Abstract:Along with ceramics production, sedentism, and herding, agriculture is a major component of the Neolithic as it is defined in Europe. Therefore, the agricultural system of the first Neolithic societies and the dispersal of exogenous cultivated plants to Europe are the subject of many scientific studies. To work on these issues, archaeobotanists rely on residual plant remains—crop seeds, weeds, and wild plants—from archaeological structures like detritic pits, and, less often, storage contexts. To date, no plan… Show more
“…The Neolithic diffusion of domestic plants and animals across Europe from the seventh to the fourth millennia BC involved the reshaping of agropastoral systems in keeping with local constraints and resources, leading to the adaptation of practices as well as changes in animal and plant physiology (Balasse and Tresset, 2009;Bogaard et al, 2013;Marinova and Valamoti, 2014;Orton et al, 2016;Balasse et al, 2017;Salavert, 2017;Ivanova et al, 2018). In particular, the dispersal of plants and animals initially domesticated in south-eastern Anatolia towards higher latitudes led to selection in the photoperiod responsive biological cycles of imported domesticates.…”
During the course of the diffusion of Neolithic agropastoral societies across Europe, animal husbandry was adapted to local constraints and resources, involving changes in practices, as well as in animal physiology. As a result, the timing of animal breeding was impacted, with consequences on the organization of agro-pastoral tasks and the seasonal availability of animal productions. Past sheep birth seasonality can be investigated through the reconstruction of the seasonal cycle recorded in molars, based on the sequential analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios (δ 18 O) in enamel. Modern sheep serve as comparative material to define the season of birth. In the present study, we provide new reference values for winter births in the sheep third molar (M3) using data from the modern Kemenez sheep herd. The dataset also includes paired upper and lower M3s in order to test the comparability of results obtained from both teeth. Results show a moderate shift in the isotopic record between upper and lower M3s. The consecutive difference in the assessment of the timing of birth is one month, on average. Additionally, we provide a new set of results for sheep from Nova Nadezhda (Bulgaria, early sixth millennium BC), combining upper and lower molars, in order to expand data relating to the earliest stages of the introduction of sheep to Europe. At Nova Nadezhda, sheep were born in late winter and spring, and the pattern of birth distribution does not indicate the control of sheep reproduction by separating males from females. When compared to previously published results at other Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in the Balkans, corrected for the shift between upper and lower M3s, no latitudinal and chronological trend is observed between the Southern Balkans, Northern Balkans and Hungarian plains over the early sixth to the second half of the fifth millennia BC. This apparent uniformity for the length (3-4 months) and timing of the birth period could be challenged in the future by enlarged datasets.
“…The Neolithic diffusion of domestic plants and animals across Europe from the seventh to the fourth millennia BC involved the reshaping of agropastoral systems in keeping with local constraints and resources, leading to the adaptation of practices as well as changes in animal and plant physiology (Balasse and Tresset, 2009;Bogaard et al, 2013;Marinova and Valamoti, 2014;Orton et al, 2016;Balasse et al, 2017;Salavert, 2017;Ivanova et al, 2018). In particular, the dispersal of plants and animals initially domesticated in south-eastern Anatolia towards higher latitudes led to selection in the photoperiod responsive biological cycles of imported domesticates.…”
During the course of the diffusion of Neolithic agropastoral societies across Europe, animal husbandry was adapted to local constraints and resources, involving changes in practices, as well as in animal physiology. As a result, the timing of animal breeding was impacted, with consequences on the organization of agro-pastoral tasks and the seasonal availability of animal productions. Past sheep birth seasonality can be investigated through the reconstruction of the seasonal cycle recorded in molars, based on the sequential analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios (δ 18 O) in enamel. Modern sheep serve as comparative material to define the season of birth. In the present study, we provide new reference values for winter births in the sheep third molar (M3) using data from the modern Kemenez sheep herd. The dataset also includes paired upper and lower M3s in order to test the comparability of results obtained from both teeth. Results show a moderate shift in the isotopic record between upper and lower M3s. The consecutive difference in the assessment of the timing of birth is one month, on average. Additionally, we provide a new set of results for sheep from Nova Nadezhda (Bulgaria, early sixth millennium BC), combining upper and lower molars, in order to expand data relating to the earliest stages of the introduction of sheep to Europe. At Nova Nadezhda, sheep were born in late winter and spring, and the pattern of birth distribution does not indicate the control of sheep reproduction by separating males from females. When compared to previously published results at other Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in the Balkans, corrected for the shift between upper and lower M3s, no latitudinal and chronological trend is observed between the Southern Balkans, Northern Balkans and Hungarian plains over the early sixth to the second half of the fifth millennia BC. This apparent uniformity for the length (3-4 months) and timing of the birth period could be challenged in the future by enlarged datasets.
“…The best argued hypothesis is that the opium poppy could be the only crop to have been domesticated in western Europe, given that 50 Early Neolithic sites (5900-4700 cal BCE, Fig. 1A2, see Supplementary Information S1, all calibrated radiocarbon dates are given with a 2-sigma range) with at least one opium poppy seed have been recorded through archaeobotanical literature 10,11,[18][19][20][21] . The two earliest attestations are located in the Mediterranean, where eight sites, dated between ca.…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…To date, there are no recorded remains from sites attributed to the earliest LBK period (LBK I), ca. 5600-5300 cal BCE in central Europe 18,26 . In this cultural complex, the earliest attestations are the charred seeds discovered in structures dated to the Flomborn phase from ca.…”
This paper aims to define the first chrono-cultural framework on the domestication and early diffusion of the opium poppy using small-sized botanical remains from archaeological sites, opening the way to directly date minute short-lived botanical samples. We produced the initial set of radiocarbon dates directly from the opium poppy remains of eleven Neolithic sites (5900–3500 cal BCE) in the central and western Mediterranean, northwestern temperate Europe, and the western Alps. When possible, we also dated the macrobotanical remains originating from the same sediment sample. In total, 22 samples were taken into account, including 12 dates directly obtained from opium poppy remains. The radiocarbon chronology ranges from 5622 to 4050 cal BCE. The results show that opium poppy is present from at least the middle of the sixth millennium in the Mediterranean, where it possibly grew naturally and was cultivated by pioneer Neolithic communities. Its dispersal outside of its native area was early, being found west of the Rhine in 5300–5200 cal BCE. It was introduced to the western Alps around 5000–4800 cal BCE, becoming widespread from the second half of the fifth millennium. This research evidences different rhythms in the introduction of opium poppy in western Europe.
“…Why was it so rapidly adopted by Early Neolithic farmers in the north of continental Europe and the Alps at the end of the sixth millennium BC? Opium poppies do not seem to have followed the same dispersal trajectories as the cereals and pulses that accompanied the first farmers from the Near East to Western Europe, where the earliest finds of poppies, dating from 5300 BC onwards, are concentrated (Salavert 2010, 2017; Antolín et al . 2015).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…2015). The opium poppy, therefore, may be the only plant whose domestication process began in Neolithic Europe.Figure 2Chronological framework of cultivated plant dispersal during the Neolithic and the first evidence for the opium poppy in Western Europe (modified from Salavert 2017). …”
A new project aims to define the origins and dispersal patterns of the opium poppy in Neolithic Western Europe through a comprehensive programme of radiocarbon dating.
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