The AgriChange project: an integrated on-site approach to agricultural and land-use change during the Neolithic in Western Europe

Antolín, Ferran; Häberle, Simone; Jesus, A.C. Assis; Martínez-Grau, Héctor; Prats, Georgina; Schäfer, Marguerita; Steiner, Bigna L.

doi:10.22498/pages.26.1.26

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…One archaeological case included in the AgriChange Project 40 was used in this paper: Zurich-Parkhaus Opéra (ZHOPE) located in Zurich, Switzerland is a Neolithic lake-dwelling site. A total of 33 whole and well-preserved uncharred waterlogged seeds (with visible cells) identified as P .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A morphometric approach to track opium poppy domestication

Jesus

Bonhomme

Evin

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L. subsp. somniferum) was likely domesticated in the Western Mediterranean, where its putative wild ancestor is indigenous, and then spread to central and northern Europe. While opium poppy seeds are regularly identified in archaeobotanical studies, the absence of morphological criteria to distinguish the seeds of wild and domestic forms prevents the documentation of their respective historical and geographical occurrences and of the process of opium domestication as a whole. To fill this gap and better understand the status of this crop in the Neolithic, we combined seed outline analyses, namely elliptic Fourier transforms, with other morphometric descriptors to describe and identify Papaver setigerum, Papaver somniferum and other Papaver taxa. The combination of all measured parameters gives the most precise predictions for the identification of all seven taxa. We finally provide a case study on a Neolithic assemblage from a pile-dwelling site in Switzerland (Zurich-Parkhaus Opéra, ca. 3170 BC). Our results indicate the presence of mixed populations of domestic and wild seeds belonging to the P. somniferum group, suggesting that the plant was already in the process of domestication at the end of 4th millennium BC. Altogether, these results pave the way to understand the geography and history of the poppy domestication and its spread into Europe.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A morphometric approach to track opium poppy domestication

Jesus

Bonhomme

Evin

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…The age of this sample may be affected by the old-wood effect if the charcoal came from the earliest tree rings, knowing that this tree species can have a lifespan of 150-200 years 36 . For Isolino Virginia, we have used a published date carried out on short-lived botanical remains 35 , and for La Draga one unpublished date generated within the AgriChange project 37 . www.nature.com/scientificreports/ A total of 20 samples were therefore studied, including 12 microsamples and 8 macrosamples that had been processed during the research program "Origin and early dispersal of the opium poppy in Europe during the Neolithic" funded by the Fyssen Fondation (2018-2019).…”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct dating reveals the early history of opium poppy in western Europe

Salavert

Zazzo

Martin

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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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.

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“…Data from a total of 48 Middle Neolithic sites in southern France were included in the on-going AgriChange project database (Antolín et al 2018). Of these sites, 27 are open-air sites, 15 caves, two shelters and three lakeshore settlements.…”

Section: Regional Comparison Of Archaeobotanical Data and Silo Pitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of Chassey pottery and artefacts in the Sepulcres de Fossa communities in Catalonia demonstrate exchange between these two groups (Mestres and Tarrús 2016), as well the presence of pearls made of variscite (a phosphatic mineral) from Gavà (Spain) in MN2 burials in southeastern France (Vaquer 2014, p. 2). The archaeobotanical record from the Middle Neolithic in Catalonia is dominated by naked barley and naked wheat (Antolín in press;Antolín et al 2015Antolín et al , 2018, so it is unlikely that cultural contacts with this region favoured the choice of glume wheats over free-threshing cereals. Unfortunately, the archaeobotanical record in northern Italy is poorly known, and we cannot be sure if glume wheats could have arrived from that region (Rottoli and Castiglioni 2009).…”

Section: Possible Reasons For the Change In Crop Choice At The Beginnmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been few systematic silo studies on Neolithic sites, although pioneer research was done in our study area by Beeching et al (2010). A systematic study of prehistoric silo pits was done in previous work focused on Catalonia, north eastern Iberian Peninsula (Prats 2017), and we are currently expanding it to other areas including southern France (Antolín et al 2018). During this work, it was observed that silo capacities in the Neolithic are significantly lower than in later periods in prehistory and that there is a progressive increase in their mean volume from 580 L in the Early Neolithic to 800 and 950 L in the Middle and Late Neolithic respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Middle Neolithic farming of open-air sites in SE France: new insights from archaeobotanical investigations of three wells found at Les Bagnoles (L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Dépt. Vaucluse, France)

Jesus

Prats

Follmann

et al. 2020

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Previous reviews of Middle Neolithic agricultural practice (4400–3500 cal bc) in southern France have highlighted a change in crop assemblages after 4000 cal bc, with a reduction of naked wheat and an increase of emmer and partly of einkorn. The recent investigation of three wells from the site of Les Bagnoles (4250–3800 cal bc) in the periphery of the southern Rhône valley yielded an unprecedented amount of waterlogged uncharred and charred plant macro remains that offer new insights into crop diversity and its changes over time. The results from the wells at Les Bagnoles were compared with other dated sunken features from open-air sites (in contrast to caves and rock shelters), with the aim of identifying patterns suggesting changes in the crop spectra between the early (MN1) and late (MN2) Middle Neolithic phases from taphonomically comparable contexts. The results from Les Bagnoles demonstrate that oil crops and pulses are underrepresented in dry sites and that they were a significant part of Middle Neolithic agriculture. They also indicate an increase in the representation of einkorn (instead of emmer) during MN2 that is also visible in other open-air sites. The comparison of the archaeobotanical results with silo storage capacity values as a proxy for average production capacity per household leads us to propose a possible drop in naked wheat productivity and opens new questions in factors affecting crop choice at the beginning of the 4th millennium cal bc.

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The AgriChange project: an integrated on-site approach to agricultural and land-use change during the Neolithic in Western Europe

Cited by 13 publications

References 5 publications

A morphometric approach to track opium poppy domestication

A morphometric approach to track opium poppy domestication

Direct dating reveals the early history of opium poppy in western Europe

Middle Neolithic farming of open-air sites in SE France: new insights from archaeobotanical investigations of three wells found at Les Bagnoles (L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Dépt. Vaucluse, France)

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