The purpose of this paper is to review the current evidence for plant use in Mesolithic Europe and to summarize its implications. In order to do so, four sources of data are examined: macrobotanical remains, palynological data, artefactual evidence, and the human biological record. A prelimary survey of palaeobotanical evidence for plant use in the Mesolithic indicates that the evidence is far more extensive than expected hitherto and that accumulations of plant food, especially of nuts, point to their regular and extensive use. In those areas such as Britain, where a large number of fine-resolution palynological studies have been carried out, the incidence of clearance and burning phases seems to be too high to be explained by acts of nature alone. A good case can be made for deliberate forest clearance and the maintenance of a more open landscape by Late Mesolithic groups as part of a promotional strategy to increase the productivity of nut and fruit trees and shrubs, wetland plants, and possibly native grasses. Artefactual evidence points to a widespread distribution of soil-working tools (hoes and antler mattocks), especially in temperate Europe, and to a greater than expected presence of reaping and grinding equipment, lending conditional support for the existence of a specialized plant processing tool kit for digging, reaping, and plant processing. Palaeopathological evidence indicates the existence of a dietary pattern in the west Mediterranean making extensive use of starchy and carbohydrate foods which resulted in a high caries rate among the Mesolithic population of that area. In discussing the signiftcanse of these four lines of evidence, it is argued that, by the Late Mesolithic, the patterns of plant use support the notion of wild plant food husbandry instead of the incidental and opportunistic use of plants for food which has implicitly been accepted as a norm for the Mesolithic in Europe. Three geographical areas can be identified with their specific pattern of plant use: temperate Europe, Mediterranean Europe, and the south-eastern Balkans/Pontic Steppe. The patterns of plant use suggested in this paper emphasize the additive nature of the adoption of the agro-pastoral Neolithic farming practices in Europe.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0079497X00003388

Plant use in the mesolithic and its role in the transition to farming

The book draws on evidence from landscape archaeology, palaeoenvironmental studies, ethnohistory and animal tracking to address the neglected topic of how we identify and interpret past patterns of movement in the landscape. It derives inspiration from recent writing about landscape, place and routes and anthropological concepts relating to movement.

The premise is that archaeologists tend to focus on ‘sites’ while neglecting the patterns of habitual movement that made them part of a living landscape. It considers evidence for routes by which past communities moved through landscape, establishing connections between the foci represented by sites and creating axes of communication. These may be perpetuated over long timescales, creating landscape structures which influence the activities of subsequent generations. The ways in which routes are established by people are considered, including the effect of frequented routes by wild animals. 

Palaeoenvironmental and ethno-historical evidence from the American north west coast is drawn on to demonstrate how effects on vegetation by burning, grazing, faeces deposition, and transplantation can create readable routes along which there are favoured resources. European evidence provides hints of relevant patterns on a wide range of spatial scales. On the local scale are the Mesolithic footprint trails in the Severn Estuary which help to establish the locations of lost settlements and the habitual patterns of Mesolithic daily life. Wooden trackways in wetlands likewise provide evidence of favoured patterns of movement and past settlement location. Alignments of barrows, enclosure entrances, trackways through fields and sometimes the locations of major ritual complexes can provide evidence of district or greater scale patterns of movement. The supposed ancient origins of Ridgeways are critiqued, it is suggested that transhumant routes at right angles to topography may often be earlier and more significant. Scientific approaches to dating hollow ways are outlined. Ways in which more long distant routes can be identified are considered, both overland and at sea. It aims to position the neglected study of past routeways at the centre of archaeological discourse.

Making One's Way in the World: The Footprints and Trackways of Prehistoric People

Geoarchaeology, the four dimensional (4D) fluvial matrix and climatic causality

This paper represents the joint work of two very different specialists. The fieldwork was undertaken by Sillitoe as part of his ethnographic research in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the interpretative work was done by an archaeologist, Hardy. The work described here represents some of the last direct evidence from users of stone tools. It shows how procurement, manufacture, use, storage and the relative roles of men and women in the process was dependant on what other materials were available – material often sadly elusive in the archaeological record. Discard did not reflect use, but was often guided by the thoughtful wish to avoid cut feet.

/pdf/living-lithics-ethnoarchaeology-in-highland-papua-new-guinea-14jifcu5zu.pdf

Living Lithics: ethnoarchaeology in Highland Papua New Guinea

Over the past few decades, the potential importance of plants within European Mesolithic economies has frequently been discussed, but there has been little systematic consideration of the archaeobotanical evidence for Mesolithic plant consumption in Scotland. This paper assesses the use of plants in the Scottish Mesolithic economy using the archaeobotanical evidence from 48 sites. It is argued that plants were systematically, and, in some cases, intensively, exploited in Mesolithic Scotland. Though plan remains were extremely sparse at most sites, it is suggested that uneven archaeological sampling and taphonomic factors, together with the relatively short duration of occupation of many sites, may be responsible for the restricted range and frequency of edible tax in most assemblages.

/pdf/seeds-fruits-and-nuts-in-the-scottish-mesolithic-1thsn07oag.pdf

Seeds, fruits and nuts in the Scottish Mesolithic.

Excavations were undertaken in advance of construction work at Newbury Sewage Treatment Works on the outskirts of Thatcham in Berkshire, close to the sites of previous excavations undertaken by Wymer and by Peake and Crawford. Worked flint of Mesolithic date was recovered from a sandy layer overlying river gravel in two distinct concentrations suggesting two distinct episodes. Use wear analysis of the flint suggests that the sites were used as home bases at which a wide range of activities took place, with an emphasis on the processing of plant foods. A 14C date of 9100±80 BP was obtained from a sample of hazel-nut shells from within one of the concentrations. Analysis of the soil and sedimentary sequence as well as the pollen indicates constantly changing localised environments in the early Holocene in the Thatcham area, with sporadic occupation by Mesolithic communities on the drier areas at the edge of the floodplain.

Excavations of a Mesolithic Site at Thatcham, Berkshire

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Excavations of a Mesolithic Site at Thatcham, Berkshire