Comparing apples, quinces and pears. While establishing the identification possibilities of subfossil plant tissues derived from cesspits, the following question arose: is variation within species a limiting factor for establishing diagnostic characteristics? In order to answer this question core fragments of modern fruits of Apples, Quinces and Pears were examined. These fragments are frequently encountered during archaeobotanical analyses of cesspits. However, they are rarely identified to a species level, due to a lack of criteria for identification. This study also aims to provide criteria for identification in addition to visual reference material. A comparison of modern and subfossil remains revealed that the characteristics of Apple and Quince show similarities, which complicates the identification possibilities of these two species. However, it is possible to distinguish between the core fragments of Apple and Pear.
