Changes in spectra of cultivated and gathered plants in the Bronze Age: A study based on archaeobotanical data from the Czech Republic

Adéla Pokorná; Petr Kočár; Tereza Šálková

doi:10.35686/AR.2024.223

Authors

Adéla Pokorná Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Prague, Letenská 4, CZ-118 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5916-0381
Petr Kočár Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Prague, Letenská 4, CZ-118 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0695-2913
Tereza Šálková Institute of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 31a, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7429-5185

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35686/AR.2024.223

Keywords:

archaeobotany, Bronze Age, millet, Central Europe, agriculture

Abstract

The Bronze Age (BA) in Central Europe witnessed significant transformations in various aspects of human activities. This study focuses on changes in subsistence strategies during the BA, represented by the assortment of edible plants. We examined charred macroremains from 39 archaeological sites in the Czech Republic. Our aims include providing an overview of crop records, determining the dating of new crop introductions, and identifying spatial patterns of the assortment changes. The results indicate a complex agricultural transformation. Emmer and einkorn dominated in the Early Bronze Age (EBA), while the broomcorn millet was widespread in the Middle Bronze Age (MBA). The Late Bronze Age (LBA) saw increased cereal and pulse diversity, whereas the Final Bronze Age (FBA), characterised by coexisting cereals, represented a terminal stage of the process of gradually evolving subsistence strategies. The study highlights the sudden introduction of broomcorn millet in the MBA and expanding the range of crops, which allowed more flexible responses to local conditions and a better distribution of field work throughout the year.

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