Food and agriculture in Slavonia, Croatia, during the Late Middle Ages: the archaeobotanical evidence

Abstract

This paper presents the results from archaeobotanical remains collected from ten medieval settlements and fort sites in the region of present-day Slavonia, Croatia. From the 12th century ad, Slavonia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, although the region benefited from a certain amount of autonomy. Examining the archaeobotanical data from this period shows a diverse agricultural system, where crop fields, gardens, orchards, pastures and woodlands were all used to produce a range of cereals, fruits, nuts, vegetables and herbs, as well as fibre plants. The dataset is dominated by cereal remains, especially Triticum aestivum/durum (free-threshing wheat), Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) and Secale cereale (rye). Vitis vinifera (grape pips) were the most common fruit recovered, which corresponds with the presence of vineyards and international trade in wine noted in the literature by the late Middle Ages. Also of significance was the recovery of Cannabis sativa (hemp) and Linum usitatissimum (flax), which suggest local cultivation, possibly for linen and hemp fibres, for oil or for medicinal purposes.

Carbonized cereals from the Udbina – Gradina site and the overview of evidence of crop cultivation in the medieval and post-medieval periods in Croatia

“…Although freethreshing tetraploids (Triticum durum/turgidum) are better adapted to warm and dry regions, research has shown that they can also thrive in a continental climate, which is markedly colder and moister (Kirleis, Fischer 2014). Reed et al (2022) also determined findings of free-threshing wheat from the Slavonia region as Triticum aestivum/durum. Nevertheless, when basic climate parameters are compared (Fig.…”

“…In Croatia, oat mainly appeared at sites from the High Middle Ages (Tab. 2), with the exception of the multi-layered site of Donji Miholjac (Reed et al 2022), whose findings include layers from the Early and Late Middle Ages.…”

“…Vrsta tla tako er odreuje vrstu kulture, pa se pšenica uzgajala na kvalitetnijim podlogama lesa i ilovače, dok su ječam, zob i raž dobro uspijevali i na pjeskovitim tlima (Bakels 2005). Neki autori sugeriraju da su pšenica i raž uzgajane zajedno u mješavini ("maslin") jer su konkurirajući jedna drugoj nadrastale korov, a u slučaju loše sezone, barem bi otporna raž osigurala kakvu-takvu žetvu (Pretty 1990;Reed et al 2022). S obzirom na prirodne karakteristike šireg područja Udbine i Gradine (Krbavsko polje), postojali su uvjeti za uzgoj svih na enih žitarica, pa se najvjerojatnije radi o lokalnoj proizvodnji.…”

“…The type of soil also determined the type of culture, so wheat was grown on the more desirable loess and loam soils, while barley, oats and rye also thrived on sandy soils (Bakels 2005). Some authors suggest that wheat and rye were grown together in the mixture ('maslin') because through their competition they eradicated weeds, and in the event of a bad season, the sturdy rye would ensure at least some sort of harvest (Pretty 1990;Reed et al 2022). Considering the natural characteristics of the wider area of Udbina and Gradina (Krbavsko polje), there were conditions for growing all of the cereals that were found, so they were most likely produced locally.…”

“…Udbina-Gradina is the only site in Croatia from the end of the late Middle Ages (15 th century) to the Post-Medieval Period (16 th -17 th centuries) with a significant amount of archaeobotanical remains. According to the available literature, two other sites exist: Bijela stijena (14 th -17 th centuries; Reed et al 2022) and Virje -Sušine (end of the 16 th to the beginning of the 17 th century; Šoštarić, Vilović 2021), with only sporadic findings. There were no cereals found at the Bijela Stijena site and only one millet (Panicum miliaceum, Tab.…”