Is It Hop? Identifying Hop Fibres in a European Historical Context

Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is an ancient perennial crop plant, native to the Northern Hemisphere. The archaeological evidence dates back to at least the sixth century ad in Europe. Hop has been used for beer brewing, in sleeping draughts, as bedding and for antibacterial purposes. Less known is that h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inArchaeometry Vol. 61; no. 2; pp. 494 - 505
Main Authors Lukešová, H., Andersen, H. L., Kolínová, M., Holst, B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2019
Subjects
Archaeology
bast fibres
Beer
Breweries
Crops
Fibers
Fibre identification
hemp
Herzog test
hop
Paleobotany
textile
Textile fibers identification
Textiles
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Summary:Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is an ancient perennial crop plant, native to the Northern Hemisphere. The archaeological evidence dates back to at least the sixth century ad in Europe. Hop has been used for beer brewing, in sleeping draughts, as bedding and for antibacterial purposes. Less known is that hop fibres have also been used for textiles and paper. However, it is difficult to distinguish hop from other bast fibres. Here, we present a set of fibre features, which, when found together in an archaeological/historical material within a European context, provide a strong indication that the fibres are hop.
ISSN:0003-813X
1475-4754
DOI:10.1111/arcm.12437