edoc

Plant economy at a late Neolithic lake dwelling site in Slovenia at the time of the Alpine iceman

Tolar, Tjasa and Jacomet, Stefanie and Veluscek, Anton and Cufar, Katarina. (2011) Plant economy at a late Neolithic lake dwelling site in Slovenia at the time of the Alpine iceman. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 20 (3). pp. 207-222.

[img] PDF
Restricted to Repository staff only

927Kb

Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5842684

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

We present the results of a plant macroremain study of the late Neolithic lakeshore settlement Stare gmajne (SG) at Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia, with cultural horizons that ended around 3330 and 3110 cal. b.c., as obtained by dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating of the most frequent construction timbers of Quercus sp. (oak) and Fraxinus sp. (ash). Fourteen systematically taken samples were investigated, using standard methods for studying waterlogged plant remains, which had been developed during lake dwelling research north of the Alps. Most of the remains were preserved in a waterlogged state, and we identified a total of 93 taxa. The most important cultivated plants were Triticum dicoccum (emmer), Hordeum vulgare (six-rowed naked barley), T. monococcum (einkorn), Linum usitatissimum (flax) and Papaver somniferum (opium poppy). The numerous possibly gathered plants also included Trapa natans (water chestnut) and Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris (wild grapevine). Chenopodium album (goosefoot) and Brassica rapa (turnip) with seeds/fruits rich in oil and starch were probably gathered as well. Comparisons of the Stare gmajne results with contemporary north Alpine sites (NA) showed, among other things, that Triticum durum/turgidum (tetraploid naked wheat), frequent at NA, was not found at SG. Trapa natans (water chestnut) was rare and Vitis (grapevine) was not found at NA. The observed differences in the wild plant spectra may have ecological causes, for example a warmer climate south of the Alps, but differences in cultivar spectra are more likely for cultural-historical reasons.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Ehemalige Einheiten Umweltwissenschaften > Archäobotanik (Jacomet)
UniBasel Contributors:Jacomet, Stefanie
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Springer International
ISSN:0939-6314
e-ISSN:1617-6278
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
Identification Number:
edoc DOI:
Last Modified:03 Oct 2017 12:09
Deposited On:14 Sep 2012 07:08

Repository Staff Only: item control page