Food for thought: exploitation of nuts in prehistoric Europe
Most research focusing on nut exploitation has concentrated on hazelnuts and the Mesolithic. Thus, there has been no serious archaeological research exploring the exploitation of any nut species beyond the Mesolithic. The aim of this thesis is to focus on the exploitation of four nut species (acorns, water chestnuts, hazelnuts and beechnuts), during several archaeological periods, but with a particular focus on the Mesolithic and Neolithic. Furthermore, taking a wide temporal approach forces us to examine the bias inherent in the way we interpret archaeological data between the Mesolithic and later periods. A series of hazelnut and. acorn processing experiments provide a means of identifying two possible functions of Mesolithic and Neolithic pits. The results from the experiments demonstrate that hazelnut and acorn pit storage and roasting were possible during both periods. Archaeological evidence, coupled with the results from the experiments, suggest that nut processing changed very little in domestic situations between the Mesolithic and later prehistoric periods, but locating nut processing within ceremonial and funerary contexts from the Neolithic, implies a change in nut exploitation. Additionally, the
Cunningham, Penny
Food for thought: exploitation of nuts in prehistoric Europe. Most research focusing on nut exploitation has concentrated on hazelnuts and the Mesolithic. Thus, there has been no serious archaeological research exploring the exploitation of any nut species beyond the Mesolithic. The aim of this thesis is to focus on the exploitation of four nut species (acorns, water chestnuts, hazelnuts and beechnuts), during several archaeological periods, but with a particular focus on the Mesolithic and Neolithic. Furthermore, taking a wide temporal approach forces us to examine the bias inherent in the way we interpret archaeological data between the Mesolithic and later periods. A series of hazelnut and. acorn processing experiments provide a means of identifying two possible functions of Mesolithic and Neolithic pits. The results from the experiments demonstrate that hazelnut and acorn pit storage and roasting were possible during both periods. Archaeological evidence, coupled with the results from the experiments, suggest that nut processing changed very little in domestic situations between the Mesolithic and later prehistoric periods, but locating nut processing within ceremonial and funerary contexts from the Neolithic, implies a change in nut exploitation. Additionally, the
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