Archéobotanique des semences et des fruits de Lattara : bilan des recherches

À travers plusieurs études systématiques concernant la fouille du site de Lattes, les analyses de semences et de fruits archéologiques ont permis de retracer l’évolution de la production, du traitement et de la consommation des végétaux entre la fin du premier âge du Fer et l’époque romaine (fin du vie s. av. J.-C.-iie s. apr. J.-C.). Faisant valoir la richesse et les potentialités exceptionnelles du gisement, ce bilan de la recherche carpologique résume l’ensemble des données disponibles pour aborder les traits fondamentaux de l’alimentation végétale : acquisition ou cueillette, production ou agriculture. Les informations issues des espèces sauvages permettent de restituer les milieux végétaux fréquentés par les Lattarenses durant l’occupation de la ville antique.Through several systematic studies during the excavation of the site of Lattes, seed and fruit analyses made possible the determination of the evolution of plant production, process and consumption between the end of the early Iron Age and the Roman period (late 6th c. B.C.-2nd c. A.D.). This report on carpological research shows the resources and exceptional potentialities of the site. It summarizes the available informations to start on the dominant features of vegetable food, purchase or gathering activities, production or farming, and data taken from wild species allowing to reconstruct the botanical environment in which Lattarenses lived during the occupation of the antique town.Die Ausgrabungen in Lattes boten Gelegenheit Samen und Früchte aus den archäologischen Schichten zu analysieren und so die Entwicklung der Produktion, der Behandlung und des Verzehrs der Pflanzen vom Ende der älteren Eisenzeit bis zur römischen Periode (Ende 6. Jh. v.u.Z.-2. Jh. u.Z.) zurückzuverfolgen. Indem sie den Reichtum und die außergewöhnlichen Möglichkeiten des Fundplatzes geltend macht, fasst diese Bilanz der karpologischen Studien die Gesamtheit der zur Verfügung stehenden Daten zusammen, um die wesentlichen Züge der pflanzlichen Ernährung zur Sprache zu bringen: Erwerb oder Sammeln, Produktion oder Landwirtschaft? Darüber hinaus ermöglichen die Informationen, die sich aus der Untersuchung der Wildpflanzen ergeben, die von den Bewohnern des antiken Lattes frequentierten pflanzlichen Milieus zu rekonstruieren

Gathering and consumption of wild fruits in the East of the Iberian Peninsula from the 3rd to the 1st millennium BC

The multiple archaeobotanical studies from the east Iberian Peninsula from 2800 cal. BC to 200 BC have provided around twenty wild fruit taxa of varying importance. The aim of this work is to present these taxa and analyse the most important wild fruits, some of them being cultivated since the First Iron Age. Considering sites with comparable sampling methods, a quantitative difference is not observed between wild species exploited in the several life zones represented in this synthesis: Thermo-, Meso-, Supra- and Montane-Mediterranean zones. Three taxa are common in the three life zones considered: Quercus sp., Sambucus sp. and Rubus sp. More thermophilic taxa, Ficus carica and Olea europaea, are present in the two lower zones, although their values decrease to the north we go and with height, in contrast to what happens with Vitis vinifera. The exploitation of wild resources as a food supplement, in addition to other uses, developed during the 2600 years with several differences. These differences are explained in part by the plants that grow in each of the territories and in part by the organization of the human groups and the forms of land exploitation. Protohistoric human groups would have exploited nearby resources as in the previous periods, and all data confirm the continuity of this fundamental activity. However, gathering seems to have had a fairly small economic importance when considering the low rates of ubiquity of these plants in contrast to those of staple crops.The participation of Natàlia Alonso in this work was supported by the projects HAR2012-36877 and SGR2014-273

The Emergence of Arboriculture in the 1st Millennium BC along the Mediterranean’s “Far West”

This paper presents the history of the introduction and expansion of arboriculture during the 1st millennium BC from the South of the Iberian Peninsula to the South of France. The earliest evidence of arboriculture at the beginning of the 1st millennium hails from the south of the Iberia from where it spread northward along the peninsula’s eastern edge. The different fruits (grape, olive, fig, almond, pomegranate and apple/pear) arrived together in certain areas in spite of uneven distribution and acceptance by local communities. Grape was the crop with the greatest diffusion. The greater diversity of crops in the southern half of the peninsula is also noteworthy. Their development paved the way for a commercial agricultural model in some territories where fruits and their derivatives, such as wine and oil, played vital roles.This paper is an output of the project FRUITCOM “Un nuevo modelo agrícola: frutales, hierro y comercio durante el I milenio A.E.” (CIDEGENT/2019/003), funded by Generalitat Valenciana. This research also received support from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Movilidad, circulación e intercambio en el llano occidental catalán entre el III y el I milenio ANE, PID2019-110022GB-I00) and from the French National Agency of Research (VINICULTURE project—ANR-16-CE27-0013)

Plant uses and storage in the 5th century BC Etruscan quarter of the city of Lattara, France

An area between land and water was chosen in the 7th century bc by native Gauls and foreign Etruscan and Greek merchants to establish a commercial enclave. Then, in the early 5th century bc, this initial settlement at La Cougourlude with post-built houses on the banks of the small coastal river Lironde was relocated to the margins of a nearby lagoon along the Mediterranean coast, giving rise to the walled port city of Lattara. Archaeological excavations undertaken in the 2000s along the southern wall of Lattara in Quarter 27 revealed three houses which contained almost exclusively Etruscan pottery. The objective of this study is to analyse the archaeobotanical remains from these dwellings so as to identify the plant foods which were consumed and used by their inhabitants, as well as the methods of storage. The question arises whether anything particularly relating to Etruscan origins can be detected from the diet of the inhabitants. To study this aspect we have compared the data collected during the excavation with research undertaken at neighbouring settlements dating from periods either older, contemporary with or younger than Lattara, as well as research undertaken at sites in the Etruscan area of Italy

Gathering and consumption of wild fruits in the East of the Iberian Peninsula from the 3rd to the 1st millennium BC

The multiple archaeobotanical studies from the east Iberian Peninsula from 2800 cal. BC to 200 BC have provided around twenty wild fruit taxa of varying importance. The aim of this work is to present these taxa and analyse the most important wild fruits, some of them being cultivated since the First Iron Age. Considering sites with comparable sampling methods, a quantitative difference is not observed between wild species exploited in the several life zones represented in this synthesis: Thermo-, Meso-, Supra- and Montane-Mediterranean zones. Three taxa are common in the three life zones considered: Quercus sp., Sambucus sp. and Rubus sp. More thermophilic taxa, Ficus carica and Olea europaea, are present in the two lower zones, although their values decrease to the north we go and with height, in contrast to what happens with Vitis vinifera. The exploitation of wild resources as a food supplement, in addition to other uses, developed during the 2600 years with several differences. These differences are explained in part by the plants that grow in each of the territories and in part by the organization of the human groups and the forms of land exploitation. Protohistoric human groups would have exploited nearby resources as in the previous periods, and all data confirm the continuity of this fundamental activity. However, gathering seems to have had a fairly small economic importance when considering the low rates of ubiquity of these plants in contrast to those of staple crops