TY - JOUR

T1 - Oil-rich seeds from prehistoric contextsin southern Scandinavia – reflections on archaeobotanical records of fl ax, hemp, gold of pleasure, and corn spurrey

AU - Karg, Sabine

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - Plant oils are essential for human nutrition, as their seeds contain high concentrations of valuable fatty acids. Since prehistoric times plant oils have been used for many more purposes, such as lighting, medicines, and as a binding agent for cosmetics, colours, and putty, amongst other things. Although archaeobotanical records of oil plants are in most cases found in small numbers, they are often abundant at excavations in southern Scandinavia. This paper presents a diachronic review of plant records of fl ax (Linum usitatissimum L.) and hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), both known for the dual use of their fi bres for textile production and for their oilcontaining seeds. In addition, the fi nds of gold of pleasure (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz,) is discussed. This plant was cultivated for the use of its oil containing seeds for at least 2000 years but has totally fallen into oblivion. The fourth oil plant we present is corn spurrey (Spergula arvensis L.), a formerly widespread weed on lime-poor sandy soils. Given the high frequency in the investigated archaeological sites the seeds had obviously been an important raw material in southern Scandinavia. No study has been made on the question as to whether corn spurrey had been a cultivar or if the seeds had been collected from wild populations. KEYWORDS: Archaeobotany, oil-rich seeds, fl ax, hemp, gold of pleasure, corn spurrey, southern Scandinavia

AB - Plant oils are essential for human nutrition, as their seeds contain high concentrations of valuable fatty acids. Since prehistoric times plant oils have been used for many more purposes, such as lighting, medicines, and as a binding agent for cosmetics, colours, and putty, amongst other things. Although archaeobotanical records of oil plants are in most cases found in small numbers, they are often abundant at excavations in southern Scandinavia. This paper presents a diachronic review of plant records of fl ax (Linum usitatissimum L.) and hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), both known for the dual use of their fi bres for textile production and for their oilcontaining seeds. In addition, the fi nds of gold of pleasure (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz,) is discussed. This plant was cultivated for the use of its oil containing seeds for at least 2000 years but has totally fallen into oblivion. The fourth oil plant we present is corn spurrey (Spergula arvensis L.), a formerly widespread weed on lime-poor sandy soils. Given the high frequency in the investigated archaeological sites the seeds had obviously been an important raw material in southern Scandinavia. No study has been made on the question as to whether corn spurrey had been a cultivar or if the seeds had been collected from wild populations. KEYWORDS: Archaeobotany, oil-rich seeds, fl ax, hemp, gold of pleasure, corn spurrey, southern Scandinavia

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Archaeology

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - Archaeobotany

M3 - Journal article

VL - 52

SP - 17

EP - 24

JO - Acta Palaeobotanica

JF - Acta Palaeobotanica

SN - 0001-6594

IS - 1

ER -