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Mutamba is a thirteenth-century settlement located on the Soutpansberg Mountains in northern South Africa with links to the regionally important Mapungubwe polity. This paper provides a detailed report of the range and utilisation of archaeobotanical taxa found at Mutamba. This research provides base-line evidence on the little understood, but significant role of plants in southern African Iron Age society. The analysis of 100 randomly selected samples from domestic features yielded 11 identifiable species and two genera. The results provide evidence for a potential crop package made up of finger millet (Eleusine coracana), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) and mung beans (Vigna radiata). Mutamba also contains the first documented example of Vigna radiata as a crop component in South Africa, the first tangible indication for the occurrence of malted grains used in beer brewing and the first archaeological links between Gossypium herbaceum and cotton spinning, previously based only on ethnographic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigations of hunter-gatherer subsistence, early food production, and the development of agroforestry systems during the Later Stone Age (LSA) of West Africa have proven challenging because of limited recovery and analysis of archaeological evidence relating directly to subsistence. This paper examines changes in the use of plant resources over a 10,000 year period at Bosumpra Cave, southern Ghana. Large quantities of recovered Canarium schweinfurthii (incense tree) and Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) endocarp preserved at the site allow for the assessment of previous observations about changes in the relative importance of tree fruit resources over time. Results point to the possibility that C. schweinfurthii was a managed resource and may be useful as a marker of forager subsistence in tropical forest regions. The exploitation of C. schweinfurthii persisted in the early and middle Holocene, but was eventually overshadowed in the late Holocene by Kintampo food-producing economies based on Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet), Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) and E. guineensis. The Bosumpra deposits also yielded domesticated pearl millet and cowpea, allowing for the comparison of LSA hunter-gatherer and early food producer subsistence practices and cultural interactions in southern Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of plant macro-remain and charcoal analyses from a fortified settlement of the Sintashta archaeological culture in the southern Trans-Urals, Russia. The work was carried out within the scope of a German/Russian research project and represents the first systematic studies on Bronze Age plant material in the region. Previous archaeological and archaeozoological investigations have revealed that the Sintashta economy was mainly based on livestock herding of cattle, small cattle and horses. There is additional evidence for fishing as well as some copper metallurgy, while the role of agriculture is still being discussed. Archaeobotanical studies therefore focused on the question whether the Bronze Age settlers cultivated, processed or stored crop plants. All cultural layers and important settlement features were systematically sampled, wet-sieved and subjected to plant macro-remain analysis. Anthracological (charcoal) samples were taken from burnt structures and charcoal concentrations. As no evidence for either cultivated plants or agricultural practices was found in the settlement, it can be concluded that farming was not practised at Kamennyi Ambar, and that the Sintashta economy was exclusively based on animal husbandry and fishing in that steppe region. The charred plant remains found in the settlement represent a broad spectrum of wild plants which can be attributed to vegetation units like small woodlands, steppe, ruderal steppe, meadow steppe and the riparian zone. As supported by palynological studies, Bronze Age vegetation patterns are largely comparable with those of the modern steppe environment. Since some of the recorded taxa have the potential to serve as food, fodder or for craft purposes, the use of wild plants at Kamennyi Ambar must be considered. The charcoal analysis reveals the dominance of Pinus sylvestris and Betula sp., representing a typical tree taxa spectrum from the steppe region during the Bronze Age as well as present times. It can be concluded that wood was readily available for construction material and fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological excavations in Florence (Italy) offered the opportunity of collecting archaeobotanical data along stratigraphic sequences and pits from late Roman to Middle Ages; until now, no archaeobotanical data of this range of time were available for Florence. To achieve a more comprehensive reconstruction of the antique landscape and of the plant uses in the city, the results of plant micro- and macro-remain analyses were compared. During the late Roman Period, mixed oak forests covered the surrounding hills, while only scattered riverine thickets grew in the Arno river plain, which was mostly open. In the city, the increase in richness of cultivated plants, weeds and ruderals follows the advancement of urbanization from the late Roman to the Middle Ages when the abundance of remains of cereals, figs, grapevines and other fruits showed that cultivation and/or food processing were performed close to and even within the town wall. Peaks of heather (Ericaspp.) pollen suggested that its flowering branches were introduced in the site and possibly used as building material or for the maintenance of the Arno river bank. Thus, this integrated archaeobotanical approach provided new insights into the environmental and ethnobotanical history of Florence, highlighting the occurrence of horticulture within the city wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]