Gathered fruits as grave goods? Cornelian cherry remains from a Mesolithic grave at the site of Vlasac, Danube Gorges, south-east Europe
Abstract
Establishing the use and purpose of wild plant remains recovered from archaeological layers is in many cases far from straightforward. When discovered in a mortuary context, they are generally interpreted as remnants of ritual eating or drinking, offerings to the dead, or mnemonics, if not as accidental inclusions in the grave fills. In the Mesolithic cremation graves at the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges, south-east Europe, Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) fruit stones were discovered; in one case, their number was relatively high. Whereas the fruit stones could simply be regarded as contamination in the burial fill, this study investigates an alternative possibility - that the cherries, or just fruit stones, represented an element of the Mesolithic funerary ritual at Vlasac. The archaeological context in which this plant material was discovered is taken as fundamental to the understanding of taphonomy of the botanical evidence and so it was considered in detail. Examination of t...he relevant morphological properties and the experimental charring of modern Cornelian cherry fruit and fruit stones enabled reconstruction of the conditions and state in which the fruit stones burned. The results suggest that Cornelian cherry fruit could have had a symbolic role in the complex funerary ritual performed by the Mesolithic community, a role that was meant to ensure the memory of, and a link with, the deceased. This adds to the current understanding of multiple potential uses of wild plants in the past and, excitingly, points to their role in mortuary practices as early as the Mesolithic.
Keywords:
Mesolithic / Wild plant consumption / Burial ritual / Cornelian cherry / Experimental charring / Plant symbolismSource:
Quaternary International, 2020, 541, 130-140Publisher:
- Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, Oxford
Funding / projects:
- Society, spiritual and material culture and communications in the prehistory and early history of the Balkans (RS-MESTD-Basic Research (BR or ON)-177012)
- Structure-properties relationships of natural and synthetic molecules and their metal complexes (RS-MESTD-Basic Research (BR or ON)-172017)
DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2019.10.018
ISSN: 1040-6182
WoS: 000535806300002
Scopus: 2-s2.0-85075456593
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Institution/Community
Poljoprivredni fakultetTY - JOUR AU - Filipović, Dragana AU - Fotirić-Akšić, Milica AU - Dabić-Zagorac, Dragana AU - Natić, Maja PY - 2020 UR - http://aspace.agrif.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/5376 AB - Establishing the use and purpose of wild plant remains recovered from archaeological layers is in many cases far from straightforward. When discovered in a mortuary context, they are generally interpreted as remnants of ritual eating or drinking, offerings to the dead, or mnemonics, if not as accidental inclusions in the grave fills. In the Mesolithic cremation graves at the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges, south-east Europe, Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) fruit stones were discovered; in one case, their number was relatively high. Whereas the fruit stones could simply be regarded as contamination in the burial fill, this study investigates an alternative possibility - that the cherries, or just fruit stones, represented an element of the Mesolithic funerary ritual at Vlasac. The archaeological context in which this plant material was discovered is taken as fundamental to the understanding of taphonomy of the botanical evidence and so it was considered in detail. Examination of the relevant morphological properties and the experimental charring of modern Cornelian cherry fruit and fruit stones enabled reconstruction of the conditions and state in which the fruit stones burned. The results suggest that Cornelian cherry fruit could have had a symbolic role in the complex funerary ritual performed by the Mesolithic community, a role that was meant to ensure the memory of, and a link with, the deceased. This adds to the current understanding of multiple potential uses of wild plants in the past and, excitingly, points to their role in mortuary practices as early as the Mesolithic. PB - Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, Oxford T2 - Quaternary International T1 - Gathered fruits as grave goods? Cornelian cherry remains from a Mesolithic grave at the site of Vlasac, Danube Gorges, south-east Europe EP - 140 SP - 130 VL - 541 DO - 10.1016/j.quaint.2019.10.018 ER -
@article{ author = "Filipović, Dragana and Fotirić-Akšić, Milica and Dabić-Zagorac, Dragana and Natić, Maja", year = "2020", abstract = "Establishing the use and purpose of wild plant remains recovered from archaeological layers is in many cases far from straightforward. When discovered in a mortuary context, they are generally interpreted as remnants of ritual eating or drinking, offerings to the dead, or mnemonics, if not as accidental inclusions in the grave fills. In the Mesolithic cremation graves at the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges, south-east Europe, Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) fruit stones were discovered; in one case, their number was relatively high. Whereas the fruit stones could simply be regarded as contamination in the burial fill, this study investigates an alternative possibility - that the cherries, or just fruit stones, represented an element of the Mesolithic funerary ritual at Vlasac. The archaeological context in which this plant material was discovered is taken as fundamental to the understanding of taphonomy of the botanical evidence and so it was considered in detail. Examination of the relevant morphological properties and the experimental charring of modern Cornelian cherry fruit and fruit stones enabled reconstruction of the conditions and state in which the fruit stones burned. The results suggest that Cornelian cherry fruit could have had a symbolic role in the complex funerary ritual performed by the Mesolithic community, a role that was meant to ensure the memory of, and a link with, the deceased. This adds to the current understanding of multiple potential uses of wild plants in the past and, excitingly, points to their role in mortuary practices as early as the Mesolithic.", publisher = "Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, Oxford", journal = "Quaternary International", title = "Gathered fruits as grave goods? Cornelian cherry remains from a Mesolithic grave at the site of Vlasac, Danube Gorges, south-east Europe", pages = "140-130", volume = "541", doi = "10.1016/j.quaint.2019.10.018" }
Filipović, D., Fotirić-Akšić, M., Dabić-Zagorac, D.,& Natić, M.. (2020). Gathered fruits as grave goods? Cornelian cherry remains from a Mesolithic grave at the site of Vlasac, Danube Gorges, south-east Europe. in Quaternary International Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, Oxford., 541, 130-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.10.018
Filipović D, Fotirić-Akšić M, Dabić-Zagorac D, Natić M. Gathered fruits as grave goods? Cornelian cherry remains from a Mesolithic grave at the site of Vlasac, Danube Gorges, south-east Europe. in Quaternary International. 2020;541:130-140. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2019.10.018 .
Filipović, Dragana, Fotirić-Akšić, Milica, Dabić-Zagorac, Dragana, Natić, Maja, "Gathered fruits as grave goods? Cornelian cherry remains from a Mesolithic grave at the site of Vlasac, Danube Gorges, south-east Europe" in Quaternary International, 541 (2020):130-140, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.10.018 . .