From the granary to the field; archaeobotany and experimental archaeology at l’Esquerda (Catalonia, Spain)

Roman and medieval crops in the Iberian Peninsula: A first overview of seeds and fruits from archaeological sites

“…In Late Antiquity, it is present in two regions, the Central Plateau and the NE, where it represents about 8.9% of all the cereals. In medieval times, emmer is present at Christian sites according to data from the NE, particularly the site of l'Esquerda (Cubero et al, 2008) from the NW, and from the N. It is also present at Islamic sites in the NE and the S. In this last sector it represents 8% of all cereals.…”

“…Einkorn, in fact, represents only 1.6% of the total cereals in Iberia and it is only present in the NW (1.6%) and in the S (8.1%) at rural sites, whereas during the Late Antique period it is only known at Seg obriga in central Spain. In medieval Christian times it is only evidenced in the NE at L'Esquerda (Cubero et al, 2008) and in the N, in the Basque Country, at Zaballa (Sopelana, 2012). During the Islamic period, einkorn is recorded in the S at Medina Azahara in the Province of C ordoba where it represents 2.7% of the region's total cereal group.…”

Yield and Nutritive Value of Grain, Glumes and Straw of Triticum dicoccum Produced by Prehistoric Technology in Comparison to T. aestivum Produced by Modern Technology

“…In the Mediterranean region, T. dicoccum had been frequently planted up to the High Middle Ages and then only sporadically in low productive and dry regions (Cubero Corpas et al 2008;Pena-Chocarro, Zapata 2013). In central …”

“…While some archaeological experiments with the planting of T. dicoccum using medieval and prehistoric technologies have been performed, the results of such experiments have usually been restricted to only publication of grain yields (Reynolds 1992;Cubero Corpas et al 2008;Ehrmann et al 2014). It is supposed that straw could have been used for the winter feeding of livestock, but the forage quality of T. dicoccum straw, and the possible consequences for its use in livestock feeding in prehistory has not, according to the literature, been evaluated.…”

Assessing elements of an extended evolutionary synthesis for plant domestication and agricultural origin research

“…107 for a recent example of experimental work in the Old World). Experimental efforts become necessary and particularly valuable in many regions of the world because archaeological sites dating to the periods surrounding domestication origins are few in number and, when found, the macrofossil remains (seeds, fruits, stems) that can best address some of the questions are often poorly preserved.…”