Hazelnut economy of early Holocene hunter–gatherers: a case study from Mesolithic Duvensee, northern Germany

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Abstract

Throughout the greater part of human evolution in Europe, use of plant foods is invisible and thus might have played a secondary role in nutrition. Ecological changes at the beginning of the early Holocene provoked innovations in early Mesolithic subsistence, focusing on the rich plant resources of the increasingly forested environment. High-resolution analyses of the excellently preserved and well-dated special task camps documented in detail at Duvensee, Northern Germany, offer an outstanding opportunity for case studies on Mesolithic subsistence and land use strategies. Quantification of the nut utilisation demonstrates the great importance of hazelnuts. These studies revealed very high return rates and allow for absolute assessments of the development of early Holocene economy. Stockpiling of the energy rich resource and an increased logistical capacity are innovations characterising an intensified early Mesolithic land use, which is reflected in the stable tradition of uniform seasonal settlement patterns at early Mesolithic Duvensee. The case study reveals characteristics in early Mesolithic subsistence and land use that anticipate attributes of the Neolithic economy.

Introduction

The evolution of subsistence – in particular the emergence of hunting and the invention of agriculture – forms one of the key issues of hominin evolution. There is ample archaeozoological and biogeochemical evidence for the importance of hunting and increasing carnivory in hominin evolution, emphasising animal products as a dominant staple food in past and present hunter–gatherer societies (Hublin and Richards, 2009, Cordain et al., 2000).

The role of plant foods, however, remains obscure for large parts of prehistory, despite their crucial physiological importance in supplying carbohydrates and moderating high nitrogen loads of lean meat (Jones, 2009, Speth, 1989). Earliest evidence for a considerable and regular plant economy derives from the Near Eastern Epipalaeolithic, extending back to 20000 years at Ohalo II (Israel) (Kislev et al., 1992, Weiss et al., 2004). As part of the “Broad Spectrum Revolution”, the Near Eastern Epipalaeolithic is characterised by the intensive plant utilisation of a wide range of plants and equipment for processing such as ground stone tools and hearths (Barlow and Heck, 2002, Hillman, 2000, Wright, 1994). This implies far-reaching impacts on land use and mobility as well as associated social changes that precede the Neolithic in its area of origin.

In contrast, in Europe there is an apparently sudden shift from a meat-focused to an “imported” Neolithic way of subsistence, mainly based on cereals. Assuming at least partial population continuity at the advent of the Neolithic (Haak et al., 2005; but see Bramanti et al., 2009), the quick change must have been incompatible with human physiology (Cordain et al., 2005, Lindeberg, 2009).

However, early Holocene reforestation of central Europe must have already provoked innovations in human subsistence strategies in the preceding Mesolithic. Forested environments are considered as difficult to exploit due to the dispersed nature of their plant and animal resources, requiring complex subsistence strategies (Gamble, 1986).

Various lines of evidence point to increased plant utilisation in the Mesolithic (e.g., Clarke, 1976, Zvelebil, 1994). The importance of hazelnuts is indicated by the frequent presence of hazelnut shells at Mesolithic sites, as well as by constructions associated with their processing. Hazelnuts (untreated, shelled) have a very high energetic value, containing more than 60% fat, 15% proteins and nearly 17% carbohydrate, in addition to high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, minerals and vitamins (US Department of Agriculture (USDA), 2009).

However, the absence of detailed quantitative surveys in interrelation with spatial analyses at archaeological sites prevents verifiable reconstructions of their economic relevance.

Because of their good preservation the sites at Duvensee (Northern Germany) form an ideal archive for the study of Mesolithic nut utilisation. Analyses of these exhaustively documented, chronologically and spatially clearly defined special task camps now provide the opportunity for high-resolution studies on plant utilisation and the development of land use throughout the early Mesolithic.

Section snippets

Duvensee

The Duvensee bog is situated in northern Germany, 35 km northeast of Hamburg (Fig. 1). The former lake formed behind a Weichselian till. Originally the lake covered an area of more than 4 km2. Peat formation reducing the surface of the lake began in the late Preboreal. Numerous sites were discovered during the last century, of which 12 have been excavated until 2001 (Bokelmann, 1971, 1981, Bokelmann, 1991, Bokelmann et al., 1981). The sites are named “Wohnplätze” (“living sites”, in the following

Case studies Wp 8 and 6

The current paper focuses on Wp 8 (late Preboreal) and Wp 6 (Boreal) analyses (Holst, 2007). Refits as well as vertical and horizontal find distributions reflect short periods of accumulation for both sites, pointing to single ephemeral occupations.

Wp 8 was excavated over a total area of 90 m2 (Bokelmann et al., 1981) (Fig. 3). Apart from 14,326 lithic artefacts (5280 > 2 cm), a hearth structure (4.7 m2) was documented in the centre of the excavated area, directly at the former shore. Two similar

Botanical investigations

Hazelnut shells were detected on every Wp (except on Wp 9, Bokelmann, 1991) in large amounts forming compact layers at and around the roasting hearths.

Besides hazelnuts knotweed (Polygonum convolvulus) was discovered at Wp 2 in considerable amounts (Schwantes, 1958). Botanical investigation of a small sample (∼50 ml) of hearth sediment of Wp 6 (analyses by Felix Bittmann; Holst, 2007) furthermore uncovered carbonised seeds of reed mace (Typha sp.) (conjoined seeds from one roasted bulb) and a

Discussion

The special task sites Wp 8 and 6 at Duvensee, Northern Germany, demonstrate essential strategies in Mesolithic subsistence, developed to cope with the difficult living conditions in the early Holocene forested environments.

Wp 8 and Wp 6, representative for the numerous similar sites in Duvensee, emphasize the importance of hazelnut exploitation throughout the early Mesolithic, beginning with the first emergence of hazel in the late Preboreal pollen record. The establishment of a continued

Acknowledgments

Author would like to thank the Palaeolithic Research Unit (RGZM) for support, especially S. Gaudzinski-Windheuser and L. Kindler for valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article. M. Street and E. Turner kindly provided help with the English translation.

Author would like to thank U. Tegtmeier, University of Cologne and F. Bittmann, Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research, for botanical analyses.

The Cusanuswerk, Bonn with a PhD grant provided financial support for the

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