Description: The discovery of the Nuragic culture settlement of Sa Osa, Cabras-Oristano, Sardinia, has made it possible to investigate the domestication status of waterlogged uncharred grape pips that were recovered from three wells dating from the Middle and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1350–1150 bc ). Applying the stepwise linear discriminant analysis method, a morphological comparison of archaeological seeds and modern wild and cultivated Sardinian grapes pips was performed to determine the similarities between them. The results showed that the archaeological seeds from the Middle Bronze Age have intermediate morphological traits between modern wild and cultivated grape pips from Sardinia. In contrast, the analyses performed on the archaeological seeds from the Late Bronze Age showed a high degree of similarity with the modern cultivars in Sardinia. These results provide the first evidence of primitive cultivated Vitis vinifera in Sardinia during the Late Bronze Age (1286–1115 cal bc , 2σ). This evidence may support the hypothesis that Sardinia could have been a secondary domestication centre of the grapevine, due to the presence of ancient cultivars that still exhibit the phenotypic characteristics of wild grapes.

Description: The identification of wheat grains to the species level is problematic in many archaeobotanical samples, yet this is key to better understanding wheat phylogeny and agricultural trajectories. This study was conducted to see if the pronounced differences in kernel texture (grain hardness) which exist among einkorn (very soft), emmer/durum (very hard), and bread wheat/spelt (soft) would manifest themselves after charring (carbonization). Grains of these three species were either broken and then charred, or charred and then broken (charring at 250, 270 and 400 °C). All specimens were then examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy. At 250 °C, grains broken before charring showed distension across the broken exposed endosperm surface. In the two soft wheats ( Triticum monococcum , T. spelta ; einkorn and spelt), starch granules were still evident, whereas in T. dicoccum , emmer, the fracture surface was nearly smooth. When charring occurred before breaking, a flat fracture face resulted. At 270 °C, distension increased for grains broken before charring whereas in those broken after charring, the fracture plane was again perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and was present as an open sponge-like topography. At 400 °C, distension was pronounced and represented “puffing” in grains that were broken before charring. Those that were charred and then broken produced a markedly open porous structure, but again with aspects of an angular fracture plane. In conclusion, several morphological features related to grain hardness, and therefore ploidy and genus were present at the lower charring temperatures. These differences largely disappeared at 400 °C. Characteristics of the carbonized grains provide some diagnostic features as to possible food processing or damage during recovery.

Description: Sandberg-Roseldorf—one of the largest known lowland La Tène settlements in central Europe—is located in a very fertile area favouring cereal cultivation. The site is remarkable for its temple districts and its possible religious significance. A total of 27,252 charred plant remains have been analysed from Temple District 1 and a section of the settlement area, including a burnt granary. Altogether 14 crop plant species have been identified, some of them pointing to contacts with the Mediterranean. The 136 recorded wild plant taxa originate from major habitat types around the settlement, including arable fields, ruderal sites, steppe grassland on loess, dry grassland on acidic soils, mesic grassland on moist valley bottoms, as well as woods and forest steppe complexes. Land use seems to have been quite intensive around Roseldorf. Palaeoeconomic calculations show that the exceptionally rich agrarian environment could have easily supported a sizeable human population, only parts of which had to devote themselves to food production. Ritual contexts yielded rich and some exceptional plant material.

Description: This paper presents the results of plant macro-remain and charcoal analyses from a fortified settlement of the Sintashta archaeological culture in the southern Trans-Urals, Russia. The work was carried out within the scope of a German/Russian research project and represents the first systematic studies on Bronze Age plant material in the region. Previous archaeological and archaeozoological investigations have revealed that the Sintashta economy was mainly based on livestock herding of cattle, small cattle and horses. There is additional evidence for fishing as well as some copper metallurgy, while the role of agriculture is still being discussed. Archaeobotanical studies therefore focused on the question whether the Bronze Age settlers cultivated, processed or stored crop plants. All cultural layers and important settlement features were systematically sampled, wet-sieved and subjected to plant macro-remain analysis. Anthracological (charcoal) samples were taken from burnt structures and charcoal concentrations. As no evidence for either cultivated plants or agricultural practices was found in the settlement, it can be concluded that farming was not practised at Kamennyi Ambar, and that the Sintashta economy was exclusively based on animal husbandry and fishing in that steppe region. The charred plant remains found in the settlement represent a broad spectrum of wild plants which can be attributed to vegetation units like small woodlands, steppe, ruderal steppe, meadow steppe and the riparian zone. As supported by palynological studies, Bronze Age vegetation patterns are largely comparable with those of the modern steppe environment. Since some of the recorded taxa have the potential to serve as food, fodder or for craft purposes, the use of wild plants at Kamennyi Ambar must be considered. The charcoal analysis reveals the dominance of Pinus sylvestris and Betula sp., representing a typical tree taxa spectrum from the steppe region during the Bronze Age as well as present times. It can be concluded that wood was readily available for construction material and fuel.

Description: The Bronze Age in Britain was a time of major social and cultural changes, reflected in the division of the landscape into field systems and the establishment of new belief systems and ritual practices. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain these changes, and assessment of many of them is dependent on the availability of detailed palaeoenvironmental data from the sites concerned. This paper explores the development of a later prehistoric landscape in Orkney, where a Bronze Age field system and an apparently ritually-deposited late Bronze Age axe head are located in an area of deep blanket peat from which high-resolution palaeoenvironmental sequences have been recovered. There is no indication that the field system was constructed to facilitate agricultural intensification, and it more likely reflects a cultural response to social fragmentation associated with a more dispersed settlement pattern. There is evidence for wetter conditions during the later Bronze Age, and the apparent votive deposit may reflect the efforts of the local population to maintain community integrity during a time of perceptible environmental change leading to loss of farmland. The study emphasises the advantages of close integration of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data for interpretation of prehistoric human activity. The palaeoenvironmental data also provide further evidence for the complexity of prehistoric woodland communities in Orkney, hinting at greater diversity than is often assumed. Additionally, differing dates for woodland decline in the two sequences highlight the dangers of over-extrapolation from trends observed in a single pollen profile, even at a very local scale.

Description: Collection of climatic, environmental and archaeological data from the remote southern oceanic island of Rapa Nui is a continuous process. There are many enigmas, such as the unique Moai statuary and sparsity of vegetation. Pollen studies concluded that the pre-human island Rapa Nui was dominated by a now extinct palm, Paschalococos disperta . The phytolith research reported here has identified the presence through time of other palm species. Plant biogenic silica phytolith microfossils were extracted from Rano Kau core sediments, a nearby ahu and pan-Pacific palm material for reference purposes. A palm phytolith classification was constructed from the many micrographs produced and all extracted sediment and palm phytoliths were classified and compared visually with each other. Six palm species were identified. Robust identification of these, now extinct on Rapa Nui, palms by phytolith analysis has shown them to belong to extant palm species occurring on Pacific islands in a north-west arc from Rapa Nui and on mainland South America. Data on the current habitats of these palms, when applied to Rapa Nui, has the potential to add to the vegetation and environmental history data base of the island.

Description: Unlike southern Spain, northern Morocco has been little investigated for palaeoecological purposes. Consequently, the origin and history of the Rifan vegetation is largely unknown, as well as the past role of human activities. A review of the Plio-Pleistocene fossil data available from North Africa clearly reveals the ancient origin of much of the present-day flora and vegetation structures of the region. A well-dated pollen record covering the last 5,000 years, obtained from a fen, is compared to previous regional pollen data in order to understand the late-Holocene vegetation dynamics and the influence of anthropogenic disturbances. Modern pollen spectra have allowed the calibration of pollen diversity and evenness as indicators of tree-cover density. The results obtained show the long-term persistence of regional forests until the onset of Arab Sharifian dynasties in the 16th century, with a surprising lack of human impact during the late Neolithic, and little impact during Roman colonisation. The increasing density of deciduous forests recorded from 3,800 to 1,900 cal  bp , concomitant with the expansion of cedar in the Middle Atlas, could reveal the onset of widespread cooler and moister climatic conditions. The weak and late human impact in the Rifan mountains explains, at least in part, their high diversity and the conservation of their forest ecosystems. Anthropogenic activities however have led to severe modification of the understorey structure of these forests during the four last centuries, and to the worrying on-going deforestation that presently threatens the survival of this invaluable biological heritage.