PI: Kathleen Forste

This project conceptualizes archaeobotanical remains as evidence that can be used to investigate both agricultural systems and food production practices. It focuses on the Islamic period on the Balearic Islands, Spain (c. 10th – 13th centuries CE), and utilizes archaeological plant remains from the on-going excavations of a 13th century farming village at the site of Torred’en Galmés, Menorca.

By combining botanical, faunal, spatial, ceramic, and historical evidence, this project seeks to understand:

• What evidence is there for rainfed agricultural (dry farming) and irrigated agriculture?
• What aspects of food production (storage, cooking, serving, etc) can be reconstructed from these datasets?
• How do these agricultural and culinary practices differ from those evidenced at urban and rural sites on the mainland?
• How did people manage their island landscape?

Currently, research is being conducted to combine microbotanical (phytolith) evidence with the macrobotanical (seeds and plant parts), to complete anthracological analyses, and to find contemporary sites and textual sources to better situate the site within its cultural and historical context.

This work is part of the larger Menorca Archaeology Project (MAP).

Recent findings:
Alqueries andalusines a Menorca: Criteris d’assentament i organització dels habitatges

Students involved in these research projects are supported by Brown Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs).

Project 1. Archaeobotanical Evidence of Agricultural Practices in the Late Antique and Medieval Mediterranean
Students: Katharine Knowles, Mariia Dzhelmach
Project Description:
This project is a first step towards creating a reference database for interpreting archaeological plant data, specifically collating information on wild seeds to use as a proxy to study ecological conditions (e.g., soil types, humidity levels) and seasonality of agricultural tasks (e.g., planting, harvesting). The undergraduate researcher will work with published archaeobotanical references and comparative specimens to (1) index wild plants and crops identified archaeologically, (2) assist in management of comparative collections, (3) assist in identifying archaeological plant remains. Through this work the undergraduate researcher will receive hands-on training in archaeological science and will contribute to active archaeological research of agricultural change. This project is part of a larger comparative study of agricultural systems across the eastern and western Mediterranean during the late antique and medieval periods (4 th –13 th centuries). During this time, there is a generalized, large-scale pattern of new crops and irrigation technology being introduced across the Mediterranean from the Middle East. It is not clear how individual communities adopted or rejected these new introductions, but archaeological investigations of plant remains from individual sites can trace these changes and help us understand the agricultural choices people made in the past.