Plant-food preparation on two consecutive floors at Upper Paleolithic Ohalo II, Israel

Ainit Snir; Dani Nadel; Ehud Weiss

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.09.023

Plant-food preparation on two consecutive floors at Upper Paleolithic Ohalo II, Israel

Ainit Snir, Dani Nadel, Ehud Weiss

Department of Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The Ohalo II Upper Paleolithic site was inundated for ca. 23,000 years. A unique and diverse assemblage of seeds and fruit was thus excellently preserved on its brush huts floors. Three successive floors were identified in Brush Hut 1; about 55,000 seeds and fruits were found on its lower floor, Floor III. Food preparation features were found on two of these floors: a hearth in the center of Floor III and a grinding stone in the north of Floor II. Here we analyze the spatial distribution of fourteen prominent plant taxa recovered from Floor III, and compare the results with previously published spatial distribution of the same taxa on Floor II. We describe here the plant remains' distribution around food preparation features - grinding stone (floor II) and a central hearth (floor III), and the groups of taxa which appear on both floors. The similarity in taxa as well as their concentrations on both floors indicates similar activities. We also raise the possibility that the two floors represent two different seasons of occupation - Floor III in winter and Floor II in summer.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	61-71
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science
Volume	53
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.09.023
State	Published - 1 Jan 2015

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Our cordial thanks are due to Dr. Yoel Melamed for helping in plant remains identification, to Dr. Yael Mahler-Slasky for image analysis, to Dr. Mitia Frumin for map production, and for Dr. Edward Tepper for editorial help. This work is part of a Ph.D. dissertation conducted in Bar-Ilan University. This project was generously supported by Israel Science Foundation Individual Research Grant 711/08 “Economic diversity and space use between occupations of Upper-Palaeolithic Ohalo II: A multi-layer spatial analysis of plant remains” for E.W.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords

3D spatial analysis
Activity area
Archaeobotany
Food preparation
Ohalo II
Upper Palaeolithic

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Archaeology
Archaeology

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10.1016/j.jas.2014.09.023

Cite this

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title = "Plant-food preparation on two consecutive floors at Upper Paleolithic Ohalo II, Israel",

abstract = "The Ohalo II Upper Paleolithic site was inundated for ca. 23,000 years. A unique and diverse assemblage of seeds and fruit was thus excellently preserved on its brush huts floors. Three successive floors were identified in Brush Hut 1; about 55,000 seeds and fruits were found on its lower floor, Floor III. Food preparation features were found on two of these floors: a hearth in the center of Floor III and a grinding stone in the north of Floor II. Here we analyze the spatial distribution of fourteen prominent plant taxa recovered from Floor III, and compare the results with previously published spatial distribution of the same taxa on Floor II. We describe here the plant remains' distribution around food preparation features - grinding stone (floor II) and a central hearth (floor III), and the groups of taxa which appear on both floors. The similarity in taxa as well as their concentrations on both floors indicates similar activities. We also raise the possibility that the two floors represent two different seasons of occupation - Floor III in winter and Floor II in summer.",

keywords = "3D spatial analysis, Activity area, Archaeobotany, Food preparation, Ohalo II, Upper Palaeolithic",

author = "Ainit Snir and Dani Nadel and Ehud Weiss",

note = "Funding Information: Our cordial thanks are due to Dr. Yoel Melamed for helping in plant remains identification, to Dr. Yael Mahler-Slasky for image analysis, to Dr. Mitia Frumin for map production, and for Dr. Edward Tepper for editorial help. This work is part of a Ph.D. dissertation conducted in Bar-Ilan University. This project was generously supported by Israel Science Foundation Individual Research Grant 711/08 “Economic diversity and space use between occupations of Upper-Palaeolithic Ohalo II: A multi-layer spatial analysis of plant remains” for E.W. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2014 Elsevier Ltd.",

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N2 - The Ohalo II Upper Paleolithic site was inundated for ca. 23,000 years. A unique and diverse assemblage of seeds and fruit was thus excellently preserved on its brush huts floors. Three successive floors were identified in Brush Hut 1; about 55,000 seeds and fruits were found on its lower floor, Floor III. Food preparation features were found on two of these floors: a hearth in the center of Floor III and a grinding stone in the north of Floor II. Here we analyze the spatial distribution of fourteen prominent plant taxa recovered from Floor III, and compare the results with previously published spatial distribution of the same taxa on Floor II. We describe here the plant remains' distribution around food preparation features - grinding stone (floor II) and a central hearth (floor III), and the groups of taxa which appear on both floors. The similarity in taxa as well as their concentrations on both floors indicates similar activities. We also raise the possibility that the two floors represent two different seasons of occupation - Floor III in winter and Floor II in summer.

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Plant-food preparation on two consecutive floors at Upper Paleolithic Ohalo II, Israel

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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