Stable Carbon Isotope Evidence for Neolithic and Bronze Age Crop Water Management in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia

In a large study on early crop water management, stable carbon isotope discrimination was determined for 275 charred grain samples from nine archaeological sites, dating primarily to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, from the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. This has revealed that wheat (Triticum...

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Published inPloS one Vol. 10; no. 6; p. e0127085
Main Authors Wallace, Michael P, Jones, Glynis, Charles, Michael, Fraser, Rebecca, Heaton, Tim H E, Bogaard, Amy
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 10.06.2015
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Agricultural Irrigation
Agricultural land
Agricultural management
Agricultural practices
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Archaeological sites
Archaeology
Asia
Barley
Carbon
Carbon isotopes
Carbon Isotopes - metabolism
Crop water
Crops
Crops, Agricultural
Cultivation
Dating techniques
Farm buildings
Farming
Grain
Historic sites
History, Ancient
Irrigation
Land use
Mediterranean Sea
Neolithic
Stone Age
Triticum
Triticum dicoccum
Triticum durum
Triticum monococcum
Water management
Wheat
Asia
Mediterranean Sea
Catalhoyuk
Iraq
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:In a large study on early crop water management, stable carbon isotope discrimination was determined for 275 charred grain samples from nine archaeological sites, dating primarily to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, from the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. This has revealed that wheat (Triticum spp.) was regularly grown in wetter conditions than barley (Hordeum sp.), indicating systematic preferential treatment of wheat that may reflect a cultural preference for wheat over barley. Isotopic analysis of pulse crops (Lens culinaris, Pisum sativum and Vicia ervilia) indicates cultivation in highly varied water conditions at some sites, possibly as a result of opportunistic watering practices. The results have also provided evidence for local land-use and changing agricultural practices.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Conceived and designed the experiments: MW GJ MC RF TH AB. Performed the experiments: MW RF TH. Analyzed the data: MW GJ MC AB. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: GJ MC RF TH AB. Wrote the paper: MW GJ MC RF TH AB.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0127085