Review article
Plant remains from four newly excavated sites in the Đakovo region
Ana Đukić
Abstract
Analysis of plant remains from archaeological sites is an extremely important procedure in reconstructing the economies of past populations, which is especially the case with prehistoric sites, where other aspects of everyday life are rarely preserved. In this paper, the author presents the results and interpretations of analysis of plant remains from four newly excavated sites in the Đakovo region, with respect to archaeological cultures dated to the Neolithic and Copper Age periods. The Starčevo culture is present at Pajtenica-Velike Livade, the Sopot culture at Ivandvor-Šuma Gaj, the Lasinja culture at Pajtenica-Velike Livade and Jurjevac-Stara Vodenica, and the Kostolac culture at Đakovo-Franjevac. Plant remains are placed in seven categories which contain subgroups according to plant species, and the division is based on finds from the aforementioned sites. Since the sites are in the same micro-region, it was possible to compare results with respect to period and culture. The fewest plant remains were found in the context of the earliest, Starčevo, culture, and the most (widest spectrum of grains, pulses, weeds and fruits) in the most recent, Kostolac, culture. The finds show continuity in the use of cereals such as wheat and barley, as well as wild species throughout the Neolithic and Copper Age, but the spectrum widens with the passage of time. In combination with other types of finds from the sites, the plant remains suggest the existence of intensive or garden, rather than extensive, agriculture, and that plants were processed inside the settlements studied.
Keywords
Neolithic; Copper Age; the Đakovo region; archaeobotany; plant remains; the Starčevo culture; the Sopot culture; the Lasinja culture; the Kostolac culture
Hrčak ID:
130818
URI
Publication date:
11.12.2014.
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