Data copyright © Dr Amy Bogaard unless otherwise stated
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Dr
Amy
Bogaard
Lecturer in Neolithic and Bronze Age Archaeology
School of Archaeology
University of Oxford
Beaumont Street
Oxford
OX1 2PH
Archaeobotanical analyses have been conducted at a number of sites of the Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture across central Europe, and the general outlines of plant use (e.g. crops such as einkorn and emmer wheat, pea, lentil, flax, opium poppy) are well established. The site of Vaihingen an der Enz (Kreis Ludwigsburg), however, offers several unusual advantages. First, the site was well preserved, completely excavated (from 1994-2003, under the direction of Rüdiger Krause), and covers a long LBK sequence of several centuries. From an archaeobotanical point of view, therefore, it provides an opportunity to investigate variability in the deposition of charred plant remains between features, structures, areas etc. and through time. Second, Vaihingen does not conform to the 'loose' settlement form (Streusiedlung model) familiar from excavation in the Rhineland, and the socioeconomic significance of its relatively nucleated form has yet to be established. Third, systematic sampling of all features has provided an opportunity to intercept rare deposits rich in charred arable weed seeds associated with crop remains. This evidence is vital for making inferences about how the crops were grown. Finally, local soil conditions permitted good bone preservation, making it possible to reconstruct farming and foraging practices from both plant and animal perspectives.
At the time of data deposition, the monograph presenting and interpreting the dataset is in press, as follows:
Bogaard, A. in press. Plant use and crop husbandry in an early Neolithic village: Vaihingen an der Enz, Baden-Württemberg. Frankfurter Archäologische Schriften. ISBN 978-3-7749-3731-4.