We report here the first integrated investigation of both ancient DNA and proteins in archaeobotanical samples: medieval grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seeds, preserved by anoxic waterlogging, from an early medieval (seventh–eighth century A.D.) Byzantine rural settlement in the Salento area (Lecce, Italy) and a late (fourteenth–fifteenth century A.D.) medieval site in York (England).

Vengono presentati i risultati archeobotanici delle recenti attività di scavo che, all’interno della Valle dei Templi di Agrigento, hanno interessato il Quartiere Ellenistico Romano e il Tempio di Iside. Allo scavo stratigrafico sono state affiancate strategie di campionamento del sedimento, differenziate a seconda del tipo di contesto indagato (livelli di riempimento di buche, strati di accumulo, aree di crollo, tombe) e la flottazione dei campioni. L’obiettivo principale dell’intervento è stato quello di investigare lo sfruttamento delle essenze vegetali a scopo alimentare e/o tecnologico nonché di ricostruire le caratteristiche del paleoambiente e i principali bacini di approvvigionamento della vegetazione naturale.

The societal "collapse" of the urban-based system, which is part of the rise-flourish-and fall cycle of the protoshistoric societies of the Near East, is investigated via an integrated approach based on the identification of short-term climate changes by stable isotopes analyses on archeobotanical remains and variations in settlement pattern.

Archaeological investigations carried out in 1999 in the town centre of Vaste (Puglia, inland from Otranto) have brought to light a Messapian sanctuary. The sacred area includes a building divided in two enclosures with fireplaces, and an open space with three large underground pits. In the enclosure B a large hearth comprises layers pertaining to various activities in the life of the sanctuary. They show a persisting use of the same area going on through centuries since the sixth till the end of the third century BC. In the first century BC this place was still reminded, so it was protected by a crumbled limestone stratum. Metallurgical and archaeobotanical analysis contribute to reconstruct some aspects of the worship.

Il volume raccoglie una serie di contributi specialistici sull'analisi dell'importante contesto archeologico di Grotta Scaloria nel Tavoliere datato al Neolitico. Le analisi archeobotaniche effettuate su materiale relativo ai vecchi scavi degli anni '70 sono state utilizzate per la ricostruzione del paleoambiente e delle strategie di catchment di questa comunità del Neolitico che utilizzò la grotta a scopi prevalentemente rituali.

lo studio delle relazioni fra uomo ed ambiente è fondamentale per la comprensione delle dinamiche culturali e sociali, soprattutto nelle comunità che adottano per la prima volta un’economia di tipo agricolo o agro-pastorale. l’obiettivo principale di questo lavoro è quello di valutare i caratteri e le dinamiche dell’interazione uomo-ambiente in un periodo compreso tra il 6.200 ed il 3.700 bC nella regione pugliese, sulla base delle evidenze paleoclimatiche, paleoambientali e paleoagricole. seguendo un approccio multidisciplinare si è cercato di confrontare il dato del popolamento antropico, fornito dalle evidenze archeologiche, con i dati paleoambientali e paleoclimatici disponibili grazie ad alcune sequenze naturali off-shore e off-site. Questi dati sono stati di seguito confrontati con i resti archeobotanici (carboni e semi) provenienti da 35 insediamenti compresi tra vii e iv millennio. tale approccio ha messo in evidenza possibili processi di trasformazione delle comunità neolitiche in relazione ad oscillazioni di alcuni parametri quali temperature e precipitazioni che potrebbero aver influito in misura differente sulle modalità di interazione tra uomo e ambiente, sia in termini di dinamiche insediative sia in relazione a specifiche scelte agronomiche.

The objective of our research was to define the main human–environment interactions during the Neolithic period (6500–3700 bc) in the Apulia region of southeastern Italy based on available published and unpublished data. Knowledge of these interactions is crucial to understanding the cultural and social dynamics of the period, particularly concerning the earliest farmers. Using a multidisciplinary approach, paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatological data at the regional and Mediterranean scales were compared with the results of analyses performed on natural deposits and deposits in Neolithic settlements. The following data sets were used: (1) 121 14C dates for settlements, from which probability curves (%) of the Apulian Archaeological Occupation (AAO) were developed; (2) offshore data obtained from analyses performed on two offshore sediment cores drilled in the Adriatic Sea; (3) offsite data from studies conducted in two natural coastal contexts; and (4) onsite archaeobotanical data from 35 settlements. This study allowed us to tentatively define the main climatic features between 6200 and 3700 bc. We identified two dry phases (one between 5000 and 4600 bc and a second that peaked c. 4000 bc) and two wet intervals (one between 6200 and 5500 bc and a second that peaked around 4400 bc). Climate changes appear to have been relatively gradual. The use of archaeobotanical data allowed us to determine a direct link between paleoclimatic and archaeological sequences. These data highlight the variations in agricultural strategies (species used and harvest times) as humans responded to changes in the rainfall regime.

We explore the informative potential of discarted archaeobotanical remains well beyond the sphere of food strategies, and to outline the dispersal behaviour pattern of a well-established Syrian city-state of Ebla during the Middle Bronze Age

Hidden Neolithic landscapes of the Adriatic coastal region in Apulia have been reconstructed by comparing geomorphological, palaeoenvironmental, archaeobotanical and archaeological data. Ancient landscapes are hidden and/or transformed by natural processes (rising sea-level, erosion and/or accumulation processes) and by recent human activity (intensive land use and urban expansion). Recent research on archaeological landscapes in the Tavoliere, Ofanto and Murge areas has highlighted several less well-known aspects of hidden Early to Late Neolithic landscapes.

L'esposizione è incentrata su un rinvenimento eccezionale effettuato a Supersano (LE) dal Prof. Arthur e dalla sua équipe durante la campagna di scavo del 2007, condotta anche grazie al contributo finanziario del Comune di Supersano. Qui è stato indagato un pozzo per attingere acqua, con all'interno un deposito di materiali organici, databili al VII-VIII secolo e perfettamente conservati: semi, porzioni di frutto e manufatti lignei, oltre a materiali ceramici. Il pozzo è in un'area occupata in età bizantina da un villaggio scoperto nel 1999. La mostra presenterà la vita quotidiana nel villaggio e le attività produttive della comunità ivi inseditata. Quindi farà conoscere da vicino il contesto del pozzo e i materiali rinvenuti all'interno di esso, il cui studio ha reso possibile la ricostruzione dell'ambiente e del paesaggio intorno all'antico Bosco di Belvedere. L'eccezionale rinvenimento di vinaccioli non combusti ha consentito lo studio del DNA di questi resti vegetali. Le analisi condotte presso l'Istituto "Ancient DNA" di Copenhagen hanno permesso di risalire alla varietà del vitigno coltivato a Supersano nel Medioevo. La ricerca per la prima volta ha chiarito le modalità di produzione del vino nel Salento durante l'età bizantina.

Guida della mostra "La Storia nel Pozzo" tenuta al Museo Storico - Archeologico dell'Universita' del Salento, Lecce, dall'ottobre a dicembre 2011.

Vengono presentate le analisi archeobotaniche del complesso monastico di San Vincenzo al Volturno, in particolare i materiali recuperati all'interno delle cucine ed i resti provenienti dai nuovi saggi a pertinenti agli scarichi delle stesse cucine nell'alveo del fiume.

The chapter summarizes the main categories of plant remains subject of palaeobotanical and archaeobotanical analyses and the principal characteristics of preservation in natural and archaeological contexts. Particular attention is devoted to the investigation methods and the latest research areas such as the application of stable isotopes on archaeobotanical remains.

The cumulative power of botanical and chemical analysis is demonstrated here by our authors, who succeed in opening a window on Europe’s most obscure period, in the south as in the north, the time after the Roman and then the Byzantine empire lost its hold. The emphasis here is on the rise in production and trade of cash crops in the eighth century as detected by survey, pollen, charcoal and residues. Taken together, the new data show a community well on the road to economic recovery after two centuries of recession and monetary failure.

In recent decades the analysis of stable isotopes in plants has become a useful method to infer natural and anthropogenic effects on the growing conditions of plants. Here we present a review of the state-of-the-art regarding the use of stable isotopes in plant macroremains. After providing a brief theoretical and methodological background, we will concentrate on the most common applications developed so far: reconstruction of climate and crop growing conditions, and crop provenancing. Finally, we will discuss current methodological challenges, and potential new directions for research.

The discovery of a storeroom full of barley and other cereals (L.9512) in the proto-historic site of Ebla has provided a unique opportunity to study the centralized storage system of the early city-state from a different perspective. Epigraphic evidence available within the site reveals a complex system of taxation which included gathering grain tributes from satellite sites and redistributing semi-finished products such as flour. In this paper, we intend to explore the possibilities of a combined approach to studying the storage system, based on estimated barley grain volumes and delta C-13-delta N-15 analyses. This approach is used to distinguish between grain from different harvesting sites and to identify any grain cultivated using special agricultural practices (e.g. manuring or irrigation). The basic assumption for this kind of analysis is that the growth-site conditions, natural or anthropogenic, of harvested cereals are reflected in their grain size and delta C-13-delta N-15 values. Since the remains found in the storeroom were charred, the first task was to evaluate the effect of carbonization on the delta C-13-delta N-15 and the size of the grains. Thus, the effect of charring was tested on modern samples of Syrian barley landraces. Once it had been ascertained that fresh grains reduced to charred remains retain their original biometric and isotopic traits, the ancient material was examined. Thirteen groups were identified, each characterized by a specific average volume and specific carbon and nitrogen values. The analysis revealed that what had first appeared to be a homogeneous concentration of grain was in fact an assemblage of barley harvested from different sites.

While some consensus exists about the roles of southwestern China and northeastern India in the origin and diversification of the genus Citrus, the scarcity of its archaeological remains, as well as some methodological limits in unequivocally identifying taxa, do not facilitate reconstruction of the tempo and mode of spread of the genus towards other areas, notably the Mediterranean.

Si tratta dell'esito di un grande lavoro multidisciplinare internazione. Vengono utilizzate nuove metodologie di analisi biomolecolari per l'estrazione di DNA antico da resti di semi di vite provenienti da contesti archeologici del Bacino del Mediterraneo, datati con tecnica AMS e determinati con nuove metodologie di analisi d'immagine, con l'obiettivo di tracciare la storia della viticoltura.

Based on multiproxy investigations of a 250 cm long sediment core (ALI1), a reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental dynamics for the Alimini Piccolo lake (south Adriatic coast of Apulia, Italy), is proposed. Our results indicate that shortly before 5500 cal. yr BP a marsh environment established. From 5400 cal. BP the marsh progressively became a lagoon and did not change until 3320 cal. BP, when Alimini Piccolo evolved into a shallow, sheltered, freshwater basin. Around 1400 cal. yr BP the basin became again a lagoon. Changes of the deposition environments and the chronological framework defined in the ALI1 sequence allowed speculation about local relative sea-level motions through the mid-late Holocene. Using proxy-data (molluscs, foraminifers, ostracods and plant macro-remains) as environment and bathymetry indicators, we reconstruct the elevation of the basin bottom (above or below sea level) through time. Plant macro-fossils have proved to be an especially reliable source of data for sea-level reconstruction. The resulting relative sea-level curve is characterised by a slow rise between 5500 and 3900 cal. yr BP, a drop culminating around 2500 cal. yr BP and a new, steeper rise continued to the present position. Our model differs from other curves (tectonically and isostatically corrected) proposed for a number of Mediterranean coastal sites where Holocene sea-level changes have been described with a continuously rising curve, steep before 7000-6000 yr BP, more gradual between 6000 yr BP and the present. On the other hand, our reconstruction seems to agree with evidence on sea-level position during the Roman age, found in several Apulian sites (Salento coastland) by means of geomorphological and archaeological investigations.

The discovery of a deep votive well full of pottery, idols of clay, animal bones and charred plant remains, along the wall of the Temple of Rock at Ebla, opened new perspectives in the study of worship activities held in that particular areas. Plant remains were considered as privileged interpretative tools, and careful attention was taken during the collection of samples. Therefore, the investigation started characterizing the different depositional episodes: the ritual fuel discharging was distinguished from the deposition of charred materials in pots. As result, the identification of plant remains collected led to shed light on the type and the geographical origin of the archaeobotanical assemblage as well the meaning assumed by vegetal components in rituals.

<span class="tlid-translation translation"><span class="" title="">We use an anthracological and experimental approach to decode fire remains and thermal alterations of the soil in an area of the Sanctuary of Apollo at Hierapolis (Turkey).</span> <span title="">The results obtained from experimental foyere structures show that the escharon is the result of a series of flat hearths, pit foci and secondary deposits of ash.</span> <span title="">Important ritual implications derive from the contextual identification of these episodes of fire and bring a new light on the worship of Apollo in this region.</span></span>

L'articolo ripercorre la storia della domesticazione della vite, delle diverse ipotesi sull'origine della coltivazione sulla diversificazione delle varietà. Nuovi strumenti metodologici vengono proposti per la caratterizzazione varietale dei resti vegetali nei contesti archeologici, in particolare attraverso l'analisi d'immagine dei vinaccioli e l'estrazione del DNA antico in contesti particolarmente favorevoli dal punto di vista conservativo. Una rassegna dei ritrovamenti più antichi in Italia Meridionale si propone di definire i percorsi della vite coltivata dalle aree d'origine al Mediterraneo centrale.

Charred plant remains found in archaeological contexts are usually considered the most reliable remains for radiocarbon dating. Usually, seeds and fruits are preferred to wood fragments because their short lifecycle reduces the range of uncertainty of the 14C measurement. A selection of short-lived samples, mainly from barley and wheat, from the Late Roman site of Faragola (SE Italy) were 14C dated; however, the 14C dates obtained were not always consistent with the chronology provided by other archaeological evidence. A careful analysis of all the macrobotanical remains found in each of the dated contexts provides insight into the origin of the plant material, helping to distinguish between in situ and non-in situ material. The 14C dates are reconsidered in the context of findings and the kind of material selected for dating. Using the archaeological context, a Bayesian model was employed to reduce the range of the calibrated date and thereby refine the chronology of the site on an absolute basis.