TY - JOUR
T1 - Rebooting the Study of Forager Plant Economies
T2 - The Potential of Submerged Archaeological Sites
AU - Termansen, Signe Sangill
AU - Astrup, Peter Moe
AU - Out, Welmoed
AU - Johannsen, Niels Nørkjær
PY - 2024/8/24
Y1 - 2024/8/24
N2 - The contribution of plants to the diets and wider economies of most prehistoric foragers is inadequately studied and poorly understood, also in comparison with other aspects of their economies and with prehistoric plant economies from the Neolithic onwards. This situation even applies to the Mesolithic of southern Scandinavia, which is a particularly intensely studied prehistoric forager sequence. In this paper we consider taphonomic, methodological and ideological reasons for the relative lack of research focus, after which we discuss the potential of strategic bulk sampling for plant macroremains at submerged sites. We then briefly present a pilot study of such macroremains obtained from the submerged site Hjarnø Sund, Denmark, and discuss next steps, including methodological initiatives to improve the distinction between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic material. We conclude that the potential of this type of site in the effort to understand the dietary and wider economic roles of plants in the Mesolithic far exceeds the general level of attention that they have received so far. Accordingly, we argue for increased focus, strategic sampling and a sustained, longer-term research effort in order to improve our understanding of this central aspect of prehistoric forager life and culture.
AB - The contribution of plants to the diets and wider economies of most prehistoric foragers is inadequately studied and poorly understood, also in comparison with other aspects of their economies and with prehistoric plant economies from the Neolithic onwards. This situation even applies to the Mesolithic of southern Scandinavia, which is a particularly intensely studied prehistoric forager sequence. In this paper we consider taphonomic, methodological and ideological reasons for the relative lack of research focus, after which we discuss the potential of strategic bulk sampling for plant macroremains at submerged sites. We then briefly present a pilot study of such macroremains obtained from the submerged site Hjarnø Sund, Denmark, and discuss next steps, including methodological initiatives to improve the distinction between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic material. We conclude that the potential of this type of site in the effort to understand the dietary and wider economic roles of plants in the Mesolithic far exceeds the general level of attention that they have received so far. Accordingly, we argue for increased focus, strategic sampling and a sustained, longer-term research effort in order to improve our understanding of this central aspect of prehistoric forager life and culture.
KW - Plant economy
KW - botanical macroremains
KW - southern scandinavia
KW - stone age
KW - wetland sites
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201612863&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14614103.2024.2393015
DO - 10.1080/14614103.2024.2393015
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1461-4103
JO - Environmental Archaeology
JF - Environmental Archaeology
ER -