Plant husbandry and vegetation of tell Gomolava, Vojvodina, Yugoslavia

Abstract

This paper describes the results of the archaeobotanical examination of Neolithic, Eneolithic and Iron Age occupation levels of Tell Gomolava, Yugoslavia. The original vegetation of the Gomolava area was mixed deciduous forest, and riverine forest in the valley of the nearby Sava river. Through all periods, wheat, barley and lentil were staple crops, while broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) had considerably gained inimportance in Iron Age leveis. Other cereal and pulse crops, such as oats, rye, pea and broad bean (Vicia faba var. minor), played a much more modest part. Flax (linseed) is only scarcely represented. Mention should be made of the prominent role of einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum). Wild fruits, among which Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) and the berries of Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi), were collected in woods and wood clearings. Wild-fruit gathering had greatly declined in lron Age times, which may point to the disappearance of forest from the area. The flora of arable fieids and waste places is well represented.