Archaeobotanical evidence for early Neolithic diet and subsistence at M'lefaat (Iraq)

Abstract

The archaeobotanical assemblage of the Aceramic Neolithic site of M'lefaat, dated to the beginning of the 10th millennium uncal. BP, is dominated by legumes, especially Vicieae, Lathyrus/Vicia, Vicia ervilia and Lens, and by grasses, such as Hordeum spon- taneum/distichon, Aegilops cylindrica/tauschii/spehoides ssp. speltoides and Triticura boeoticum/Secale. Other taxa such as Gypsophila pilosa type and Bellevalia type, also count for a significant part of the assemblage. Taxa associated with a riverine environment dominate the charcoal assemblage. The archaeobotanical results of other contemporary steppic sites of the northern Fertile Crescent. (Qermez Dere, Abu Hureyra, Mureybet and Jerfel Ahmar), were compared to those of M'lefaat. The results are quite similar : legumes, especially Vicia and Lens, and grasses, especially Hordeum spontaneum/distichon and Triticum boeoticum/Secale, dominate. A distinctive trait of the M'lefaat assemblage is the abundance of Aegilops. Although it is impossible to rule out domestication or cultivation, there is no positive evidence for this at the site. Archaeobotanical results from M'lefaat and other steppic sites suggest that wetter conditions and a moist-steppe vegetation and/or forest-steppe, with good grasses, were in place 10,000 BP.

Regional diversity on the timing for the initial appearance of cereal cultivation and domestication in southwest Asia

“…In accordance with the differences observed in the archaeological record between sites in the Levant and the eastern Fertile Crescent (33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50), the archaeobotanical evidence also highlights regional diversity in the plant-based subsistence around 11.7-10.7 ka Cal BP (PPNA in the Levant) (51)(52)(53). With few exceptions, wild cereals were the preferred type of plant exploited at sites in the southerncentral Levant and the Euphrates area, and there is substantial evidence of cultivation at several sites.…”

“…We hypothesize that these socio-cultural and economic differences between PPN sites in southwest Asia are reflected in the plant-based subsistence, as already shown by some authors (14,32,(51)(52)(53), and could have influenced the development of plant cultivation and domestication in southwest Asia. Because thus far cereals have provided the most reliable data for characterizing the process of plant domestication, the aim of this paper is to explore the regional timing for the cultivation of wild and domesticated cereals across southwest Asia.…”

“…At the neighboring site of Sheikh-e Abad plant exploitation focused on taxa such as club-rush (Scirpus), small-seeded wild grasses, and legumes (67). At sites in northern Iraq such as M'lefaat and Qermez Dere, large-seeded legumes and small-seeded wild grasses were mainly exploited, whereas wild barley and wheat were found in considerably lower proportions (51,52). Contemporary sites such as Hallan Çemi and Demirköy in southeast Turkey show the prevalence of wild plants of the Cyperaceae, Brassicaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Polygonaceae family, but few barley and einkorn remains were found (52,53).…”

“…Recent excavations in the eastern Fertile Crescent have revealed significant differences in terms of architecture (42)(43)(44)(45), lithic industries (39,41,46), burial customs (36), and animal (47)(48)(49)(50) and plant exploitation (51)(52)(53) in comparison with sites in the Levant. Because of these differences, the aceramic Neolithic groups of the eastern Fertile Crescent are often referred to as "sedentary hunter/ herder-gatherer groups" as opposed to the farming societies of the Levantine area (36,54).…”

From Forager to Cultivator: A Case Study in the Zagros Mountains of Iran

“…Those plants returning a low amount of energy or a small volume per unit of time were likely avoided, but may have entered the analysed assemblages inadvertently when targeted plants were collected. The presence of some of these smaller seeds and fruit is conditionally indicative of cultivation as weed flora; mainly of Poaceae but also Fabaceae (Garrard et al 1988, Savard et al 2003. Our modernity clouds this categorisation however.…”