Plantemakrofossiler i konstruksjonsspor : kilde til økt kunnskap om forhistorisk tid

Abstract

The aim of this article is to illustrate what kind of information it is possible to gain from analysis of plant remains sampled from archaeological contexts. Three different examples are described from Rogaland, SW-Norway. At Kvåle, Time in Jæren, archaeobotanical material reveals that cereal growing and grazing have been practised since the Early Bronze Age. On the other hand, a clearance cairn from the same field can be dated back to the Roman Iron Age. By combining both pollen and macrofossiles the conclusions concerning prehistoric changes in landuse practice can be made with a higher degree of certainty. At Jåttå, Stavanger, it is shown how cereals were distributed in the postholes of a house occupied in the Late Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age. At Gausel, Stavanger, finds of naked barley (Hordeum vulgare var. nudum) found close to a house from Merovingian period is discussed. Naked barley is generally found in older contexts of Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Pre Roman Iron Age.