Author:

Keywords:

Mesolithic, Neolithic, archaeobotany, wood charcoals, vegetation history, 2101 Archaeology

Abstract:

The archaeobotanical datasets (seed/fruit and wood charcoal) from one Mesolithic and two Early Neolithic sites in south-east Europe, located in the Mid-Lower Danube catchment, are presented and discussed in relation to the available archaeobotanical and palaeoenvironmental data from the region.The taxa represented in the macro-botanical assemblages are interpreted in terms of land use and exploitation of wild plant resources, and are considered as indirect evidence of the vegetation around the sites. The macro botanical evidence, comprising mainly plant parts more likely to be preserved – i. e. fruit stone (hard endocarp) and nutshell (hard pericarp) – indicates that the main collected taxa were Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), hazel (Corylus avellana) and elder (Sambucus sp.). The anthracological record suggests that the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic population had access to and made use of open woodland (wooded steppe), oak forests, and riparian vegetation. The composition of the assemblages from different sites the research area and through the period considered (7500–5500 cal BC)