The archaeobotany of Neolithic and Bronze Age Crete: synthesis and prospects

This paper explores the full potential of archaeobotanical research in the investigation of issues such as agricultural practices and resource management and mobilisation in shaping the social dynamics of Neolithic and Bronze Age Crete, through a synthesis for the first time of all available archaeobotanical information to date. To this body of data new information is added from six sites: Kephala Petras, Pryniatikos Pyrgos, Aghia Fotia, Knossos Little Palace North, Sissi and Zominthos. A comprehensive methodology is devised using three units of analysis to allow an in-depth study, firstly of the quality of the available dataset and secondly of its content. A total of 80 archaeobotanical records, compiled in one database, are examined in the light of the methods employed for their sampling, recovery and processing. The reliability of the current dataset is assessed, highlighting shortcomings; methodological issues are addressed to improve its quality. These records are then analysed according to their temporal, spatial and contextual distribution across the island. A synthesis of the full resource base, including cereals, legumes, fruits, nuts, condiments and wild species, is conducted, providing a contextualised picture of their availability and use, and identifying lacunae and interpretational potential. On these bases a research agenda is set and future research priorities and new approaches are suggested that place archaeobotany in the core of current archaeological discourse on social models, practices and meanings for prehistoric Crete

An archaeobotanical study of Alepotrypa Cave

This presentation is centred in the study of the few samples of archaeobotanical material which have beenstudied from the Neolithic Cave site of Alepotrypa in 1980. There is a need to incorporate this materialin the up-to-date archaeobotanical debate, which has come to light in Alepotrypa itself, as seen in therecent monograph (Margaritis 2018), but, further, a dialogue which would include the Peloponnese butalso beyond it

An archaeobotanical study of Alepotrypa Cave

This presentation is centred in the study of the few samples of archaeobotanical material which have beenstudied from the Neolithic Cave site of Alepotrypa in 1980. There is a need to incorporate this materialin the up-to-date archaeobotanical debate, which has come to light in Alepotrypa itself, as seen in therecent monograph (Margaritis 2018), but, further, a dialogue which would include the Peloponnese butalso beyond it

The Archaeology of Garlic (Allium Sativum)

Recent finds of garlic from Late Bronze Age Akrotiri, Thera have led to research related to the historical, economic and social aspects of its use in the archaeological narrative. Garlic is an important domesticated plant in our lore, medicine, mythology, cooking, and ethnography, and is now ubiquitous in everyday use. Previously, we knew of its importance in historical periods, especially since Roman times, when its use extended to all of Europe and beyond. Archaeobotanical investigations have extended the prehistoric and historical knowledge of this crop, providing some evidence as to how it was regarded, what were its possible uses and its changing status, diachronically. Here, therefore, it is an attempt to provide an overview of the related archaeological finds and, briefly, its references in ancient texts

Geometric morphometric analysis of grain shape and the identification of two-rowed barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp distichum L.) in southern France

Open Access funded by Natural Environment Research Council Under a Creative Commons license We would like to thank Michel Lemoine (CNRS, Muséum), for his invaluable help during the carbonization of the fresh caryopses. We are also most grateful to the society Secobra for providing the fresh caryopses used in this study, to Raphaël Cornette (UMR7205) for welcoming us into the morphometric platform of the National Museum of Paris, to prof. Jean- Frédéric Terral (University Montpellier 2) for his advice and to Elizabeth Kerr (UMR7209) and Nelly Gidaszewski (UMR7205) for language editing. A. Evin acknowledges financial support from the Natural Environment Research Council, UK (grant number NE/F003382/1). Finally, we would like to thank the UMR7209 (CNRS-MNHN), for financial support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Radio- and nano-chemistry of aqueous Ga(iii) ions anchored onto graphene oxide-modified complexes

The gallium-68 radiolabelling of new functional graphene oxide composites is reported herein along with kinetic stability investigations of the radio-nanohybrids under different environments and insights into their surface characteristics by SEM and XPS. The present work highlights the potential of graphene oxides as nanocarriers for small molecules such as bis(thiosemicarbazonato) complexes to act as multifunctional platforms for rapid and effective radioimaging agent incorporation