Mesolithic Plant Exploitation at the Balma Abeurador (France)

Abstract

Research conducted at the Balma Abeurador and a complex of related Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic sites in the western Languedoc and eastern Pyrenees region of France (Abri de Dourgne, Grotte Gazel, Balma Margineda) reveals the complex processes of cultural and economic development during the early Holocene at a time of significant environmental change. Mesolithic groups expanded their subsistence base into a veritable "broad spectrum" economy including the hunting of large mammals, small game and birds; seasonal fishing for salmonids; collecting terrestrial and marine molluscs; and the gathering of wild legumes, fruits and nuts. The identification at Abeurador of lentils, peas and chick peas morphologically indistinguishable from the early cultigens of Southwest Asia raises the question of incipient cultivation practices in the west Mediterranean as early as 10,000 b.p. The Balma Abeurador lies on the southern margin of the Massif Central, half-way between the Minervois plain (100-200 m) and the summit of the Montagne Noire (1231 m), about 50 km from the present-day Mediterranean coastline (Fig. 1). The cave opens at an altitude of 560 m out of the abrupt edge of a plateau of Middle Devonian limestones incised by deep gorges. The distinctive site environment combines montane characteristics on the one hand, with a clear dependence on the Mediterranean sphere on the other. The vegetation immediately surrounding the site belongs to the Quercus ilex series of the mesomediterranean stage. A mere 2 km to the south begin the vineyards of the Minervois plateau. Degraded associations of maquis and garrigue vegetation extend over schist and limestone substrata respectively.It is important to note the proximity of the supramediterranean Quercus pubescens series, and the presence of Pinus sylvestris and numerous individuals of Juniperus around the site itself. At higher altitudes, only 4 km to the north, begin the montane series of birch (Fagus) and fir (Abies). These vegetational associations bear a heavy mark of human impact on the environment from prehistoric until recent times, primarily as a result of sheep herding and the associated pastoral fires (Thiebault, Vernet and Krauss-Marguet, in press; Heinz 1983).Numerous small excavations, beginning in the 19th century and continuing spor-

Bioarchaeological Insights into the Process of Domestication of Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) during Roman Times in Southern France

“…Archaebotany provides evidence of the gathering of berries all over the natural distribution area of the wild grapevine, well before the Neolithic and the beginning of agriculture, occasionally even in Pleistocene deposits [21], [22], [23], [24] [25]. The pips being generally mixed with other food waste, it seems probable that the berries were eaten by men, even if other uses cannot be ruled out.…”

Domestication and early agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin: Origins, diffusion, and impact

“…The presence of wild oats, barley, and lentils in Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic levels at Francthi Cave on the eastern coast of Greece, followed by the appearance of fully domesticated barley and lentils in later Neolithic levels, was interpreted as evidence for the local crop domestication (34). Legumes recovered from Mesolithic cave deposits in southern France were seen as evidence of incipient cultivation, if not domestication, of local wild plants (35). Evidence for indigenous animal domestication was based on the identification of wild sheep in Pleistocene age deposits in southern France and the presence of domestic sheep and goat remains in Mesolithic contexts in France and Spain (36,37).…”

Significance of genetic resources of cool season annual legumes, I: Crop wild relatives

“…Ponert, as confirmed by a study on their phylogenetic relationship by isozyme loci (de la Rosa & Jouve 1992). Together with other Lens species, it is present in the archaeolobotanical material in central and western Asia, suggesting this region may be a geographic centre of the domestication of common lentil (Vaquer 1986). The archaeological findings in Near East also contain the charred remains of black lentil, supporting a theory that the domestication of legumes could predate the domestication of that of cereals (Kislev & Bar-Yosef 1988).…”

“…Yellow vetchling is an annual legume species that is a regular member of many European and Mediterranean wild floras (Boža et al 2003) and almost always considered a weedy legume species. A complex research carried out at several sites from Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic in southern France revealed a material evidence of yellow vetchling in the form of charred seeds, probably as an accompanying weed of the cultivated grain legumes such as common chickpea, common lentil and common pea (Vaquer et al 1986). The research on the impact yellow vetchling regarded as a weed may have on diverse ecosystems has a long tradition (Singh & Singh 1939).…”