Some recent Discoveries of Millet (Panicum MiliaceumL. andSetaria italica(L.) P. Beauv.) at Excavations in Turkey and Iran

Abstract

Although a relatively unimportant crop in the Near East, millet has an especially interesting history that may throw some light on the cultural relationships of the Middle–Late Bronze Ages and the Iron Age. Thus the prompt, separate, publication of a large deposit of foxtail millet (Setaria italica(L.) P. Beauv.), recently identified from an Iron Age level at Tille Höyük, seems justified. This is the first find of the cereal in such large quantities—definitely as a crop—from the Near East or Greece. The rest of the plant remains from this level will be published in conjunction with the rich samples that are expected to be found in the massive Late Bronze Age burnt level at Tille. The opportunity is also taken in this paper to present other previously unpublished millet samples, from second millennium B.C. levels at Haftavan Tepe, northwestern Iran, and from Hellenistic, Roman and Medieval levels at Aşvan Kale, eastern Turkey.A full discussion of these criteria will be included in the first author's forthcoming publication of the Aşvan plant remains. Knörzer (1971) has published a useful key to millet seeds. Three genera of millets (all belonging to the tribePaniceaeof the grass family) have grains of the relatively wide, large embryoed type discussed here.

The Biology of Canadian Weeds: 155.Panicum miliaceumL.

“…Greece: Nesbitt and Summers (1988) stated that evidence of this species has been found in Hellenistic (2066 cal BP) sites. Turkey: Nesbitt and Summers (1988) reported the presence of P. miliaceum at an Asian Turkish site (Aşvan Kale) in Roman times (1900 cal BP).…”

“…History The wild ancestor(s) of Panicum miliaceum were unknown as recently as the late 1980s (Sakamoto 1987;Nesbitt and Summers 1988). Hunt et al (2014), using nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences from P. miliaceum and four of its many diploid and tetraploid relatives, were able to construct phylogenies of these.…”

“…Turkey: Nesbitt and Summers (1988) reported the presence of P. miliaceum at an Asian Turkish site (Aşvan Kale) in Roman times (1900 cal BP).…”

“…By 3550 cal BP, proso millet (broomcorn millet) was being grown in Iran as a crop (Nesbitt and Summers 1988) and in Northern Iraq by 2700 cal BP (Helbaek 1966). However, in the list of records that Nesbitt and Summers considered reliable, the status of the species at two of the earliest sites listed (Early Bronze Age, 5000 cal BP, Macedonia; and 4400-3800 cal BP, Iran) was that of a 'scarce weed' and 'a few grains of broomcorn millet: weed', respectively.…”

11. Managing Predictable Unpredictability: Agricultural Sustainability at Gordion, Turkey

“…Perhaps the human population was more transhumant than in earlier times. For those who remained in the settlement, the increased emphasis on summer irrigation represents a new strategy, though both irrigation and millet were known as early as the Iron Age at Gordian and elsewhere (Nesbitt and Summers 1988). The seeds of summer-irrigated crops represent a tiny proportion of the assemblage, but rice and cotton may have been grown as commodities (see Karaman 2009;Samuel 2001:428).…”