The search for a needle in a haystack – New studies on plant use during the Mesolithic in southwest Central Europe

•The results of the archaeobotanical analysis of two rock shelters with Mesolithic occupation layers in NE-France and SW-Switzerland add to the broader framework of archaeobotanical research on Mesolithic sites in Central Europe.•A method allowing the extraction of much larger amounts of charred mat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of archaeological science, reports reports, 2022-02, Vol.41, p.103308, Article 103308
Main Authors: Jacomet, Stefanie, Vandorpe, Patricia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alsace
Archaeobotany
Archaeological parenchyma
C14 AMS dating
France
Hunter-gatherer sites
Mesolithic
Methodology
Rock shelter
Seeds & fruits
SW-Swiss Plateau
Switzerland
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•The results of the archaeobotanical analysis of two rock shelters with Mesolithic occupation layers in NE-France and SW-Switzerland add to the broader framework of archaeobotanical research on Mesolithic sites in Central Europe.•A method allowing the extraction of much larger amounts of charred material from archaeological deposits than usual is described.•Existence of Mesolithic agriculture is a subject of debate and can only be proven through findings of plant macro remains, i.e. cereal remains in Mesolithic contexts.•AMS-dating of ‘Mesolithic’ cereal remains is necessary.•Plants were used for food at a regularly basis in Mesolithic times. The existence of Mesolithic agriculture is a subject of debate in the archaeobotanist community. So far, reliable and AMS-dated on-site evidence of cereal macro remains are lacking to support the hypothesis. Archaeobotanical analysis of two rock shelters with Mesolithic occupation layers in NE-France and SW-Switzerland, namely Lutter, Abri St. Joseph (FR) and Arconciel, La Souche (CH), revealed the presence of cereal remains within the Mesolithic deposits. They gave rise to a possible answer to the question, however direct dating of the individual cereal grains revealed their intrusive nature in the older deposits. The main aim of this paper is to place the newly acquired data from both sites in the broader framework of archaeobotanical research on Mesolithic sites in Central Europe with a special focus on methodological and taphonomic issues often encountered at such sites.
ISSN:2352-409X
DOI:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103308