L’archeologie est une discipline scientifique, complexe mais de plus en plus precise, dont l’obje... more L’archeologie est une discipline scientifique, complexe mais de plus en plus precise, dont l’objectif essentiel est de mieux connaitre l’Homme et la societe, depuis la Prehistoirejusqu’a l’epoque moderne, grâce a l’etude des elements materiels mis au jour (edifices, infrastructures,poteries, outils, armes, ossements...). L’archeologue, dans une approche diachronique, trouve l’essentiel de sa documentation grâce a des travaux de terrain (prospections, sondages,fouilles, voire etudes de collections). Les resultats permettent de mettre en lumiere une culture ouune civilisation, une ou des population(s), les etapes d’un passe meconnu. L’Histoire de l’Asie centrale est complexe et jalonnee d’episodes mouvementes. La grande diversitegeographique et orographique en a fait un lieu privilegie ou se sont developpes de grandes civilisationset de puissants empires, dont il nous reste encore beaucoup a decouvrir : la civilisation del’Oxus, les empires des Achemenides, d’Alexandre le Grand, des K...
The recent study of botanical macro-remains from the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic (5th to 8th ... more The recent study of botanical macro-remains from the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic (5th to 8th century) fort of Fulayj (Batinah, Sultanate of Oman) provides a unique opportunity to discuss food and fuel acquisition strategies in an arid environment and to document periods that are little known from an archaeobotanical perspective in Eastern Arabia. Seed assemblages include the first well-identified and directly radiocarbon dated evidence of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor (L.) Moench.) in Eastern Arabia, which raises the question of whether the grain was imported from distant sources (for example Yemen, East Africa or India) or locally cultivated. In addition to sorghum, the food plant assemblage includes hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare), date (Phoenix dactylifera) and jujube (Ziziphus cf. spina-christi). Date palm gardens may have existed near to the site as they do today or food products may have been brought from date palm gardens on the Batinah coast where conditions for agricultural production are particularly favourable. Charcoal analysis reveals that the main taxa used for fuel (acacia, prosopis, jujube tree, tamarisk) were collected from local plant communities, occasionally supplemented with firewood gathered in the foothills and mountainous areas.
Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) was identified, among other plant remains, from several contexts in ... more Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) was identified, among other plant remains, from several contexts in a fortified elite residence at the site of Mleiha (United Arab Emirates) that was partially destroyed by fire in the third century AD. These remains, present both as isolated grains and as clusters of rice, constitute the earliest example of the species in the Arabian Peninsula and raise numerous questions on the role of rice in local economies during the Late Pre-Islamic period. The discussion focuses on two aspects of the finds. On the one hand, the state of preservation and the archaeological contexts of the rice remains are investigated in detail in order to reconstruct crop processing activities that might have taken place within the building as well as different aspects of the preparation and consumption of what seems to have been a rare crop. On the other hand, we discuss the origin of the Mleiha rice weighing the possible cultivation in local irrigated date palm gardens against its importation through the long-distance trade networks across the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean that are well attested by archaeological and textual sources for the period of concern.
"The discovery of seeds and textiles from Gossypium (cotton) in Achaemenian levels of... more "The discovery of seeds and textiles from Gossypium (cotton) in Achaemenian levels of the mid-6th–late 4th century B.C . at Qal’at al-Bahrain, Bahrain and in early 1st millennium A.D. at Madaˆ’in Saˆlih, Saudi Arabia, reveals the role played by the Arabian Peninsula as a textile production centre during the centuries before and after the beginning of the Christian era. Both these sites were situated on important trade routes, overseas (Qal’at al-Bahrain) and overland (Madâ’in Sâlih), and it is likely that at least part of the cotton production was intended for trade, complementing and perhaps competing with other sources of cotton textiles in the contemporary Middle East. In the arid climate of the Arabian Peninsula, cotton was probably
grown in association with irrigated date palm gardens where a wide array of other crops was grown, as is shown by the analysis of charred seeds and wood from occupation levels at both sites. The present article places theseparticular finds in the larger context of cotton cultivation in the Middle East and India."
ABSTRACT Six mineralised seeds of Sesamum indicum L. (sesame) have been found in a cesspit dating... more ABSTRACT Six mineralised seeds of Sesamum indicum L. (sesame) have been found in a cesspit dating from the Samnite occupation (Republican period, 2nd century BC) of Pompeii in southwest Italy. This oil plant is of tropical Asian origin, and its occurrences in prehistoric Italy and more generally in the Mediterranean region are very scarce and only from sea ports. It thus raises the question about its role in long distance trade between the Italian Peninsula and Asia, in relation to the Roman conquest of the east including the near east which started in the 2nd century BC. The present contribution reviews the archaeobotanical evidence of early sesame in Asia and Europe and explores the potential routes of its spread to the west. The possibility of an introduction and acclimatization of the plant in southern Europe is also discussed in the light of archaeobotanical finds and ancient texts.
ABSTRACT The study of several types of botanical remains from the site of Mentesh Tepe, Azerbaija... more ABSTRACT The study of several types of botanical remains from the site of Mentesh Tepe, Azerbaijan, has provided the first data on the vegetation cover and the exploitation and use of plant resources from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in this part of the Kura River Basin. Riparian woodlands constitute the main fuel source throughout the occupational sequence. However, wood was also exploited in relatively open woodlands characterised by the presence of a dozen shrub and tree species, among them oak, hornbeam, buckthorn, wayfaring-tree, maple and lime. Most seed and fruit remains correspond either to crops, such as cereals (barley, wheat) and pulses (lentil, grass pea), or to weeds and ruderal plants. The analysis of phytoliths shows that cereals were treated (de-husked) on-site. Very few fruits were found in the botanical record.
ABSTRACT Cotton plants, belonging to several species of the Gossypium genus, have attracted the a... more ABSTRACT Cotton plants, belonging to several species of the Gossypium genus, have attracted the attention of Old World populations since the Neolithic because of the fibres that are attached to their seeds. Despite the importance of these textile plants today , the origin and the evolution of their cultivation have long been ignored. Recent discoveries of Gossypium, in the form of fibres, textiles and seeds, on archaeological sites in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent, makes it now possible to retrace the its ancient history in this part of the world. This article presents the main events of this history on the basis of botanical, archaeological and textual evidence.
... Sakan égyptienne. 13. Les fouilles du chantier A ont été supervisées par Dina Faltings, assis... more ... Sakan égyptienne. 13. Les fouilles du chantier A ont été supervisées par Dina Faltings, assistée de Christine Lorre, Anne-Perrine Legay, Abdel Aziz Midan et Assa'ad Ashur. ... des écuelles de diamètres et de profils divers (fig. 17 : 5-6) ; - des assiettes et des plats-assiettes (fig. ...
Ever since the early 3rd millennium BC the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has played an importan... more Ever since the early 3rd millennium BC the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has played an important role in eastern Arabia where its remains, in the form of seeds, fruits and stem fragments, are preserved on numerous archaeological sites. The recent discovery of a carbonised mass of pitted dates in a collective burial pit from the end of the Umm an-Nar
L’archeologie est une discipline scientifique, complexe mais de plus en plus precise, dont l’obje... more L’archeologie est une discipline scientifique, complexe mais de plus en plus precise, dont l’objectif essentiel est de mieux connaitre l’Homme et la societe, depuis la Prehistoirejusqu’a l’epoque moderne, grâce a l’etude des elements materiels mis au jour (edifices, infrastructures,poteries, outils, armes, ossements...). L’archeologue, dans une approche diachronique, trouve l’essentiel de sa documentation grâce a des travaux de terrain (prospections, sondages,fouilles, voire etudes de collections). Les resultats permettent de mettre en lumiere une culture ouune civilisation, une ou des population(s), les etapes d’un passe meconnu. L’Histoire de l’Asie centrale est complexe et jalonnee d’episodes mouvementes. La grande diversitegeographique et orographique en a fait un lieu privilegie ou se sont developpes de grandes civilisationset de puissants empires, dont il nous reste encore beaucoup a decouvrir : la civilisation del’Oxus, les empires des Achemenides, d’Alexandre le Grand, des K...
The recent study of botanical macro-remains from the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic (5th to 8th ... more The recent study of botanical macro-remains from the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic (5th to 8th century) fort of Fulayj (Batinah, Sultanate of Oman) provides a unique opportunity to discuss food and fuel acquisition strategies in an arid environment and to document periods that are little known from an archaeobotanical perspective in Eastern Arabia. Seed assemblages include the first well-identified and directly radiocarbon dated evidence of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor (L.) Moench.) in Eastern Arabia, which raises the question of whether the grain was imported from distant sources (for example Yemen, East Africa or India) or locally cultivated. In addition to sorghum, the food plant assemblage includes hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare), date (Phoenix dactylifera) and jujube (Ziziphus cf. spina-christi). Date palm gardens may have existed near to the site as they do today or food products may have been brought from date palm gardens on the Batinah coast where conditions for agricultural production are particularly favourable. Charcoal analysis reveals that the main taxa used for fuel (acacia, prosopis, jujube tree, tamarisk) were collected from local plant communities, occasionally supplemented with firewood gathered in the foothills and mountainous areas.
Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) was identified, among other plant remains, from several contexts in ... more Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) was identified, among other plant remains, from several contexts in a fortified elite residence at the site of Mleiha (United Arab Emirates) that was partially destroyed by fire in the third century AD. These remains, present both as isolated grains and as clusters of rice, constitute the earliest example of the species in the Arabian Peninsula and raise numerous questions on the role of rice in local economies during the Late Pre-Islamic period. The discussion focuses on two aspects of the finds. On the one hand, the state of preservation and the archaeological contexts of the rice remains are investigated in detail in order to reconstruct crop processing activities that might have taken place within the building as well as different aspects of the preparation and consumption of what seems to have been a rare crop. On the other hand, we discuss the origin of the Mleiha rice weighing the possible cultivation in local irrigated date palm gardens against its importation through the long-distance trade networks across the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean that are well attested by archaeological and textual sources for the period of concern.
"The discovery of seeds and textiles from Gossypium (cotton) in Achaemenian levels of... more "The discovery of seeds and textiles from Gossypium (cotton) in Achaemenian levels of the mid-6th–late 4th century B.C . at Qal’at al-Bahrain, Bahrain and in early 1st millennium A.D. at Madaˆ’in Saˆlih, Saudi Arabia, reveals the role played by the Arabian Peninsula as a textile production centre during the centuries before and after the beginning of the Christian era. Both these sites were situated on important trade routes, overseas (Qal’at al-Bahrain) and overland (Madâ’in Sâlih), and it is likely that at least part of the cotton production was intended for trade, complementing and perhaps competing with other sources of cotton textiles in the contemporary Middle East. In the arid climate of the Arabian Peninsula, cotton was probably
grown in association with irrigated date palm gardens where a wide array of other crops was grown, as is shown by the analysis of charred seeds and wood from occupation levels at both sites. The present article places theseparticular finds in the larger context of cotton cultivation in the Middle East and India."
ABSTRACT Six mineralised seeds of Sesamum indicum L. (sesame) have been found in a cesspit dating... more ABSTRACT Six mineralised seeds of Sesamum indicum L. (sesame) have been found in a cesspit dating from the Samnite occupation (Republican period, 2nd century BC) of Pompeii in southwest Italy. This oil plant is of tropical Asian origin, and its occurrences in prehistoric Italy and more generally in the Mediterranean region are very scarce and only from sea ports. It thus raises the question about its role in long distance trade between the Italian Peninsula and Asia, in relation to the Roman conquest of the east including the near east which started in the 2nd century BC. The present contribution reviews the archaeobotanical evidence of early sesame in Asia and Europe and explores the potential routes of its spread to the west. The possibility of an introduction and acclimatization of the plant in southern Europe is also discussed in the light of archaeobotanical finds and ancient texts.
ABSTRACT The study of several types of botanical remains from the site of Mentesh Tepe, Azerbaija... more ABSTRACT The study of several types of botanical remains from the site of Mentesh Tepe, Azerbaijan, has provided the first data on the vegetation cover and the exploitation and use of plant resources from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in this part of the Kura River Basin. Riparian woodlands constitute the main fuel source throughout the occupational sequence. However, wood was also exploited in relatively open woodlands characterised by the presence of a dozen shrub and tree species, among them oak, hornbeam, buckthorn, wayfaring-tree, maple and lime. Most seed and fruit remains correspond either to crops, such as cereals (barley, wheat) and pulses (lentil, grass pea), or to weeds and ruderal plants. The analysis of phytoliths shows that cereals were treated (de-husked) on-site. Very few fruits were found in the botanical record.
ABSTRACT Cotton plants, belonging to several species of the Gossypium genus, have attracted the a... more ABSTRACT Cotton plants, belonging to several species of the Gossypium genus, have attracted the attention of Old World populations since the Neolithic because of the fibres that are attached to their seeds. Despite the importance of these textile plants today , the origin and the evolution of their cultivation have long been ignored. Recent discoveries of Gossypium, in the form of fibres, textiles and seeds, on archaeological sites in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent, makes it now possible to retrace the its ancient history in this part of the world. This article presents the main events of this history on the basis of botanical, archaeological and textual evidence.
... Sakan égyptienne. 13. Les fouilles du chantier A ont été supervisées par Dina Faltings, assis... more ... Sakan égyptienne. 13. Les fouilles du chantier A ont été supervisées par Dina Faltings, assistée de Christine Lorre, Anne-Perrine Legay, Abdel Aziz Midan et Assa'ad Ashur. ... des écuelles de diamètres et de profils divers (fig. 17 : 5-6) ; - des assiettes et des plats-assiettes (fig. ...
Ever since the early 3rd millennium BC the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has played an importan... more Ever since the early 3rd millennium BC the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has played an important role in eastern Arabia where its remains, in the form of seeds, fruits and stem fragments, are preserved on numerous archaeological sites. The recent discovery of a carbonised mass of pitted dates in a collective burial pit from the end of the Umm an-Nar
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Papers by Margareta Tengberg
Eastern Arabia. Seed assemblages include the first well-identified and directly radiocarbon dated evidence of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor (L.) Moench.) in Eastern Arabia, which raises the question of whether the grain was imported from distant sources (for example Yemen, East Africa or India) or locally cultivated. In addition to sorghum, the food plant assemblage includes hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare), date (Phoenix dactylifera) and jujube (Ziziphus cf. spina-christi). Date palm gardens may have existed near to the site as they do today
or food products may have been brought from date palm gardens on the Batinah coast where conditions for agricultural production are particularly favourable. Charcoal analysis reveals that the main taxa used for fuel (acacia, prosopis, jujube tree, tamarisk) were collected from local plant communities, occasionally supplemented
with firewood gathered in the foothills and mountainous areas.
site of Mleiha (United Arab Emirates) that was partially destroyed by fire in the third century AD. These remains, present both as
isolated grains and as clusters of rice, constitute the earliest example of the species in the Arabian Peninsula and raise numerous
questions on the role of rice in local economies during the Late Pre-Islamic period. The discussion focuses on two aspects of the
finds. On the one hand, the state of preservation and the archaeological contexts of the rice remains are investigated in detail in
order to reconstruct crop processing activities that might have taken place within the building as well as different aspects of the
preparation and consumption of what seems to have been a rare crop. On the other hand, we discuss the origin of the Mleiha rice
weighing the possible cultivation in local irrigated date palm gardens against its importation through the long-distance trade
networks across the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean that are well attested by archaeological and textual sources for the period
of concern.
grown in association with irrigated date palm gardens where a wide array of other crops was grown, as is shown by the analysis of charred seeds and wood from occupation levels at both sites. The present article places theseparticular finds in the larger context of cotton cultivation in the Middle East and India."
Eastern Arabia. Seed assemblages include the first well-identified and directly radiocarbon dated evidence of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor (L.) Moench.) in Eastern Arabia, which raises the question of whether the grain was imported from distant sources (for example Yemen, East Africa or India) or locally cultivated. In addition to sorghum, the food plant assemblage includes hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare), date (Phoenix dactylifera) and jujube (Ziziphus cf. spina-christi). Date palm gardens may have existed near to the site as they do today
or food products may have been brought from date palm gardens on the Batinah coast where conditions for agricultural production are particularly favourable. Charcoal analysis reveals that the main taxa used for fuel (acacia, prosopis, jujube tree, tamarisk) were collected from local plant communities, occasionally supplemented
with firewood gathered in the foothills and mountainous areas.
site of Mleiha (United Arab Emirates) that was partially destroyed by fire in the third century AD. These remains, present both as
isolated grains and as clusters of rice, constitute the earliest example of the species in the Arabian Peninsula and raise numerous
questions on the role of rice in local economies during the Late Pre-Islamic period. The discussion focuses on two aspects of the
finds. On the one hand, the state of preservation and the archaeological contexts of the rice remains are investigated in detail in
order to reconstruct crop processing activities that might have taken place within the building as well as different aspects of the
preparation and consumption of what seems to have been a rare crop. On the other hand, we discuss the origin of the Mleiha rice
weighing the possible cultivation in local irrigated date palm gardens against its importation through the long-distance trade
networks across the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean that are well attested by archaeological and textual sources for the period
of concern.
grown in association with irrigated date palm gardens where a wide array of other crops was grown, as is shown by the analysis of charred seeds and wood from occupation levels at both sites. The present article places theseparticular finds in the larger context of cotton cultivation in the Middle East and India."