Ceremonial plant consumption at Middle Bronze Age Büklükale, Kırıkkale Province, central Turkey

A shaft-like room at the Middle Bronze Age site of Büklükale in central Turkey preserved a rich archaeobotanical assemblage of charred and mineralised plant remains, dominated by fruits, spices and nuts mixed with probable bread and wood charcoals. The remains were recovered in association with numerous ceramic vessels, jewellery and exotic artefacts. We combine identification and analysis of the seeds and wood charcoals contained in this deposit with studies of Old Assyrian and Hittite textual records to investigate the circumstances of the assemblage’s formation and its significance for further understanding trade and plant consumption in Bronze Age Anatolia. We present the earliest archaeobotanical example in the region of rare and exotic plant species being consumed in the context of one or more social gatherings, including those possibly linked to ceremonial or ritual events. This offers new insights into the role of plants in the economic and social life of the southwest Asian Bronze Age, as well as the role of commensality and feasting in early states

Comparative studies on the phase stability, electronic structure, and topology of the charge density in the Li3XO4 (X = P, As, V) lithium orthosalt polymorphs

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) were performed to study phase transitions in lithium orthosalts Li3XO4 (X = P, As, V). The equilibrium crystal structure parameters and the total energies of the Li3XO4 polymorphs were calculated for the β- and γ-phases. The relative lattice stabilities of the two polymorphs were examined in the light of various peculiarities at atomic scale. The β-polymorph was systematically found to be the most stable one, agreeing well with experimental results. Using an all electron full potential method, we have investigated densities of states and the topology of charge density through the Bader’s quantum theory of “atoms in molecules” (AIM) along with electrostatic energy density maps in order to evaluate factors governing the stability of each polymorph. Higher stability of the β-polymorph or differences in energy between β- and γ-phases according to the nature of X along with the experimental temperatures of phase transitions can be connected to several microscopic features, including differences in constraint within XO4 tetrahedron or chemical bonding characteristics. This new approach can be applied to other phase stability studies, including the family of Li2MSiO4, which is of great interest for cathode materials in lithium batteries