Vegetation History and Archaeobotany最新文献

Drawing on archaeobotanical evidence from the central regions of Central Asia, we explore crop diffusion during the first millennium ce. We present a comprehensive summary of archaeobotanical data retrieved from this region dating to this period in order to better understand cultural drivers pushing agricultural intensification and crop diversification. We use these data to evaluate the applicability of Watson's concept of a Medieval Green Revolution. Despite ecological limits to cultivation of most of Watson's crops in much of Central Asia, some of these crops, particularly Gossypium arboretum/herbaceum (cotton) and Oryza sativa (rice), are prominent in the region today. In both cases there is now good archaeobotanical evidence showing that they were cultivated prior to the Islamic conquests in Central Asia. Moreover, the occurrence of several crops - Solanum melongena (eggplant), Ficus carica (fig), Morus alba/nigra (mulberry), and two spices - Rhus coriaria (sumac) and Coriandrum sativum (coriander) - have first been observed in phases dated to the 19th century ce. There is reason to believe that elaborate irrigation systems and seasonal rotation cycles were already in place in this region prior to the development of a centralized Arabic and Islamic government and are likely tied to urbanization in the first half of the first millennium ce. We suggest that most of the trappings of Watson's model were present prior to this, but, as Watson's thesis is multifaceted their presence alone does not nullify the model. Additionally, the ecological and cultural diversity of Central Asia means that a proper evaluation of Watson's model requires a regionally specific examination.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00334-023-00924-2.

The Canary Islands were settled ca. 1,800 years ago by Amazigh/Berber farming populations originating in North Africa. This historical event represents the last and westernmost expansion of the Mediterranean farming package in Antiquity, and investigating it yields information about crop dispersal along the periphery of the Mediterranean world around the turn of the first millennium ce. The current study focuses on archaeobotanical evidence recorded in a series of pre-Hispanic/Amazigh sites of the Canary Islands (ca. 2nd-15th centuries ce). It offers new, unpublished archaeobotanical findings and direct radiocarbon datings of plant remains from the different islands. The general goal is to gain a better grasp of how the first settlers of the Canary Islands adapted their farming activities to the different natural conditions of each island. The results suggest a shared crop 'package' throughout the islands since at least the 3rd-5th centuries ce. This set of plants was likely introduced from north-western Africa and consists of Hordeum vulgare (hulled barley), Triticum durum (durum wheat), Lens culinaris (lentil), Vicia faba (broad bean), Pisum sativum (pea), and Ficus carica (fig). The crop 'package' probably arrived in a single episode during the initial colonisation and was not followed by any other plants. Subsequent to the initial settling and until the arrival of the European seafarers, the islands remained isolated from each other and from the outside world, a condition that over time led to a decline in crop diversity in all of the islands except Gran Canaria.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00334-023-00920-6.

This paper aims to provide a robust regional synthesis of crop diffusion in the southern Levant, with the objective of ascertaining the significance of 1st millennium ce introductions, including those associated with Roman Agricultural Diffusion (RAD) and the Islamic Green Revolution (IGR). It does so by integrating published archaeobotanical data and written evidence from multiple periods to identify the earliest attestations of crop taxa. We present the earliest evidence for 80 crops in the region from the Neolithic until the Late Medieval period, focusing on 'the long 1st millennium ce'. We will not only consider first finds, but also, where possible, the qualitative evidence for adoption and entrenchment of these crop plants in this region. Our findings indicate that RAD crops are numerically more significant than IGR crops, although the difference is greater in the archaeobotanical record compared with the textual evidence. Nearly half of the surveyed crops for which we have reliable data were introduced to the southern Levant in the 1st millennium ce, indicating the unprecedented extent of crop introductions during this period.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00334-025-01060-9.

The R package CropPro is an open-access resource to classify archaeobotanical samples as products and by-products of different stages of the crop processing sequence for large-seeded cereal and pulse crops in south west Asia, Europe and other Mediterranean regions. It builds on ethnographic research and analysis conducted by Jones (Plants and ancient man: studies in palaeoethnobotany. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 43-61, 1984), (J Archaeol Sci 14:311-323, 1987), (Circaea 6:91-96, 1990) and a modified method by Charles (Environ Archaeol 1:111-122, 1998). CropPro provides functions, which allow users to construct triplots, to conduct discriminant analysis comparing archaeobotanical samples with ethnographic crop processing stages and to plot the discriminant analysis results. This paper provides two worked examples of the use of CropPro: the early medieval site of Stafford in the UK and the Bronze Age site of Tell Brak in Syria. These examples illustrate the use of the package for identifying crop-processing stages, and for assessing the relevance of taphonomic pathways other than crop processing.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00334-024-01006-7.