Benefits and weaknesses of radiocarbon dating of plant material as reflected by Neolithic archaeological sites from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary

Radiocarbon dating of the plant material is important for chronology of archaeological sites. Therefore, a selection of suitable plant samples is an important task. The contribution emphasizes the necessity of taxonomical identification prior to radiocarbon dating as a crucial element of such selection. The benefits and weaknesses of dating of taxonomically undetermined and identified sam-ples will be analysed based on several case studies referring to Neolithic sites from Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. These examples better illustrate the significance of the taxonomical identification since plant materials of the Neolithic age include only a limited number of cultivated species (e.g. hulled wheats) and typically do not contain remains of late arrived plants (e.g. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica). For more accurate dating results cereal grains, fruits and seeds, which reflect a single vege-tative season, are preferred. Among charred wood, fragments of twigs, branches and external rings should mainly be taken into account, while those of trunks belonging to long-lived trees should be avoided. Besides the absolute chronology of archaeological features and artefacts, radiocarbon dating of identified plant remains might significantly contribute to the history of local vegetation and food production systems

Plants of the Funnel Beaker culture in Poland

Neolithic communities appeared in Polish territories around the mid-6th millennium BC. However, until the beginning of the 4th millennium BC, they inhabited only small enclaves. This situation changed within the first half of the 4th millennium BC, when the most of the Polish territories became settled by Neolithic groups attributed to the Funnel Beaker culture (TRB). There is a fairly large amount of data on plants cultivated by TRB people. Based on this, one can conclude that mainly Triticum dicoccon, T. monococcum and Hordeum vulgare were grown. T. dicoccon and T. monococcum could be sown together. It should be noted that large amounts of weeds typical of cereal fields have been recorded. It is much more difficult to determine the economic importance of other cultivars because of their low numbers. Nevertheless, the TRB inventories contain remains of Pisum sativum, Lens culinaris, Linum usitatissimum and Papaver somniferum

Cultivated plants in medieval Kraków (Poland), with special reference to amaranth (Amaranthus lividus L. cf. var lividus) and ruderal communities

This paper summarises archaeobotanical studies of plant macroremains derived from medieval town deposits of Kraków, focusing on cultivated plants. Correspondence analysis was used in interpreting the botanical data and their archaeological context. Changes in cultivated plant composition were connected mainly with the chartering of the town under Magdeburg law in 1257, and are discussed in terms of their temporal relation to the chartering of Kraków and possible changes in the food preferences and wealth of the residents. Millet and wheat remains are rarer in specimens from after the establishment of the town; this seems connected mainly with the relocation of the mills outside the city walls. The number of cultivated plants generally increased in the late medieval samples, but hop and mallow were more frequent in the tribal period than later. Problems in the definition of cultivated plants are discussed. The probable escape of cultivated amaranth (Amaranthus lividus L. var. lividus) from gardens to ruderal communities is indicated in the samples. A comparison of archaeobotanical data from written sources shows the incompleteness of both types of source, including the clear underrepresentation of some cultivated plants in the archaeological deposits of the town (especially peas, Pisum sativum), a deficiency which should be considered in other archaeobotanical and palaeodietary studies

Plant macrofossils from the site of Tell Arbid, Northeast Syria (3rd–2nd millennium BC). Preliminary report

The paper presents preliminary results of an analysis of 51 samples of plant macrofossils coming from various archaeological contexts from the site of Tell Arbid in Northeast Syria. The contexts were dated mainly to the 3rd millennium BC (EJI–EJV) with a few being of 2nd millennium BC date (Khabur Ware and Mitanni periods). Cultivated plants were represented by cereals and pulses. The cultivation of at least three cereal species is documented, including a hulled variety of two-rowed barley, glumed einkorn and/or emmer wheat, and a species of naked wheat, probably macaroni wheat. Vegetables included lentil, bitter vetch, grass pea, and garden pea. Plants from the Ninevite 5 period (EJI–EJII) and their significance in the Tell Arbid economy are discussed in greater detail owing to the highest number of samples studied

Zapałowicz’s Conspectus florae Galiciae criticus: Clarification of publication dates for nomenclatural purposes and bibliographic notes

Work on the catalogue of type specimens of vascular plants deposited in the KRAM herbarium has highlighted uncertainties and errors in references to place of valid publication of numerous taxa described by Hugo Zapałowicz in his Conspectus florae Galiciae criticus – Krytyczny przegląd roślinności Galicyi (1904–1914). Zapałowicz published his work in an excerpt series, a serial publication and a multi-volume book, with much duplication amongst these three different forms. Despite the importance of this work, no studies have clarified the dates of publication of its various parts, as relevant to the nomenclature of numerous new taxa of Central European vascular plants described therein: 94 species and hybrids, 10 subspecies and more than 2000 other infraspecific taxa. Here, the publication dates of the component parts of Zapałowicz’s work are clarified and discussed. Archival sources that made it possible to determine publication dates of these works are described in detail

The use and economic value of manna grass (Glyceria) in Poland from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century

Manna grass (mainly but not exclusively G. fluitans) used to be widely gathered in most lowland areas of the present territory of Poland and western and southern Belarus. It had an important function as a component of tribute paid to local landowners by villagers, which led to the persistence of manna gathering even when this was not sustainable for peasants themselves. Manna grass was always an expensive food due to its time consuming gathering, but appreciated for its sweet taste and often served as dessert. In the nineteenth century marshes shrank significantly and the payment of tribute disappeared from the local economy, which gradually led to the total abandonment of Glyceria use around 1914. This article provides a detailed overview of Glyceria use as food within the borders of the former Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom (now Poland, Lithuania, western Belarus and western Ukraine) based on archaeobotanical, historical and ethnographic sources. The evidence for the continued use of manna since at least medieval times is abundant in historical accounts and ethnographic studies, but little has been reported in archaeobotanical findings due to the relatively small amounts of Glyceria consumed

Plant macroremains from an early Neolithic site in eastern Kuyavia, central Poland

The study examined plant remains from the Smólsk 2/10 site, situated on the border of two different landscapes and preserving traces of Neolithic occupation from several cultures: Early Linear Pottery culture (LBK, ca 5300-5200 cal. BC to ca 5000 cal. BC). Stroke Band Pottery culture (SBP, ca 4700-4400 cal. BC), the Brześć Kujawski group of Lengyel culture (BKG, ca 4500-4000/3900 cal. BC), Funnel Beaker culture (TRB, ca 3950-3380 BC), and also some features of the Lusatian culture (Hallstatt C, ca 970-790 cal. BC)