An experimental approach to the taphonomic study of charred hazelnut remains in archaeological deposits

作者：Lopez Doriga Ines L^*

来源：Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2015, 7(1): 39-45.

DOI：10.1007/s12520-013-0154-3

• Experimental archaeology
• Archaeobotany
• Hazelnuts
• Taphonomy
• Pits

Charred hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) shell fragments are one of the most frequent botanical remains found in archaeological contexts from temperate Europe, often recovered in considerable quantities within pits. It has been suggested that they were probably intensively gathered and processed. However, no methods for testing this assumption have been proposed, and it is very difficult to identify the activities that were involved in their charring and deposition, for example distinguishing if they were charred whole during storage, while they were being roasted, or if they were simply discarded as domestic waste. In order to obtain criteria for better understanding the significance of hazelnut remains within archaeological deposits, experiments to understand how hazelnut shells become charred and fragmented have been developed. The potential application of the taphonomic analysis to archaeological charred hazelnut shell fragments is discussed. Depending on the preservation of the archaeological assemblage, it might be possible to distinguish between hazelnut shells that were charred after fragmentation and those that were charred before fragmentation, enabling a distinction to be made between hazelnut storing or roasting activities.

• 出版日期2015-3