southwest Anatolia, Turkey

Excavation of the Epipalaeolithic levels of the cave site Öküzini in southwest Anatolia produced many "nutshell” remains, mainly endocarp fragments belonging either to Prunus or Amygdalus. Morphological comparison with the range of potential species and present geographical distribution made it possible to refine the determination to either of two species of wild almond, Amygdalus orientalis or A. graeca . These plants could grow in the surroundings of the site on rocky slopes or sandy hills and had to be collected during late summer. All wild Amygdalus seeds are toxic, so that their use as food is disputed. This paper explores the detoxification possibilities, nutritional properties and ethnographic analogies for the use of wild almonds. It comes to the conclusion that the seeds probably played a notable role in the diet of the Epipalaeolithic population of southwest Anatolia, complementing meat and other plant food. An examination of further prehistoric "nutshell” finds from Anatolia supports a long and widely distributed tradition of almond us

Plant stores at pottery Neolithic Höyücek, southwest Turkey

Eleven samples comprising an estimated 39,000 plant remains were analysed from a burnt destruction level at the pottery Neolithic site of Höyücek, southwest Turkey (radiocarbon dated 7550-7350 uncalibrated bp, 6400-6100 calibrated BC). Large stores of emmer (Triticum dicoccum), free threshing wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum), lentils (Lens culinaris), bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) were identified and these plants were interpreted as crops. The low levels of weeds and crop processing by-products suggest most of the samples were remains of stores of human food. Two samples in which wild components (for example, Triticum boeticum, Medicago, Aegilops) dominated were interpreted as crop processing by-products, presumably stored for fodder. The presence of these stores in a structure interpreted as having a religious function shows that domestic activities also took place there. Comparison with other Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites of west central Turkey demonstrates a good correspondence in the range of crops. The poor representation of barley at Höyücek doubtless reflects the small number of samples from the sit

Vitis vinifera L.: Wild or cultivated? Study of the grape pips found at Petra, Jordan; 150 B.C

The identification of carbonised grape pips (Vitis vinifera ssp.) is problematic, and the morphological features generally used to distinguish the wild subspeciesV. vinifera ssp.sylvestris from the cultivated subspeciesV. vinifera ssp.vinifera are not satisfactory. Different biometric studies were carried out on Nabataean and Roman seeds found at Petra, Jordan, dated to 150 B.C. - A.D. 400, and the results were compared to known phytogeographical and climatic data. Depending on the identification method selected, the seeds were attributed either to wild grapevines (based on the ratio of breadth over length, and on discriminant analyses of size variables such as pip length, stalk length, and chalaza position), or to an archaic variety of vine with seeds morphologically close to those of wild grapevines (ratio of stalk length over total pip length). The methods used here were applied to European grape pips; they should be tested on Near Eastern material. Archaeological data did not clarify the situation, and the importance of viticulture, which was prohibited during the Nabataean period, remains difficult to evaluate at Petr

Food plant use, temporal changes and site seasonality at Epipalaeolithic Öküzini and Karain B caves, southwest Anatolia, Turkey

At least 18 taxa and "categories " of remains, mainly carbonised, were identified in the analysis of the non-wood plant macro-remains from the multi-phase Epipalaeolithic site of Öküzini (16560 ±180 uncal BP [18200-17400 cal ВС] to 12130 ±100 uncal BP [14400-11800 cal ВС]) and Karain В (ca 15000 uncal BP). The importance of plants in the diet and their role in determining patterns of mobility have been evaluated with quantitative and qualitative data. Nuts (principally Amygdalus, wild almond), fruits (principally Pyrus, wild pear), bulbs, roots or tubers seem to have occupied a particularly important place in these societies during all Epipalaeolithic phases, at the expense of small-seeded plants. The food plants attested in these samples would have provided carbohydrates, lipids and micronutrients, complementing meat in the diet. For the most part they were predictable and easy to gather and process. The almonds, rich in fats, could represent a vital seasonal resource that justified the additional work required for their detoxification. Judging from the seasonality indices of the plants and ungulate fauna at Öküzini, the cave could have been inhabited in all seasons periodically, but particularly in spring and autumn.Au moins 18 taxa et « catégories » de restes, pour la plupart carbonisés, ont été identifiés lors des analyses des macro-restes botaniques (charbons de bois exclus) du site Epipaléolithique multi-phase de Öküzini (16560 ±180 uncal BP [18200-17400 cal ВС] à 12130 ±100 uncal BP [14400-1 1 800 cal ВС]) et Karain В (env. 15000 uncal В P). L'importance et le rôle des plantes - en particulier dans l'alimentation et pour la détermination de la mobilité - ont été évalués à l'aide de données quantitatives et qualitatives. Les noix (principalement Amygdalus, amande sauvage) , fruits (essentiellement Pyrus, poire sauvage), bulbes, racines ou rhizomes semblent avoir occupé une place particulière dans ces sociétés pendant toutes les phases de l'Epipaléolithique, au détriment des plantes à petites graines. Les plantes alimentaires attestées fournissaient des hydrates de carbone, lipides et micronutriments complétant bien l'alimentation carnée et représentaient pour la plupart des ressources prédictibles, faciles à cueillir et à préparer. Les amandes, par leur richesse en graisse, pouvaient représenter une ressource saisonnière vitale, justifiant l 'addition de travail requis pour enlever leur toxicité. Selon les indices de saisonnalité des plantes et de la faune ongulée de Öküzini, la grotte pourrait en toutes saisons avoir été occupée de façon périodique mais plus particulièrement au printemps et en automne.Martinoli Danièle. Food plant use, temporal changes and site seasonality at Epipalaeolithic Öküzini and Karain B caves, southwest Anatolia, Turkey. In: Paléorient, 2004, vol. 30, n°2. pp. 61-80

Vitis vinifera L.: Wild or cultivated? Study of the grape pips found at Petra, Jordan; 150 B.C. – A.D. 40

ISSN:1617-6278ISSN:0939-631

Landscape use and fruit cultivation in Petra (Jordan) from Early Nabataean to Byzantine times (2nd century bc–5th century ad)

Archaeobotanical analyses of charred seeds, fruit and wood charcoal from the residential part of the ez-Zantur area at Petra, Jordan, provide new data on the agricultural economy and use of the landscape in this famous merchant Nabataean city from the middle of the 2nd century bc to the beginning of the 5th century ad. The study is based on analyses of 7,640 whole and fragmented seeds, pips and fruit stones and 624 charcoal fragments sampled from household deposits. The results show that the food supply was based on common Mediterranean cultivated taxa such as cereals (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum/durum), pulses (Lens culinaris) and fruit (Olea europaea, Ficus carica, Vitis vinifera), which were probably cultivated both in the city and its hinterland. The by-products from the processing of cereals and fruit trees played a significant role in fuel supply, supplementing woody wild plants obtained from rocky slopes and the desert valley. The variety of fuel resources shows a major capacity to manage complex supply networks and perhaps the rarity of natural woodland cover. The existence of orchards within the city centre and notably olive groves is indicated in the Early Nabataean period (mid 2nd century to mid 1st century bc) but they expanded during the Classical Nabataean period (mid 1st century bc to 1st century ad), probably reflecting specialised fruit growing. Unusual plant remains such as Prunus armeniaca (apricot), P. persica (peach) and Juglans regia (walnut) are considered to be social indicators of prosperity. These archaeobotanical results fit with others from this region and match with the urbanization and social dynamics of the city of Petra