The hard knock life. Archaeobotanical data on farming practices during the Neolithic (5400–2300 cal BC) in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula
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Highlights
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- Over 100,000 plant macroremains from 17 sites were added to the available dataset.
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- The geographical and chronological distribution of the crop spectra are observed.
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- Different groups participating in the spread of farming in the region are proposed.
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- The weed spectra shows that permanent fields were kept during the Neolithic.
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- Farming practices were more intensive and effort-demanding than previously thought for the region.
Abstract
The
archaeobotanical (seeds and fruits) dataset of the northeast of the
Iberian Peninsula for the Neolithic period is presented and discussed in
this paper in order to approach how early farmers produced their crops
and how farming spread in the region. Ten crop plants were identified,
including cereals (Triticum aestivum/durum/turgidum L., Triticum dicoccum Schübl., Triticum monococcum L., Hordeum vulgare L./distichon L. and Hordeum vulgare var. nudum), legumes (Vicia faba L., Lens culinaris Medik. and Pisum sativum L.) as well as oil plants (Linum usitatissimum L. and Papaver somniferum
L.). Two different traditions were observed by looking at the crop
assemblages of the early Neolithic (5400–4500 cal BC). It is proposed
that one group of farmers settled in the northeastern area of the region
and chose to grow free-threshing cereals, especially naked wheat, while
a second group settled in the central Catalan coast and along the
Llobregat river and included glume wheats as important crops. These
different patterns seem to survive during the middle Neolithic period,
when naked barley becomes the main crop at some sites, maybe due to
contacts with northern groups. The late Neolithic seems to translate
into further changes but more investigations are needed. The weed
assemblages available are meagre but the lack of indicators for shifting
agriculture allowed confirming that crops were sown in permanent
fields. It is concluded that early Neolithic settlements must have been
more sedentary and farming practices more effort-demanding than
previously thought.
Keywords
- Prehistoric agriculture;
- Crop;
- Weed;
- Early farmers;
- Taphonomy
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