Archaeobotanical investigations at the pile-dwelling site Stare gmajne, dated on the basis of wood investigations

Anton Velušček and Tjaša Tolar and Katarina Čufar (2012) Archaeobotanical investigations at the pile-dwelling site Stare gmajne, dated on the basis of wood investigations. Les=Wood: revija o lesu in pohištvu, 64 (5). pp. 106-115. ISSN 0024-1067

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Abstract

We investigated 932 samples of wood from the prehistoric pile-dwelling site Stare gmajne at Ljubljansko barje. With the help of dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating and wiggle matching method we established that the dwelling was settled in two periods from approximately 3350 until 3330, and from 3160 until 3110 cal. BC. We introduced an archaeobotanical method which is widely used in other European laboratories and identified macrobotanical remains (seeds and fruits) from both settlement periods. Most important cultural plants were: einkorn, emmer, barley, opium poppy, flax and peas. Most frequent gathered plants were: apples, pears, strawberries, blackberries, bladder cherries, cornelian cherries, hawthorns, blackthorns, grapes, dog-rose berries and nuts (acorn, hazel nut and water chestnut). While a widely accepted method was used, we identified for the first time flax and einkorn / emmer wheat on the basis of chaff remains at a Slovenian prehistoric site. We compared plant economy habits between Stare gmajne and some contemporaneous lake dwellings around the Alps; the most important cultivated wheats at Stare gmajne were emmer and einkorn, while at the sites north of the Alps naked wheat was often found. Corenlian cherry, water chestnut, and grape vine were frequent at Stare gmajne, but they were rare or were not found on the sites north of the Alps.

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