Früher neolithischer Ackerbau in Zentralspanien sowie Pflanzenreste aus einem neolithischen Grabhügel bei Ambrona (Provinz Soria)

Abstract

At the early Neolithic sites of La Lámpara and La Revilla del Campo in the northern Meseta of Central Spain evidence for agriculture from the last third of the sixth millennium cal B.C. was found. The hulled wheats einkorn ( Triticum monococcum ) and emmer ( Triticum dicoccum ) could be identified from carbonised plant remains as well as from imprints in ceramics and daub. Single finds of charred remains of barley ( Hordeum vulgare ), poppy ( Papaver somniferum / setigerum ), and linseed ( Linum usitatissimum ) indicate the cultivation of further crops. The analysed wild plants mainly point to arable weeds partly from less fertile soils, and to garrigue vegetation from poor pastures. The comparison with other sites from the interior of the Iberian Peninsula and from the Mediterranean coast shows great differences in the spectrum of plants within the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, sediment samples and mineral crusts from La Peña de la Abuela were analysed. At this site a tumulus with diachronic collective burials from the first third of the fourth millennium cal B.C. was found. Different green vegetative parts of pine, oak, and juniper had been used in the graves as funeral gifts, but no crops. Oak cupula development indicate activities during the early summer in the grave-mound. Wickerwork made of willow was used for embedding the dead bodies.