Plants and People: Choices and Diversity Through Time

525 Pages·2014·230.233 MB·English

by  Alexandre Chevalier, Elena Marinova, Leonor Pena-Chocarro

Plants and PeoPle

Choices and Diversity through Time
edited by
Alexandre Chevalier, Elena Marinova
and Leonor Peña-Chocarro
Oxbow Books
Oxford & Philadelphia
Other Volumes in this Series
Exploring and Explaining Diversity in Agricultural Technology
(EARTH Volume 2)
Agricultural and Pastoral Landscapes in Preindustrial Society:
Choices, Stability and Change
(EARTH Volume 3)
Early Agricultural Remnants
and Technical Heritage (EARTH):
8,000 Years of Resilience and Innovation
Volume 1
Series Editors
Patricia C. Anderson and Leonor Peña-Chocarro
Coordinating Editor
Andreas G. Heiss
Published in the United Kingdom in 2014 by
OXBOW BOOKS
10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW
and in the United States by
OXBOW BOOKS
908 Darby Road, Havertown, PA 19083
© Oxbow Books and the individual authors 2014
Hardcover Edition: ISBN 978-184217-514-9
E-pub Edition: ISBN 978-178297-033-0; Mobi: ISBN 978-178297-034-7; PDF: ISBN 978-178297-035-4
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Plants and people : choices and diversity through time / edited by Alexandre Chevalier, Elena Marinova and Leonor Peña-
Chocarro.
1 online resource. -- (Early agricultural remnants and technical heritage (EARTH) : 8,000 years of resilience and innovation
; volume 1)
Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
ISBN 978-1-78297-033-0 (epub) -- ISBN 978-1-78297-034-7 (mobi (Kindle)) -- ISBN 978-1-78297-035-4 ( pdf) -- ISBN ) 978-
1-84217-514-9 1. Plant diversity. 2. Ethnobotany. 3. Human-plant relationships. I. Chevalier, Alexandre, 1966- editor of
compilation. II. Marinova, Elena, editor of compilation. III. Peña-Chocarro, Leonor, editor of compilation.
QK46.5.D58
581.6’3--dc23
2014000160
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
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the publisher in writing.
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Cover illustrations
Woman preparing yufka (flat bread), in the village of Kavanoluk (Buldan, Turkey). Image: Alexandre Chevalier
Wheat field in Soria (Spain). Image: Leonor Peña-Chocarro
Farmer winnowing einkorn wheat in Zuheros (Córdoba, Spain). Image: Leonor Peña-Chocarro
We would like to dedicate this volume to
Dr Irmeli Vuorela
a much appreciated member of the Steering Committee of the EARTH Programme, who passed away in
2012 at the age of 74 after holding positions at the University of Helsinki, then the Geological Survey of
Finland. Irmeli, whose expertise was in using pollen, charcoal and phytolith analysis to reconstruct
human-plant relations, in particular for early Finnish agriculture through to the development
of urban settlements, advised the programme with her characteristic humour and wisdom,
and was supportive to research comprising this book.
ESF MISSIOn
The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an independent, non-governmental organisation, the members
of which are eighty national funding agencies, research-performing agencies, academies and learned
societies from thirty countries.
The strength of the ESF lies in the influential membership and in its ability to bring together the different
domains of European science in order to meet the challenges of the future.
Since its establishment in 1974, the ESF, which has its headquarters in Strasbourg with offices in Brussels
and Ostend, has assembled a host of organisations that span all disciplines of science, to create a common
platform for cross-border cooperation in Europe.
The ESF is dedicated to promoting collaboration in scientific research, funding of research and science
policy across Europe. Through its activities and instruments the ESF has made major contributions to
science in a global context. The ESF covers the following scientific domains:

• Humanities
• Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Medical Sciences
• Physical and Engineering Sciences
• Social Sciences
• Marine Sciences
ESF MEMbER ORgAnISATIOnS FunDIng THE EARTH nETwORkIng
PROgRAMME AnD PublICATIOnS
Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) – Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – german
National Fund for Scientific Research, Belgium Research Foundation, germany
Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen An Chomhairle um Thaighde sna Dána agus sna
(FWO) – Research Foundation Flanders, Belgium hEolaíochtaí Sóisialta (IRCHSS) – Irish Research Council
Grantová agentura České republiky (GAČR) – Czech for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Ireland
Science Foundation, Czech Republic Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk
Akademie věd České republiky (ASCR) – Academy of Onderzoek (NWO) – Netherlands Organisation for
Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic Scientific Research, The Netherlands
Det Frie Forskningsråd – Kultur og Kommunikation Norges Forskningsråd – Research Council of Norway,
(FKK) – The Danish Council for Independent Research Norway
– Humanities, Demark Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Eesti Teadusfond (ETF) – Estonian Science Foundation, – Council for Scientific Research, Spain
Estonia Vetenskapsrådet (VR) – Swedish Research Council, Sweden
Suomen Akatemia/Finlands Akademi – Academy of Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF) – Swiss National
Finland, Finland Science Foundation, Switzerland
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) – Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), United
National Centre for Scientific Research, France Kingdom
Contents
ESF member organisations funding the EARTH Networking Programme and publications ...................................................vi
Foreword.....................................................................................................................................................................................................ix
Preface .....................................................................................................................................................................................................xiii
SECTIOn 1: Methodological Approaches to Plant use Diversity
1. Factors and Issues in Plant Choice – A. Chevalier, E. Marinova, L. Peña-Chocarro ...............................................3
2. Exploring Diversity in the Past and in the Present – edited by L. Zapata .......................................................15
2.1. Exploring Diversity in the Past: An Introduction – L. Zapata ...................................................................15
2.2. Exploring Diversity Through Archaeobotany – L. S. Cummings ...............................................................20
2.3. Exploring Diversity Through Written Sources – J. L. Mingote Calderón, M. Russel, F. Sigaut ...................27
2.4. Representing Nature: Images and Social Dynamics in Ancient Societies – S. González Reyero ............33
2.5. Exploring Diversity in the Present: Ethnobotany Studies – G. S. Cruz-García .........................................42
2.6. Conclusions – L. Zapata ...................................................................................................................................51
SECTIOn 2: Food Plants
3. Crop Diversity Through Time – edited by E. Marinova .......................................................................................61
3.1. Introduction – E. Marinova ...........................................................................................................................61
3.2. Crop Diversity and Choice in Prehistoric Southeastern Europe: Cultural and Environmental
Factors Shaping the Archaeobotanical Record of Northern greece and Bulgaria
– E. Marinova, S.-M. Valamoti .........................................................................................................................64
3.3. Crop Diversity between Central Europe and the Mediterranean: Aspects of Northern Italian
Agriculture – M. Rottoli .................................................................................................................................75
3.4. Crop Diversity in Southwestern Central Europe from the Neolithic onwards – S. Jacomet ..............82
3.5. Crop Diversity in the Neolithic of the Iberian Peninsula – L. Peña-Chocarro, L. Zapata ......................96
3.6. Choice of a Crop and its Underlying Reasons: Examples from Western Central Europe
500 BCE–CE 900 – C. Bakels .........................................................................................................................101
3.7. Crops and Agricultural Developments in Western Europe – F. Sigaut ................................................107
3.8. Crop Diversity and Choice in the Prehistoric American Southwest – L. S. Cummings ......................113
3.9. Processes of Prehistoric Crop Diversification in the Lake Titicaca Basin of the South
American Andes – M. C. Bruno ...................................................................................................................118
3.10. Conclusions – E. Marinova ..........................................................................................................................125
viii CONTENTS
4. Adding Diversity. Between Occasional Food and Speculative Productions: Diversity of Fruit Uses,
Diversity of Practices Regarding Fruit Tree Cultivation – edited by L. Bouby, M.-P. Ruas ............................141
4.1. Introduction – L. Bouby, M.-P. Ruas ............................................................................................................141
4.2. Acorn Use in Native California – R. Cuthrell ............................................................................................150
4.3. A Wild Solution to Resilience and Provision: The Case of Prosopis spp. on the Peruvian
North Coast – D. J. Goldstein.......................................................................................................................156
4.4. Before the Empire: Prehistoric Fruit gathering and Cultivation in Northern Italy – M. Rottoli ....163
4.5. Citrus (Rutaceae) was Present in the Western Mediterranean in Antiquity – Bui Thi Mai ..............170
4.6. From Secondary to Speculative Production? The Protohistory History of Viticulture in
Southern France – L. Bouby, P. Marinval, J.-F. Terral .................................................................................175
4.7. Fruit as Staple Food: The Role of Fig (Ficus carica L.) During the Pre-Hispanic Period of the
Canary Islands, Spain (from the 3rd–2nd centuries BCE to the 15th century CE)
– J. Morales, J. Gil ...........................................................................................................................................182
4.8. Beyond the Divide Between Wild and Domesticated: Spatiality, Domesticity and Practices
Pertaining to Fig (Ficus carica L.) and Olive (Olea europaea L.) Agroecosystems Among Jbala
Communities in Northern Morocco – Y. Aumeeruddy-Thomas, Y. Hmimsa, M. Ater, B. Khadari ..........191
4.9. Conclusions – L. Bouby ................................................................................................................................198
5. Food Plants from the Wild – edited by G. S. Cruz-García, F. Ertuğ .....................................................................211
5.1. Introduction: Wild Food Plants in the Present and Past – G. S. Cruz-García, F. Ertuğ .........................211
5.2. gathering in a New Environment: The Use of Wild Food Plants During the First Colonisation
of the Canary Islands, Spain (2nd–3rd century BCE to 15th Century CE) – J. Morales, J. Gil .............216
5.3. Wild Food Plants Traditionally Used in Spain: Regional Analysis
– J. Tardío, M. Pardo-de-Santayana ..............................................................................................................228
5.4. Use of Wild Food Plant Resources in the Dogon Country, Mali – C. Selleger ......................................236
5.5. Silverweed: a Food Plant on the Road from Wild to Cultivated? – C. Griffin-Kremer .........................242
5.6. Cleome: a Wild Plant as Complement to Cultigens in Southwestern North America
– L. S. Cummings ...........................................................................................................................................250
5.7. Conclusions – G. S. Cruz-García, F. Ertuğ ....................................................................................................254
SECTIOn 3: Food and beyond
6. A Versatile World: Examples of Diversity in Plant Use – edited by C. Griffin-Kremer ...................................266
6.1. Introduction – C. Griffin-Kremer .................................................................................................................................266
6.2. ‘Humble Plants’: Uses of Furze and Nettles in the British Isles (and Beyond)
– C. Griffin-Kremer ........................................................................................................................................270
6.3. Versatile Hulled Wheats: Farmers’ Traditional Uses of Three Endangered Crop Species
in the Western Mediterranean – L. Peña-Chocarro, L. Zapata ................................................................276
6.4. Use of Crop-Processing By-Products for Tempering in Earthen Construction Techniques
– E. Bonnaire ..................................................................................................................................................282
6.5. Uses of the Wild grass Ampelodesmos mauritanica in Northwestern Tunisia Today
– P. C. Anderson .............................................................................................................................................287
6.6. Uses of the Mastic Tree (Pistacia lentiscus L.) in the West Mediterranean Region:
An Example from Sardinia, Italy – Bui Thi Mai, M. Girard, F. de Lanfranchi ...........................................293
CONTENTS ix
6.7. Ancient and Modern Boat Caulking: Use of Oleoresins in Tropical Asia
– Bui Thi Mai, M. Girard ................................................................................................................................299
6.8. Conclusions – C. Griffin-Kremer ..................................................................................................................305

7. Plants Used in Ritual Offerings and in Festive Contexts – edited by A.-M. Hansson, A. G. Heiss ....................311
7.1. Introduction – A.-M. Hansson, A. G. Heiss ..................................................................................................311
7.2. Hidden Stone – A Unique Bread Offering from an Early Medieval Cremation Grave
at Lovö, Sweden – A. M. Hansson ...............................................................................................................335
7.3. Ceremonial Foodstuff from Prehistoric Burnt-Offering Places in the Alpine Region
– A. G. Heiss ...................................................................................................................................................343
7.4. Festive Use of Plants: A Diachronic glimpse of May Day in the British Isles, France and
Slightly Beyond – C. Griffin-Kremer ...........................................................................................................354
7.4a. Common Plant Names, Now and Then – The Botanical Viewpoint
– C. Griffin-Kremer, A. G. Heiss ......................................................................................................................361
7.5. Ceremonial Plants Among the Hopi in North America – L. S. Cummings ...........................................364
7.6. Ceremonial Plants in the Andean Region – M. Sayre .............................................................................368
7.7. Conclusions – A. G. Heiss, A.-M. Hansson ....................................................................................................374
8. Social Status, Identity and Contexts – edited by A. Chevalier ..........................................................................385
8.1. Introduction – A. Chevalier .........................................................................................................................385
8.2. Plants for the Ancestors: Perpetuation of Social Status and Justification of Power
in a Late Formative (400–100 BCE) Andean group – A. Chevalier, J. Dulanto .......................................391
8.3. Plants in the Eastern Iberian Iron Age: From Daily Work to the Ideological Construction
of the Community – S. González Reyero.....................................................................................................403
8.4. Social Status and Food Diet in Bibracte, Morvan (Burgundy, France)
– F. Durand, J. Wiethold .................................................................................................................................412
8.5. Symbol of Poverty? Children’s Evaluation of Wild Food Plants in Wayanad, India
– G. S. Cruz-García .........................................................................................................................................421
8.6. More than Simply Fallback Food? Social Context of Plant Use in the Northern
german Neolithic – W. Kirleis, S. Klooß ......................................................................................................428
8.7. Legal Constraints Influencing Crop Choice in Castile and Environs from Middle Ages
to the 19th century: Some Examples – J. L. Mingote Calderón ..............................................................439
8.8. Late Classic Maya Provisioning and Distinction in Northwestern Belize
– D. J. Goldstein, J. B. Hageman ......................................................................................................................444
8.9. Conclusions – A. Chevalier ..........................................................................................................................452
9. Conclusions – Plants for Thoughts – A. Chevalier, L. Peña-Chocarro, E. Marinova ..........................................467
Annexes
Contributors.................................................................................................................................................................472
The EARTH Steering Committee (2004–2009) ........................................................................................................475
EARTH Programme Members....................................................................................................................................476
Scientific Networking Workshops Contributing to the Contents of this Book .................................................478
Index .............................................................................................................................................................................481