Re: A pre-ceramic Neolithic in Central Europe?

Peter Alaca <p.alaca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:

Tinner, W; E.H. Nielsen & A.F. Lotter (2007)
"Mesolithic agriculture in Switzerland?
A critical review of the evidence"
Quaternary Science Reviews 26 (9-10):1416-1431
<http://www.botany.unibe.ch/paleo/publications/reprints/QuatSciRev_26_1416.pdf>
[16 pp, 1.4 mb]

Abstract

[...]

Referenced and on some points contradicted by Tinner et al.

Behre, K.E. (2007)
"Evidence for Mesolithic agriculture in and around central Europe?"
Vegetation History and Archaebotany 16(2-3):203-219.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/48632j02t866x6wj/
http://www.springerlink.com/content/48632j02t866x6wj/fulltext.pdf
[17 pp, 405 kb]

Abstract

"A critical assessment of the data recently put forward in
favour of a 'Mesolithic agriculture' for Central and Northern
Europe is presented. The archaeobotanical record is quite
clear: hundreds of excavations of early Neolithic sites,
whether from Linearbandkeramik or Trichterbecher (funnel
beaker) settlements have produced remains of cultivated
plants in large numbers. In contrast to this, all Mesolithic
sites excavated so far have not revealed even one
macroscopic find of crop plants.

The 'Mesolithic agriculture' as assumed by several
authors, is based solely on single pre-Neolithic pollen
grains of the Cerealia-type that occur in pollen diagrams.
It is shown that absolute distinction of pollen from wild
grasses and cereals is impossible. There is a certain
overlapping of both types that must not be neglected.
Because of the large pollen sums in modern pollen
diagrams, even very scarce grains of Cerealia-type pollen
are encountered. Most of these single pre-Neolithic grains
must derive from native wild grasses, while others come
by long-distance transport etc.

Another important feature is the scattered occurrence of
Cerealia-type pollen grains from the early Holocene (or
even Pleistocene) to the start of the Neolithic. They do not
occur in synchronous phases and even in neighbouring
sites they do not agree in age. As long as there are no
well-dated macro-remains of crop plants of pre-Neolithic
age, there is no evidence of Mesolithic agriculture."

--
p.a.




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