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A Review of the Earliest Evidence of Agriculture in Lithuania and the Earliest Direct AMS Date on Cereal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2017

Mindaugas Grikpėdis Open the ORCID record for Mindaugas Grikpėdis [Opens in a new window]  and
Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute
Mindaugas Grikpėdis
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Vilnius University, Lithuania
Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute
Affiliation:
City Research Department, Lithuanian Institute of History, Vilnius, Lithuania
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Abstract

Current knowledge of the beginnings of crop cultivation in Lithuania is based mainly on Cerealia-type pollen data supplemented by other indirect evidence such as agricultural tools. We argue that these records, predating carbonized remains of cultivated plants, are not substantial enough indicators of the early stages of agriculture in Lithuania. Here, we demonstrate that the macroremains of cultural plants that were previously reported from two Neolithic settlements in Lithuania were either mistakenly identified as domestic crops or incorrectly ascribed to the Neolithic period due to movement through the stratigraphic sequence and the absence of direct dating of cereal grains. Furthermore, we present a charred Hordeum vulgare grain from the Bronze Age settlement of Kvietiniai in western Lithuania. It was AMS-dated to 1392–1123 cal bc, and at present represents the earliest definite evidence for a crop in the eastern Baltic region. We conclude that, presently, there are no grounds to suggest that crop cultivation took place in Lithuania during the Neolithic.

Les connaissances actuelles sur les débuts de l'agriculture en Lituanie reposent surtout sur la présence de pollen de céréales, ainsi que sur d'autres témoignages indirects tels l'existence d'outils agricoles. Nous soutenons que ces données, dont la datation fournit des dates plus anciennes que les celles obtenues pour les restes carbonisés de plantes cultivées, ne sont pas des preuves suffisantes pour prouver les débuts de l'agriculture en Lituanie. Dans cet article nous démontrons que les restes macro-botaniques de plantes cultivées retrouvés sur deux sites d'habitat néolithiques lituaniens ont été soit identifiés par erreur comme provenant de cultures de plantes domestiquées, soit faussement attribués au Néolithique à la suite de perturbations dans la séquence stratigraphique ; quoiqu'il en soit, ces graines n'ont pas été datées directement. De plus, nous faisons état d'un grain d'Hordeum vulgare carbonisé provenant de l'habitat de l’âge du Bronze de Kvietiniai en Lituanie occidentale. Sa datation AMS de 1392–1123 cal bc en fait probablement la preuve la plus ancienne de cultivation céréalière en Baltique orientale. Nous en concluons que, jusqu’à présent, il n'y a pas de raisons de supposer que la culture des céréales ait été établie en Lituanie pendant le Néolithique. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Der aktuelle Kenntnisstand über den Anfang des Ackerbaus in Litauen beruht vor allem auf getreideartigen Pollenangaben und auf anderen indirekten Hinweisen wie landwirtschaftliche Werkzeuge. Wir sind der Meinung, dass diese Angaben, die ältere Datierungen von karbonisierten Kulturpflanzen ergeben haben, nicht genügend sind, um die ersten Stufen des Ackerbaus in Litauen zu beweisen. In diesem Artikel zeigen wir, dass die Makroreste von Kulturpflanzen aus zwei neolithischen Siedlungen in Litauen, die man früher als Kulturpflanzen angesehen hatte, waren entweder falsch identifiziert oder dem Neolithikum falsch zugeordnet; dies hätte wegen Bewegungen innerhalb der stratigrafischen Folge geschehen können; dazu waren die Getreidekörner nicht direkt datiert. Schließlich berichten wir über ein verkohltes Korn von Hordeum vulgere aus der bronzezeitlichen Siedlung von in Kvietiniai Westlitauen. Die AMS-Datierung ergab ein Datum von 1392–1123 cal bc; wahrscheinlich ist diese Datierung die früheste direkte Angabe über Ackerbau im östlichen baltischen Gebiet. Wir sind der Meinung, dass es noch keine Gründe gibt, zu vermuten, dass der Anfang des Ackerbaus schon während des Neolithikums in Litauen stattfand. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

archaeobotanyHordeumNeolithicBronze Ageearly agricultureeastern BalticarchéobotaniqueHordeumNéolithiqueâge du Bronzedébuts de l'agricultureBaltique orientaleArchäobotanikHordeumNeolithikumBronzezeitfrüher Ackerbauostbaltisches Gebiet
Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , May 2018 , pp. 264 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2017 

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