Getting to the root of the problem: New evidence for the use of plant root foods in Mesolithic hunter-gatherer subsistence in Europe

Bishop, R.R.; Kubiak-Martens, L.; Warren, G.M.; Church, M.J.

doi:10.1007/s00334-022-00882-1

Getting to the root of the problem: New evidence for the use of plant root foods in Mesolithic hunter-gatherer subsistence in Europe

Bishop, R.R.; Kubiak-Martens, L.; Warren, G.M.; Church, M.J.

Authors

R.R. Bishop

L. Kubiak-Martens

G.M. Warren

Professor Mike Church m.j.church@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

This paper presents new evidence for the harvesting of edible plant roots and tubers at Northton, a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site on Harris, in the Western Isles of Scotland, in the north-west corner of Europe. The excavations uncovered abundant root tuber remains of Ficaria verna Huds. (lesser celandine), an excellent high energy and carbohydrate-rich food source, and produced the first evidence for the use of tubers of Lathyrus linifolius (Reichard) Bässler (bitter-vetch) at a hunter-gatherer site in Europe. Here we report on the analysis of the charred root and tuber remains and other charred plant macrofossils from the site and consider the significance of these results within the wider context of European hunter-gatherer subsistence. The wide range of root and tuber taxa recovered from European hunter-gatherer sites and the importance of appropriate sampling on hunter-gatherer sites are highlighted.

Citation

Bishop, R., Kubiak-Martens, L., Warren, G., & Church, M. (2023). Getting to the root of the problem: New evidence for the use of plant root foods in Mesolithic hunter-gatherer subsistence in Europe. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 32(1), 65-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-022-00882-1

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Mar 13, 2022
Online Publication Date	Aug 24, 2022
Publication Date	2023-01
Deposit Date	Mar 1, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Feb 3, 2023
Journal	Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Print ISSN	0939-6314
Electronic ISSN	1617-6278
Publisher	Springer
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	32
Issue	1
Pages	65-83
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-022-00882-1

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