Palynology as an important tool for the reconstruction of diet, diseases and folk medicine of the population of the Classical Period settlement Namcheduri II (western Georgia)

Abstract

Layers of the Namcheduri II settlement (Western Georgia) dated from the 5th-4th centuries BC have been studied by the palynological method. It revealed that cereals represented the main component of the population’s diet in the discussed period. The nutritive ratio included chestnut, hazel, walnut, and grapes. The majority of the plants apparently used for medical purposes represent medicinal remedies against rheumatism, arthritis, and diarrhea. Presumably, malaria, diabetes, and epilepsy occurred rarely since the medicinal remedies used against them were poorly evidenced. Plenty of eggs of parasitic worms discovered in the group of non-pollen palynomorphs in some samples and their taxonomic variety indicates at wide spreading of helminthosis in the population in the period under discussion. Eggs of Trichuris trichuira, Ascaris lumbricoides, Capillaria, Enterobius vermicularis, Yokogava fluke were present. The abundance and diversity of eggs of parasitic worms in the obtained material gives grounds for supposition that this part of the settlement was used as a latrine.