Agriculture, gathering, and food processing in the 10th century in central-north Portugal

Abstract

Archaeological excavations at several 10th century villages in the north-central region of Portugal have recovered large numbers of plant macroremains that have been preserved due to fires that affected the sites. The burned remains allow an approach to issues of the agriculture, collection and food consumption carried out by the rural communities that inhabited these sites.This paper presents and discusses the results of the analysis of carpological and anthracological remains. It also discusses some questions of sampling methodology. In fact, different approaches to sample collection greatly affect the results and, consequently, the image that can be built of the consumption and production of food by early medieval rural populations.The results are indicative of communities with a great diversity of cultivation solutions (cereals and legumes) that would be complemented by gathered products such as berries and fruits. The way in which food was stored and processed for consumption can also be detected by other archaeological indicators such as pottery and grinding elements. There is also evidence that points to the cultivation and working of flax. Some weaving elements recovered are thought to have been used to work flax and wool.

PRATA, Sara; CUESTA-GÓMEZ, Fabián; TENTE, Catarina – Paisajes, espacios y materialidades: Arqueología rural altomedieval en la península ibérica. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2022

“…Lo más destacable de este trabajo es la presentación de una depurada metodología para la recogida y análisis de muestras, así como los resultados del estudio. A través de ello han podido analizar la producción agraria, en la que destaca la siembra de cereales como la avena, el centeno o el mijo, seguidos de la cebada y el trigo, a los que se unen las legumbres, los frutos cultivados y silvestres y el lino, mostrando una complejidad en la producción y la conservación de los productos mucho mayor de lo conocido anteriormente 9 . Por su parte S. Tereso presenta un avance de las investigaciones paleobiológicas en curso, incluyendo análisis de isótopos y genéticos, sobre los restos esqueléticos de cinco necrópolis altomedievales en una zona de Trás-os-Montes, con el objetivo de profundizar en el conocimiento de las condiciones de vida de esas comunidades 10 .…”