Small Animals, Big Impact? Early Farmers and Pre- and Post-Harvest Pests from the Middle Neolithic Site of Les Bagnoles in the South-East of France (L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur)

Abstract

Pests appear to have accompanied humans and their crops since the beginning of farming. Nevertheless, their study is only rarely integrated into research on farming in prehistory. An assemblage of invertebrates and small mammals was recovered from the waterlogged layers of three wells at the Middle Neolithic site (4250–3700 cal B.C.) of Les Bagnoles (SE France). The microfaunal remains were retrieved from sediment samples by wet sieving (wash-over technique). The most common among the rodents is the wood mouse. The assemblage also consists of insect remains of grain weevil, seed beetle, and corn ground beetle. The different finds not only offer data on the role of insect and rodent pests in the Neolithic but on the possible strategies adopted by the early farming communities in the western Mediterranean in response to pest infestation. The findings appear to confirm the hypothesis that the wood mouse was a commensal and storage pest in settlements long before the arrival of the invasive house mouse during the Bronze Age. The presence of the main storage pest, the grain weevil, suggests a long-term grain storage issue at Les Bagnoles. The combination of the results of the site’s archaeobotanical findings with those of other sites in the western Mediterranean suggests that the shift from naked to glume wheat around 4000 B.C. may also stem from a reaction to the problem of grain weevil infestation.

An archaeobotanical and stable isotope approach to changing agricultural practices in the NW Mediterranean region around 4000 BC

“…Most recently, pests were proposed as one of the key factors to consider as potential drivers of agricultural decision-making processes ( Häberle et al, 2022 ). Despite being one of the major risks for farmers, pests have only rarely been investigated in the archaeology of continental Europe and particularly in the Western Mediterranean.…”

“…It is therefore possible, that these changes in agricultural practices actually indicate more profound socio-economic changes not yet fully understood. Another possibility was raised recently: the widespread presence of pests ( Antolín et al, in press ; Häberle et al, 2022 ). Indeed, in two of the case studies of the AgriChange project, both sites with waterlogged preservation conditions, evidence of pests (both insects and small animals) has been reported for the period around 4000 BC.…”