The domestication of plants and the development and spread of agriculture around the world have been transformative key events in ecological and human history. This question can be considered one of the most attractive and challenging for archaeological research. Present archaeobotanical data show that, beginning around 11,000‒10,000 bp, plant cultivation and domestication developed independently in at least seven to eight regions, spreading into others shortly thereafter. Understanding agricultural origins through archaeological enquiry is of fundamental importance for a variety of scholarly disciplines in addition to anthropology, including genetics, agronomy, biogeography, linguistic, and environmental history. This attractive co-edited book responds perfectly to this approach by taking an interdisciplinary look at European pre-industrial agriculture, including its origins and its diffusion outside Europe, which provides a documentary and empirical basis of great value. This book amply meets the proposed objectives, finding a new common ground for integrating different approaches, and viewing agriculture from the standpoint of the human actors involved. The volume, an homage to Irmeli Vuorela's life as an archaeobotanist, is the first volume of the collaborative research programme entitled ‘Early Agricultural Remnants and Technical Heritage: 8000 Years of Resilience and Innovation’ (EARTH), funded by the European Science Foundation (ESF).
Plants and People consists of fifty-eight papers written in English by forty-six authors (although three are not included in the list of contributors), plus a foreword by Helmut Kroll, a preface, and an introduction to the contents and structure of the book by the co-editors (Ch. 1). All authors were part of the aforementioned EARTH programme and most are renowned specialists in their respective disciplines. Even though the authors come from thirteen countries, most of them are based in France or Spain. Unfortunately, this volume does not provide a complete coverage of all archaeobotanical disciplines, research themes, time periods, or geographical regions relevant to the study of agriculture's origins and spread. In this volume there predominate chapters on plant macrofossils (seeds, fruits, wood, and charcoal), ethnobotanical approaches, and historical sources on agriculture, while there are very few chapters concerning microfossils (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, starch grains, phytoliths). For instance, phytolith analysis has substantially contributed to the study and understanding of agricultural origins and dispersals around the world (Ball et al., Reference Ball, Chandler-Ezell, Dickau, Duncan, Hart, Iriarte, Lentfer, Logan, Lu, Madella, Pearsall, Piperno, Rosen, Vrydaghs, Weisskopf and Zhang2016). Apart from these limitations, which are acknowledged in the preface (p. xvii), sometimes a greater interdisciplinarity is missing, as well as specific chapters devoted to corn (Zea mays) or olive tree (Olea europaea), among other species, whose historical, economic, and biogeographic importance is undeniable (Staller et al., Reference Staller, Tykot and Benz2006). In the foreword, Helmut Kroll presents archaeobotany claiming that it ‘is no longer a botanical science’ but ‘is now a branch of the archaeological tree of science’ (p. xi). His second statement is as true as the first is false: a discipline is defined by its subject matter and context (plants) and not by its argument (archaeological issues).
The papers are arranged in three sections (‘Methodological approaches to plant use diversity’; ‘Food plants’; ‘Food and beyond’) and seven major chapters (Chs 2‒8), each focusing on plant use-related issues, plus the introductory chapter (Ch. 1), and a final chapter of conclusions (Ch. 9). Each chapter consists of an introductory section, in which the chapter coordinator summarizes important aspects related to the chapter's topic and individual contributions illustrating the main issues of the topic. Editorial glitches are minor, though regrettable in some cases: e.g. the cartographic database and maps are of poor quality, and there is no excuse to publish uncalibrated radiocarbon dates or to use an unconventional way to cite them (cal. bce–ce).
Section 1 is composed of one chapter (Ch. 2), which is coordinated by the late Lydia Zapata and includes a series of papers on methodological questions for addressing the study of plant use, both in the past and in the present. Linda Scott-Cummings introduces us to the different archaeobotanical techniques and their contribution to the knowledge of past crop diversity in a funny and synthetic way; although she makes some rather risky assumptions when she points out the limitations of palynology to separate crops into genera and species (pp. 21‒22). Beug's (Reference Beug2004) work, among others, is the best proof of the many possibilities of palynology in this regard. As with other fossil indicators of plant exploitation and agriculture, such as macro-remains of seeds and their chaffs, the taxonomic levels to which pollen identification can be made will differ from species to species, and at times the separation of important taxa will not be possible. However, pollens can be good markers of crop presence and human environmental modification in palaeoecological records (e.g. peatbogs, lakes). Other articles focus on current ethnobotanical methods, and on the analysis of historical sources and ancient images. In short, Chapter 2 explores the ways in which each discipline has tackled the topics under discussion. Its most important conclusion is that the necessary over-specialization of researchers (p. 51) as well as the limitations and incomplete nature of much empirical data makes interdisciplinarity obligatory.
Chapter 3, the first of Section 2, is coordinated by Elena Marinova. This is probably one of the most interesting chapters of the book for its deep synthetic character, exploring crop diversity through time by looking at the archaeobotanical record (particularly macro-remains) in different regions. The chapter begins with an overview of the issue in southeastern Europe from the Early Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age, taking into account both cultural and climatic constraints. Crop diversity in northern Italy, from the beginnings of agriculture to the Roman period, is discussed within the context of Mediterranean and European cultural influences, reflecting on the role of population movements in such diversity. Later on, two related syntheses outline the uniqueness of southwestern/central and southwestern Europe, exploring the reasons for changes through time, particularly environmental factors and the existence of trade networks (e.g. through the Alps). Remarkably, they confirm that Early Neolithic agriculture in Iberia was one of the most varied on the whole of the continent. Other contributions focus on technical aspects, crop choice, and its underlying reasons in western/central and western Europe from protohistory to early modern times. Two papers are focused on the Americas, the first on the American Southwest and the second on the Andean area of the Titicaca Lake basin. The former stands out for its innovative multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of crop diversity, jointly analysing pollen, plant macrofossils, and phytoliths in coprolites. Despite the great interest of Chapter 2, it is regrettable that some of its papers do not incorporate other archaeobotanical data in their discussions, particularly from pollen studies in the case of Europe. Additionally, not all of the papers cover the same time frame and in some cases there are certain overlaps in the geographical area studied.
Chapter 4, coordinated by Laurent Bouby and Marie-Pierre Ruas, proposes an interesting journey through the role of fruit-tree domestication and cultivation over time by looking at different aspects related to previously unnoticed uses and practices—some resulting from choices, others from intentional decisions. Although the chapter does not fall squarely in the history of arboriculture, it contains very interesting papers related to the uses of acorns (Quercus spp.) by indigenous groups in California, using ecological, ethnographical, and archaeological data; the role of the Prosopis tree species in the development and resilience of ancient agricultural systems in the pre-Hispanic period in Peru; the changing role of fruits in human subsistence in Italy from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age; the importance of exotic species such as Citrus in Antiquity in the Mediterranean area from its pollen record; the history of viticulture in southern France; the growing of fig (Ficus carica) as a staple food in the pre-Hispanic period of the Canary Islands from a detailed paleodiet reconstruction; and, finally, the characterization of fig and olive agroecosystems among Jbala communities in northern Morocco (Rif mountains). This chapter gives fruits and fruit trees the attention they deserve in archaeobotanical research on prehistoric and historic farming economies. My sincere congratulations. This chapter, as a whole, is a major contribution to the discipline.
Similarly, a considerable amount of work has been done relating to the use of wild plant resources in the past and the present. In Chapter 5, Gisella S. Cruz-García and Füsun Ertuğ coordinate an overview of several related topics. The chapter includes examples such as the exploitation of wild resources during colonization of new areas in the Canary Islands; an incredible database (4000 items) to study the regional patterns of traditional human consumption of wild plants in Spain; the use of wild food plants in the Dogon country showing that these plants could be considered as a mainstay of sub-Saharan agricultural societies; the example of silverweed (Potentilla anserina) as a plant that may have been on its way from a wild plant gathered knowledgeably to a tended one in a garden plot; and, finally, the palynological evidence for the use of Cleome (beeweed) in North America. This chapter highlights the dynamics of wild food plant consumption and gathering, as well as their importance for rural livelihoods in the present and the past, combining disciplines and methodological approaches such as ethnographic and archaeobotanical methods or historical sources. In short, this interdisciplinary chapter becomes poetry.
Chapter 6, coordinated by Cozette Griffin-Kremer, gives way to Section 3. A range of papers refines our knowledge of the diversity of non-food uses of plants in a versatile world. The first article emphasizes the variety of uses of furze (Ulex europaeus) in both rural and urban contexts as fuel, for livestock production, or for crafting domestic artefacts. Similarly, nettles (Urtica dioica) were valued as much as for medicinal purposes, as for fodder, and as textile fibre. Like furze, it has associations with ritual and, beyond that, with saintliness. The high resistance of versatile hulled wheats against diseases is also highlighted, allowing their use as fodder and food in Mediterranean mountain areas, as well as for a broad variety of domestic purposes; whereas the use of the wild grass Ampelodesmos mauritanica in northwestern Tunisia today confirms the value of grass species both in past and present practices. The ancient use of the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), most especially the oil it furnishes, is also presented in comparison with recent ethnological inquiries from an experiment conducted in Sardinia. This article points out, quite rightly, the importance of preserving traditional techniques of using plants, since they make it possible to think anew about certain archaeological remains (not always evident in the case of by-products) that were previously unexplored, unexplained, or poorly interpreted by scholars. This could be the case with the use of oleoresins produced by two genera of Dipterocarpaceae (Dipterocarpus and Shorea) in tropical Asia (Vietnam), suitable for processing into boat caulking. The related paper details its processing, along with the use of other vegetal fibres and animal products, demonstrating that ethnographic inquiry and palynological analysis can dovetail in the same research project. A great success!
In Chapter 7, the use of plants in ritual offerings and in festive contexts is situated geographically and historically. Their coordinators (Ann-Marie Hansson and Andreas G. Heiss) do not attempt to embrace all uses of plants in ritual and festive contexts, but focus mainly on plant offerings as an expression of rituals performed with regard to supernatural forces, aimed at winning their support for agricultural yields (fertility rites), protection for the living and the dead (propitiatory rites), or thanking them for all they provide (thanksgiving rites). Indeed, the material components of plant offerings allow authors to trace these practices with a broad range of methods, and across large time-scales, from America to Europe, from prehistoric to present times. Some fascinating materials and examples are presented: the Thesmophoria festival; the sanctuary of the Celtic oppidum of Bibracte; the rich repertoire of flowers, fruits, and cereal sprouts from Egyptian tombs such as Tutankhamun's; the ceremonial plants among the Hopi in North America as well as in the Andean region; etc. Iconographic records, as well as artefactual and biological remains, constitute the empirical basis of this chapter. Although expressly mentioning certain widely known ‘notorious’ plants (e.g. Papaver somniferum, Adenanthera colubrina, Trichocereus pachanoi, Banisteriopsis caapi), some references to the use of hallucinogens among primitive societies of eastern Europe, Central and South America are missing.
The last chapter (Ch. 8), coordinated by Alexandre Chevalier, addresses the issues of social status and identity, as well as the social and physical contexts that shape and drive the food plant choices made by humans. The chapter points out that no one is really free to choose (a notion that is hardly provable from an empirical point of view), but that food plant selection is shaped by a whole set of cognitive and symbolic associations rooted in cultural and social settings that create an entire taxonomy of plants that people are allowed to eat. Thus, the nine contributions in this chapter illustrate the tight relationship between social norms, beliefs, and values linked to social status, identity, and context, on the one hand, and plant choices, on the other. They all highlight the fact that there is no ecological determinism or practical necessity in the choice of plants. Nor is this choice adaptive due to environmental constraints, but a cultural and social one based on given ecological settings and plant availability. Honestly, I cannot agree more.
Finally, I do not want to end this review without remembering a wonderful person, one of the authors of this book who left us not long ago, Lydia Zapata … You will always be with us.
