Marie-Pierre Ruas

The first archaeobotanical evidence of Spinacia oleracea L. (spinach) in late 12th–mid 13th century a.d. France

Macroscopic charred remains of Spinacia oleracea L. (Amaranthaceae) have been found in the Pyrenean village of Montaillou, France, in several contexts of a house dated to the end 12th–mid 13th century a.d. This is the first archaeobotanical record of this vegetable in France and the earliest European archaeobotanical material so far found. The paper presents the morphological criteria used for identifying the charred remains of the species. After a review of archaeobotanical finds in Europe, hypotheses on the economic status of this vegetable, which is unknown as a wild plant in Europe, are discussed with reference to medieval written and illuminated sources and to archaeological deposits. It appears that Spinacia was first introduced into France from Moorish Spain where it was cultivated at least since the 11th century. The French evidence of Spinacia thus represents a milestone in the history and geographic diffusion of this vegetable into temperate Europe.

Plants and aromatics for embalming in Late Middle Ages and modern period: a synthesis of written sources and archaeobotanical data (France, Italy)

Occasionally mentioned in written sources since the Early Middle Ages, embalming with evisceration spreads considerably and becomes quite usual practice for aristocratic elites from the late 13th century to the early 19th century. Apothecaries prepare aromatic powders including many plant organs and exudates supposed to preserve the body. Numerous encyclopaedias and treatises of medicine list these ingredients and show that the recipes are very diverse. Moreover, several studies of embalmed bodies have demonstrated the potential of archaeobotanical analyses coupling pollen and macro-remains for identifying this material. This paper aims to compile a synthesis of written and archaeological sources from France and Italy, and to assess the relevance of an interdisciplinary approach for a better understanding of this aristocratic burial practice. It demonstrates that both types of sources and approaches are strongly complementary and highlights their inherent advantages and methodological limitations. In order to understand which criteria were determinant in the composition of the embalming powders, their medicinal, odoriferous and symbolic properties are discussed. Finally, this work proposes some methodological perspectives and triggers new research avenues on the history of pharmacy in Late Medieval and modern Europe.

Proceedings of the 17th conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany, Paris 2016

The present volume of Vegetation History and Archaeobotany comprises a collection of papers presented at the 17th conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany (IWGP) held at the National Museum of Natural History (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, MNHN) in Paris (France), between July 4 and 9, 2016. This was the second time the IWGP meeting took place in France, 18 years after the event was organised in Toulouse in summer 1998. Scholars, students and administrative personnel from the hosting team—Archaeozoology, Archaeobotany: Societies, Practices and Environments (UMR 7209, MNHN-CNRS) were in charge of the organisation of the conference, which received financial support from several French institutions and organisations: the MNHN, the Institute of Ecology and Environment (INEE) of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the National Institute for Rescue Archaeology (INRAP), the Archaeology Department of the Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Association des Amis du Muséum. 251 participants from 33 different countries representing all continents (except Antarctica) gathered in central Paris for a week of intensive and enriching scientific exchange. While senior scholars were present to share their experience, many young researchers—doctoral students and postdocs—also participated in the conference and presented their results obtained from a multitude of new studies. 110 oral and 88 poster presentations were scheduled during 5 days and in order to guarantee a reasonable timetable, parallel sessions had to be organised during part of the meeting (one and a half days). This was a première in the history of the IWGP and even though some participants may regret the passing of an epoch when it was possible to fit in all presentations into one week, the success of the IWGP meetings and the expanding community of palaeoethnobotanists will probably also make the planning of at least some parallel sessions necessary during future conferences. As already noticed during the 16th IWGP conference, held in Thessaloniki (Greece) in 2013, the themes treated during the meetings are becoming more global than previously and this tendency was reinforced in Paris. Thus, from concerning primarily archaeobotanical work carried out in Europe and in south-west Asia, the last conferences have included an increasing number of studies relating to other parts of the world, in particular India, East Asia and South America. Australia, Africa and Oceania were also represented at the Paris conference by several communications. Lectures and posters were presented within more than a dozen of thematic sessions. Besides sessions dedicated to specific geographic and chronological domains, papers were organised according to methods used (isotope geochemistry, geometric morphometrics, aDNA) or themes such as ethnobotany, ritual, food, islands or trees. Traditionally the IWGP meetings bear mainly on the results from seed and fruit analysis and the organising team did indeed decline a certain number of proposals dealing exclusively with wood, charcoal and pollen studies or proposed to present a poster rather than a lecture. Still, and positively, many presentations adopted a multidisciplinary approach combining data from different disciplines of environmental archaeology, historical sources, ethnobiology, chemistry, etc. The domestication of food plants was, similarly to previous conferences, a theme that was treated by several participants presenting data on the domestication of maize, millets, rice, soy and adzuki beans as well as fruit trees. Communicated by F. Bittmann.

Approche historique de l’agrobiodiversité du Cerisier (Prunus avium L. / Prunus cerasus L.) en Europe Nord-Occidentale

Suite a l’introduction et la consommation de nouveaux fruits au cours de l’Antiquite en Europe, la diversite des formes et tailles des restes carpologiques rend compte de l’augmentation des variete...