Summary
Soultana Maria Valamoti, Charoula Stylianakou
Prehistoric site of Kleitos near Kozani: Preliminary results from the archaeobotanical investigation of the settlement
In this paper we present the preliminary results of the archaeobotanical research at the Neolithic site of Kleitos in northen Greece. During the excavation of the settlement an attempt was made to collect soil samples from all excavated units. Soil samples were collected from floors, structures, post-holes, hearths, pits, ovens and burnt layers. Almost all excavated features were thus sampled. A number of 1400 samples from the entire excavation area were scanned in order to determine the contents and richness of the samples from the site. Samples with more than 30 crop items were selected for study. This procedure resulted in the selection of 98 samples for study. Samples studied so far reveal the domination of cereals and pulses. Glume wheats, dominant in the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, are represented by grains, glume bases and spikelet forks at Kleitos. The most common are the “new type” glume wheat, emmer and einkorn. Barley is also present in the samples represented by grain corresponding to both the ‘naked’ and ‘hulled’ varieties.The most common pulses are lentil, bitter vetch and grass pea. The fruit identified comprise blackberry (Rubus fruticosus L. agg.), elderberry (Sambucus ebulus/nigra) and Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.). Wild/Weed species are rarely represented. These include the following: Bilderdykia convolvulus, Rumex sp., Polygonum aviculare ag., Verbena officinallis L.,, Setaria sp., Teucrium sp., Ajuga sp., Buglossoides arvensis,, Fumaria sp, Polycnemum sp., Galium spurium, cf Solanaceae, Thymelaea sp., Portulaca Oleracea, Chenopodiaceae, Brassicaceae, CyperaceaeThe limited presence of fruits and nuts at the site indicate that they were growing around the settlement and that the inhabitants had access to them. Some of the samples are mixed and represent the remains of household activities. Storage is indicated by pure, dense concentrations of cereals (emmer wheat and possibly new glume wheat type wheat at Kleitos I; einkorn and barley at Kleitos II) and pulses (grass pea at Kleitos II). In general, the analysis of charred plant remains so far indicates that subsistence in the site of Kleitos was based on cereals and pulses while wild plants growing in the wild were also exploited. and crop processing activities. A more complete picture of subsistence, plant exploitation and processing at the site as well as spatial patterning as regards activities related to plants is expected to emerge when the study of the remaining 3000 samples from the site is completed. The archaeobotanical evidence from Kleitos provides a valuable insight into neolithic plant exploitation, dietary practices and agricultural economy at the site and the wider area of western Macedonia.
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