Elena Marinova
The N e o lith ic A g r ic u lt u r e o f B u lg a r ia
Elena Marinova (Department of Botany, Sofia University « Sv. Kliment Ohridsky »)
Malàk Preslavifc
Poljanica Platoto
♦Shniovo^v
Vessel inovo Ka ranoS o Yassa Tepe Stara (
_ _ _ • zagara
This pa p e r presents the earliest agriculture in Bulgaria as well as the changes in the surrounding ve g e ta tio n th a t were linked to it. The results are based on the analysis o f charred seed m aterial from four neolithic sites (Kovacevo, Slatina, Kapitan Dimitrievo a n d Karanovo, Fig. 1) an d th e critical evaluation of already existing da ta , The study covers th e entire Neolithic, i.e. from the radiocarbo n a g e of 5930-5880 ca l BC until 5450-5200 cal BC.
r ~ i Areas above 500m P. t Areas above 1000m H i Areas above 2000m
Fig. 1. A rc h a e o b o ta n ic a ly s tu d ie d N e o lith ic Sites in Bulgaria
The continental clim ate in the area determines dry preservation conditions in most o f the sites. Plant remains are preserved by carbonisation or in a mineralised state when phosphoric elements are abundant.
Around 250 litres of sedim ent from Slatina and 400 litres from the other sites were sorted by m anual flotation.
All the sites are situated in the foothills of the mountains, a t altitudes b e tw een 300 and 500 m a.s.l. The clim ate is predom inantly continental with a m editerranean influence expressed particularly in the area of Kovacevo and Kapifan Dimitrievo. The vegetatio n surrounding the four sites belongs to the xerotherm ic oak forest belt and is a t present strongly deg ra d e d by agricultural activities a n d replaced by secondary subm editerranean p la n t societies.
The earliest site is Kovacevo, lo c a te d in the southwestern part o f Bulgaria, n o t far from the Greek border.
Preservation conditions are b a d and the concentration o f plant remains per litre o f sedim ent is only half of th a t o f the other sites. In spite o f this, almost all the taxa fo und elsewhere were also identified in the Kovacevo plant material. Slatina, the next site to the North from Kovecevo, is situated in the southern part o f the c a p ita l Sofia.
Kapitan Dimitrievo an d Karanovo are lo c a te d in the Thracian plain, respectively in its western and eastern part.
Two o f the sites (Kapitan Dimitrievo and Karanovo, Figs. 2a and 2b) are « tells » while th e others (K ovacevo and Slatina) are considered as « flat » sites. The Early Neolithic o f all o f them (except th e earliest phases o f Kovacevo) belongs to the Karanovo culture, which with its painted pottery is characteristic for southeastern Europe. The Early Neolithic was studied from an a rch a e o b o ta n ica l point o f view a t Kovacevo, Slatina and Kapitan Dimitrievo. A t Karanovo layers from th e M iddle and Late Neolithic were investigated. These results were considered togethe r with th e a rch a e o b o ta n ica l d a ta obta in e d from 14 other sites previously studied (Fig. 1).
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Environnement sociétés, espaces
A. Tell K a p ita n D im itrievo
B. Tell K a ra n o vo
Fig. 2. V ie w o f te ll K a p ita n D im itrievo (a ) a n d te ll K a ra n o vo (b ) from North
The neolithic agriculture of Bulgaria was based on hulled wheats (Triticum m o n o co ccu m and T.
dicoccum ). These wheats are not as productive as m odern species but highly resistant to unfavourable conditions, C om pared to the hulled wheats, barley and leguminous crops are less important. In three sites small quantities o f rachis fragm ents o f naked w h e a t (Triticum aestivum /durum) were found, Hulled barley seems to have been more im portant during the Early Neolithic, later naked barley prevails, for exam ple during the C halcolithic period.
During the Early Neolithic lentils (Lens culinaris), pe a (P/sum sativum), bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia) and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus/cicera) were sown. This assumption could be m ade as they have all been found in storage contexts. Two sites have delivered evid e n ce o f the m editerranean cro p plant chickpea (C icer arietinum, Fig. 3). In the Late Neolithic the prevailing leguminous crops are lentils and bitter vetch.
The storages discovered in the houses, suggest that, in most cases, cereal crops (hulled w heat and barley) w ere stored in a threshed state or even as sheaves (Fig, 4). The identified w eed species show th a t the w h e a t was harvested relatively near the soil surface. Einkorn a n d em m er were sown together, predominantly as winter crops, in fields with light soils an d a g o o d nutrition supply.
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Elena Marinova
The wild co lle c te d plants recorded by the a rc h a e o b o ta n ica l study originated from the various p la n t com m unities surrounding the neolithic sites. The most im portant co lle c te d p la n t was the cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), follow ed by plum (Prunus sp.) a n d e ld e r (Sam bucus sp.). Wild gra p e vin e and hazelnut are sporadically present a t all o f the sites. In some o f them there is evid e n ce of hazel (Corylus avellana), a p p le (Malus sp.), strawberry (Fragaria vesca), ra sp b e rry/b la ckb e rry (Rubus sp.), red d o g w o o d (Cornus sanguinea), physalis (Physalis alkekengii) a n d te re b in th e pistachio (Pistacia terebinthus). The spectrum o f co lle cte d plants shows th a t the neolithic populations were familiar with the wild p la n t resources available in their environment and used them in m any different ways.
The first evid e n ce for coriander (Coriandrum sativum. Fig. 5) in Bulgarian prehistory comes from the neolithic layers of Tell Kapitan Dimitrievo. This plant has its natural distribution in th e eastern M e d ite rra n e a n a n d must therefore have been introduced into Bulgaria during the Late Neolithic.
Sediments suitable for palynological studies th a t could give a better idea of the evolution of the past ve g e ta tio n in the lowlands o f Bulgaria have not yet been found. Thus, only plant macrofossils found in the a rc h a e o lo g ic a l layers c a n be used as an alternative source o f information. For the first tim e a t Bulgarian prehistoric sites, this study has allow ed the identification o f more than 50 wild plant taxa. The studied m aterial suggests both various uses of plant resources and changes o f the vegetatio n cover th rough tim e. The num erous a n d plentiful cro p storages (up to 70 litres o f charred w h e a t in one house) suggest th e c le a ra n ce o f considerable areas for cu ltiva tio n . E xcept for c u ltiv a te d fields, dry grasslands, open forests and scrublands developed a n d e x te n d e d aro u n d th e sites. The agrim ony (.Agrim onia eupatoria), found in the sites, can be used as an indicator for such an evolution of the landscape. It grows in grasslands and m eadows and c o u ld h a ve b e e n b ro u g h t to the site by the interm ediate o f grazing animals such as sheep and goats. O ther frequently identified plants th a t show a similar pattern are clover (Trifolium sp.), milk vetch (.M e d ic a g o sp.), knapw ee d (Ptantago sp.) and dw arf elder (Sambucus ebulus). Hazel and cornel, both identified archaeob otanically, are usually favoured by forest clearings an d their frequency in the samples ca n be considered as an indication o f a regression of the surrounding forests.
On th e whole, th e floristic com position recorded shows connections with the Near East and the M e d ite rra n e a n area. The c u ltiv a te d plants correspond to the near eastern crop assemblage.
M any o f the w e e d species have a distribution pattern in th e m e d ite rra n e a n a re a a n d in th e eastern M editerranean in particular. Especially interesting in this co n te xt are the coriander and the chick pea.
1 mm
Fig. 3. C h ick p e a (C ic e r a rietin um ) - Tell K a p ita n Dimitrievo, Early N e o lith ic
]
mm
Fig. 5. C o ria n d e r (C o ria n d ru m sa tivu m ) - Tell K a p ita n Dim itrievo, Early N e o lith ic
Fig 4. H ulled w h e a t - e m m e r (Triticum d ic ic c u m ) ears a n d straw, sto ra g e fin d from tell K aranovo, Late N e o lith ic
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