Plant use at Funnel Beaker sites: combined macro- and microremains analysis at the Early Neolithic site of Frydenlund, Denmark (ca. 3600 bce)

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-01020-9 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Plant use at Funnel Beaker sites: combined macro‑ and microremains analysis at the Early Neolithic site of Frydenlund, Denmark (ca. 3600 bce) Welmoed A. Out1 · Juan José García‑Granero2 · Marianne H. Andreasen1 Wiebke Kirleis3 · Gry H. Barfod4 · Niels H. Andersen5 · Cristina N. Patús2 · Received: 2 May 2024 / Accepted: 23 October 2024 © The Author(s) 2024 Abstract Understanding the neolithisation process in northern Europe requires detailed knowledge of both the type of crop plants as well as gathered food plants from Neolithic Funnel Beaker sites (4000–2800 bce). However, although many sites from this culture are known, significant gaps remain in our knowledge on which taxa were used as well as on how plant food was prepared. Here, we present the results of combined plant macro- and microremains from the Early Neolithic site of Frydenlund in present-day Denmark. The macroremains include carbonised seeds, fruits and underground storage organs from a variety of contexts. The microremains are phytoliths and starch granules recovered from 14 grinding stones that are among the oldest from Denmark as well as the first from this region analysed using state-of-the-art methods. The data are discussed in the context of an updated overview of crop spectra, evidence of gathered plants and of plant food preparation techniques at Funnel Beaker sites in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The results from the Early Neolithic site of Frydenlund show that the macroremains assemblage was dominated by Triticum turgidum ssp. durum (durum wheat), T. turgidum ssp. dicoccum (emmer wheat) and Hordeum vulgare var. nudum (naked barley), which apart from durum wheat fits the observed pattern from other Funnel Beaker sites in northwestern Europe. These crops were presumably cultivated separately as summer crops. Corylus avellana (hazel), Rubus fruticosus (blackberry) and R. idaeus (raspberry) were probably consumed as well, and possibly R. caesius (dewberry). While cereals were abundant in the macroremains assemblage, the microremains from the grinding stones indicate that these were used for grinding solely wild plants. The carbonised cereal grain fragments are therefore interpreted as possible evidence of cereal consumption mainly in the form of porridge or gruel, which corresponds well to comparable finds at other contemporary northwestern European sites. Future analysis of comparable high-quality data on combined macro- and microremains analysis is necessary to further refine our understanding of plant diets and plant food preparation techniques of the Funnel Beaker Culture as well as during the neolithisation process. Keywords Funnel Beaker Culture · Food processing · Archaeobotanical macroremains · Underground storage organs · Phytoliths and starch · Grinding stones Communicated by R.M. Albert * Welmoed A. Out * Juan José García‑Granero 1 Department of Archaeological Science and Conservation, Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark 2 Human Ecology and Archaeology (HUMANE), IMF, CSIC, C/ Egipcíaques, 15, 08001 Barcelona, Spain 3 Institute for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Johanna‑Mestorf‑Straße 2‑6, 24118 Kiel, Germany 4 Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh‑Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark 5 Department of Archaeology, Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark Vol.:(0123456789) Vegetation History and Archaeobotany Introduction The Mesolithic/Neolithic transition, involving the subsistence shift from hunting and gathering to arable farming, can be understood amongst others by studying plant use within Mesolithic and Neolithic cultural groups, and, more precisely diet. One of the early Neolithic cultures that play a role in the introduction of agriculture in major parts of northern Europe is the Funnel Beaker (FB) culture (4000–2800 bce), which emerged in northern Europe. Archaeobotanical overview studies on particularly carbonised assemblages from present-day northern Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands (Bakels 1991; Regnell and Sjögren 2006; Robinson 2007; Kirleis et al. 2012; Sørensen and Karg 2014; Kirleis 2019, 2022; Vanhanen et al. 2019) have allowed for the crop assemblage in the northern and western FB influence sphere to be relatively well-known (introduction 4000 bce, Sjögren 2012; ca. 3800 bce, Bunbury et al. 2023). However, despite this large number of studies on plant use at FB sites, gaps in our knowledge remain. For example, observations may be biased by the scarcity of sites with waterlogged preservation. Furthermore, systematic sampling is still not always applied. The significance of crops that are only represented by few remains and/or found at few sites remains unclear and a systematic overview of the direct evidence of use and preparation of wild plants other than those preserved in a carbonised state is lacking. Finally, up to now not much is known about plant food products and their modes of preparation. This can be remedied by the analysis of microbotanical remains from charred food crusts, dental calculus, and coprolites or on food-related artefacts, e.g. grinding stones. This study aims to expand our knowledge on plant use and plant food preparation at FB sites by providing: 1) An updated overview of crops, gathered plants and evidence of food preparation techniques identified at FB sites in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The Polish FB sites are not considered due to their significantly different geographical location, cultural influence sphere, climate and environment (for an overview, see Nowak et al. 2020). 2) A comparative analysis of the carbonised macroremains as well as phytolith and starch analysis of 16 samples from 14 grinding stones from the Early FB site of Frydenlund in Denmark. While some macroremains and taxa from Frydenlund have already been reported by Roehrs et al. (2013), Kirleis and Fischer (2014), Andreasen (2017, 2020) and Kirleis (2019), all data are, for the first time, synthesized and related to their archaeological context. The grinding stones from Frydenlund are among the oldest in Denmark and the microremains analysis thus provides data for the earliest neolithisation in the region. The purpose of the analysis of Frydenlund is to examine the types of plants consumed, the role of the grinding stones in terms of plant food preparation as well as to study in detail any clues provided about the processing of cereal food products. Overview of the crop spectra and evidence of wild plant use of northern and western Funnel Beaker sites Funnel Beaker crop analyses from northern Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands show assemblages that are generally dominated by Hordeum vulgare var. nudum (naked barley) and Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccum (T. dicoccum, emmer), while T. monococcum ssp. monococcum (T. mo (...truncated)