00:13 JT
Hello, and welcome to the Thin End of the Wedge. The podcast where experts from around the world share new and interesting stories about life in the ancient Middle East. My name is Jon. Each episode I talk to friends and colleagues and get them to explain their work in a way we can all understand.
00:31 JT
The point is often made about the archaeology of ancient Iraq that while clay survives incredibly well, organics survive very poorly. Yet even delicate plant remains can be found on excavations.Those plant remains can of course help reconstruct the ancient environment and land use habits. But they can also provide much other useful information. We look at fire-charred remains, and at dung, and how and and why it was used.
01:03 CD
Our guest is an expert in archaeobotany, especially of seed remains. She explains the role of archaeobotany through the example of a site in the Kurdish region.
01:14 JT
So get yourself a cup of tea, makeake yourself comfortable, and let’s meet today’s guest.
01:28 JT
Hello and welcome to Thin End of the Wedge. Thank you for joining us.
01:31 CD
Well, hello and thank you for having me today.
01:36 JT
Could you tell us please: who are you, and what do you do?
01:39 CD
I’m Caroline Douché, and I’m currently a postdoc researcher at the University of Oxford. And I specialise in archaeobotany. I work mainly in Iraq, but I also had the opportunity to study sites in Jordan, Syria, Cyprus and Turkey before.
02:02 JT
Okay, so could you perhaps start us off by explaining a little something about what archaeobotany is. You know … what kind of sources you have and what you can learn from them?
02:12 CD
Yes. So the palaeobotany, which is also called palaeo-ethnobotany in some regions, or archaeobotany, it’s a general term that refers to the study of plants in archaeology. And it aims at reconstructing the past vegetation and human environment relationship, mainly. But there are various subfields or subdisciplines, each one focusing on specific plant materials. For example, anthracology studies wood charcoal, or palynology studies pollens. And in my case, I specialise in carpology. So from the Greek karpós, which means fruit. And that includes the analysis of seeds, fruit, and their floral parts, that are preserved on archeological sites. So my main aim is to identify those remains.
03:11 CD
So what is it?–the wheat grain, a grape pip, for example–and to give an interpretation of their presence, meaning, reconstruct how and why they arrived on the site. Was it growing or cultivated locally? Or was it imported on the site? Was it used for human or animal consumption, etc, etc. So archaebotany is an interdisciplinary study at the crossroads between archaeology, botany, ethnography, chemistry, etc. And of course, when you do archaeobotany, you work in collaboration with all other disciplines, such as archaeozoology, geomorphology, lithics, epigraphy, pottery, etc, etc.
04:08 JT
How do you get into this field? I guess there’s maybe more than one answer to that question. Is this something you learn having trained as an archaeologist, or do you come into it through the science field? Do you train as a biologist and become interested in archaeological biology or botany, say?
04:23 CD
Actually, both paths are possible. Archaebotany is a relatively young discipline that emerged mainly in the 90s, and most of the elderly researchers studied first botany or even biology, and then the ended up in archaeology. But most of the young generation, including myself, study first archaeology and then specialise in environmental archaeology, or specifically, well which was my case, in archaeobotany, so in carpology.
05:04 JT
You’ve worked across the Middle East, on a range of sites across the Middle East.
05:08 CD
Yeah.
05:09 JT
You’ve worked in particular at one site up in the Kurdish region of Iraq. So perhaps, could you just explain for listeners a little bit about the site up in the Kurdish region that you’ve been working on, please?
05:19 CD
Yeah. So one of the sites I’ve been involved in is called Logardan. So this is a site which is located in northeast Iraq, which is present day Iraqi Kurdistan, and it’s close to the modern city of Suleimaniyah. The site lies on a very high natural hill in the Karadag, at the foothills of the Zagros mountains. And field work started in 2015, and revealed a long occupation spanning from the sixth or mid-sixth millennium to the first millennium Before Common Era. And archaeological work identified the evolution of the occupation with different types of settlement and settlement pattern. For example, there was first a monumental complex that was replaced by a fortress, that was then replaced by another monumental building, and that was then again replaced by a pottery workshop. So a very rich archeological site, as you can imagine.
06:37 JT
Yeah, yeah. And so what is your role on the excavations, then? What research questions exist that have caused the director to bring in a specialist in such a young field?
06:49 CD
I was invited to participate to field work as an archaeobotanist, as I just presented myself, and on this site, my role was to collect the samples. So to decide where and how to collect the sediment, basically. And then to analyse the samples. The main aim of the study, as any other site, was to contribute to the understanding of the site, of its occupation, and to bring specific type of evidence that could be compared to other archeological remains. And when I started in 2018, there was almost no archaeobotanical data available in this very specific region, because of the history of the region with various wars that occured. Fieldwork was not possible, and so bioarchaeological research were, of course, kind of stopped.
07:53 CD
So when I started working on the site, I had basic questions, including, what the inhabitant of the site were eating–one of the questions which I share with the archaezoologists, for example. And also, do we observe any change to time or space, as I mentioned, that the occupation of the site changed, with monumental or building or workshop complex, etc.? So my question is, is there any specific change in the plant assemblage that could be relevant to the function of the site? So I also asked were the plant resources used for any other purpose? And there was also an aim to reconstruct the surrounding environment of the site. As you can imagine, present day landscape derived from very long term evolution and degradation, related to both human occupation and exploitation and also, of course, climate change. So what we see nowadays is very different from what was likely to be at the occupation of the site. So we need to identify this very specific vegetation. And additionally, because most of the plants remains I observe, I collect, are preserved by charring, they are excellent material for radiocarbon dating. They are more precise than wood, because if you imagine cereal grain, for example, a barley grain is an annual plant, whereas a tree, like an oak tree, can live for decades. So the result you’re going to get with radiocarbon dating will be very different.
09:47 JT
Okay, so before we get into the details of some of your results, I just wanted to ask–it’s not unusual for the different specialisms to come to different results. So in my case, I work with text mostly. And it’s not at all unusual for a text specialist to come up with a different reconstruction of a situation than is presented by the archaeology. And I was wondering in your cases, when you’re working with the archaeozoologist, what kind of thing do people eat–how closely do your results agree with the other specialists? You know, how can you calibrate your work?
10:21 CD
Well, to compare my results with other fields of study, I can directly compare with their results to fit, for example, in terms of environment. Like if I compare my result with the archaeozoologist, for example, I can, depending on which period or which region, one of the questions would be, what kind of environment was surrounding the site? So was it a wetland area, or was it a very dry land area? And depending on our respective plant and animal assemblage, we may end up with the same conclusion. So that’s one of the possibilities.
11:05 CD
But also, of course, about the economy. So you can by comparing plant and animal, you can also analyse if it was a nomadic or a sedentary community. So that’s another possibility. But there are plenty of ways to compare archaeobotanical data to any other, like, as you said, like you can compare with textual evidence, if you have any, about what kind of plant was consumed, and how they were consumed? Because if you have textual evidence, you may have recipes, like various recipes of bread, cake, etc. And then you can compare with what you have in your archaeobotanical assemblage, and discuss about how the plants were used, not only as food but also for medicinal purpose. Again, like in textual evidence, you may find recipes of preparation for very specific problem, like skin or disease, whatever. So there are many, many ways of comparing. And sometimes, well, hopefully, the result you will get will fit with the other discipline, and sometimes it may not. So you need to understand why you get contradictory results. So that’s the fun part of the study.
12:30 JT
Yes, okay, if we focus back in on the site of Logardan, could you give us the headlines, the main conclusions that your work has been able to bring so far in terms of, you know, the environment, farming practices, things like that?
12:44 CD
Yeah. So, as I said, archaeobotany is very collaborative work. So thanks to the help of my colleagues during fieldwork, we were able to collect a lot of samples, especially in the bottom of the numerous poetry kilns that I mentioned before, and that constituted the industrial pottery workshop that was dated to the end of the third millennium BC. And surprisingly, despite the firing function of the structure, so kiln, there was almost no wood charcoal in it. And instead, we recovered various grains and seeds, such as very small legumes and tiny wild grasses. So like wild plants growing around the site. And because many of them were very small or had a thick seed coat, research suggests they would be able to survive animal digestion. And therefore we interpreted the presence of these seeds as a result of dung used as fuel to feed the various kilns of the site.
14:00 JT
I must admit, this is not the first time we’ve talked about dung on this podcast. Back in episode 52 Birgul was talking about phytoliths, and dung came up then. I think it’s it’s relevant to continue a little here. Could you maybe say something about why you think dung is being used rather than wood? The picture you have of the Kurdish region is that there are trees everywhere. Is that different in the ancient periods, or are they choosing to use dung rather than wood for some other reason?
14:28 CD
Well, first of all, the use of dung as fuel, as you said, you already talked about it. So dung as fuel is a very common thing in various parts of the world, such as South America, Africa, the Indian peninsula, and, of course, in southwestern Asia. When I was in Kurdistan, I had the opportunity to visit a village, where people are still using this very precious and, yeah, very accessible resource. So there are many ethnographic or even ethnobotanical examples showing this resource was and is widely used, and especially for cooking. Again, when I was in Kurdistan, I had the opportunity to visit a village, and the family, for example, was storing dung cakes. So they collect it in the farm and and they were storing it in sacks and next to the tannour. And whenever they need to make bread, they just set up as a fire with dung cake. So that’s a very, very common practice.
15:38 JT
Yeah, I just wanted to ask very quickly: I don’t think I’ve ever been present when someone’s cooked food using dung as a fuel. And I was just wondering in terms of things like, you know, an oak-smoked salmon or something, does the dung give off any kind of smoke or aroma or something that would give the food a certain flavour?
15:56 CD
{LAUGHS} No, absolutely not. So before cooking with dung, you collect the dung, and then you let it dry, under the sun for quite a … a couple of days, and then you will store it. So when you use it, it’s very dry, so it even if you take it with your hand, you won’t smell anything, so your food won’t taste … you won’t have a dung taste. {LAUGHS} Don’t worry.
16:28 CD
But the thing is that in archaeology, previous research focused on the fact that dung was used as fuel, as the result of the region lacking of wood or forest or whatever. But when you analyse more case studies, for example, you see that dung is also a free and sometimes widely available resource. If there are many animals in the surrounding of the site, then dung is a very daily production. A very easy, accessible resource. And in the case of Logardan as the site was located in the Zagros, as you said, we assume the site was surrounded or was nearby the forest. Unfortunately, we don’t have yet a wood charcoal analysis. As I mentioned, like there was very few wood charcoal fragments on the site, and they were very small, so it’s very hard to study those. But hopefully at some point, we’ll get a proper assemblage to analyse or to reconstruct the vegetation surrounding the site. But if we assume that there was a forest nearby the site, dung could have been used as a complementary resource of wood for firing the kiln. And ethnographic studies also indicate that the advantage of dung fuel is that it burns very slowly and also very evenly, compared to wood that may have like a peak of heat and then slow down. So these qualities of dung are particularly good for the pottery production, especially for firing the pottery, because it allow it to fire at the very even temperature and condition in the kiln.
18:28 JT
Yeah, that’s really interesting. I never thought of that one. It partly answers what was going to be my next question in terms of what animals the dung comes from, and whether there were different recipes that had different properties, say?
18:40 CD
Yeah. So in terms of animals, so there was a preliminary study of faunal remains on the side. Well, in theory to get dung, ethnographic study, again, suggests that you can use any kind of animal dung. There is like, in some studies, they show like you can use llama dung, or you can use camel dung, depending on which region and which animals are present. It doesn’t really matter. Although different dungs have different properties, so they do not burn similarly. But at Logardan the preliminary faunal remains allow to identify the presence of sheep and goats, which are usually the basic animals in this region. And we also have evidence for quite a large amount of pigs and also cattle and equids. So all these animals were present at the site, and could have provided dung to be used as fuel for the pottery kiln.
19:44 CD
In terms of recipes, it’s a bit hard to discuss this part, because my study suggested more or less the same composition in the same plant composition in the different parts of the kiln, although some kilns presented, for example, a higher proportion of chaff remains. So the basically, the envelope of the cereal grain. And the chaff remains are sometimes used in addition to the dung cakes, to make it more strength when it burns. So some of the dung cakes may have included more of this chaff, but it may just be accidental. So there is no real recipe for a specific recipe. I guess it also depends on who did it. They may have variation. {LAUGHS}
20:37 JT
Okay, so you explained there that dung as a fuel is very helpful for pottery production, because of it’s even temperature that it allows you to maintain. But beyond that, how do plant remains allow us to understand pottery production practices?
20:52 CD
Well, first of all, looking at the preservation of the plant remains, you may give a range of temperatures used for firing the pottery. But the problem is that to recover the plant remains before they turn into ashes, there is a kind of limit, a temperature limit. So we usually consider that plant remains are preserved by charring below 230, maximum 250 degrees. So above that, we wouldn’t be able to recognise them, and then they will turn into ashes. So there is a limit. But to cook pottery, you need a certain minimum temperature. Although studies reveal that you can cook pottery at quite low temperatures; it remains. But high compared to temperature, allowing the preservation of plant remains. So the plant remains to be preserved, they may certainly be at a very specific position in the kiln. So it may give you, for example, an estimated temperature on the edge of the kiln, for example.
22:01 CD
But in addition, the plant remains give information on the fuel resource required to engage in this very large scale or industrial production. And the potters of Logardan likely evaluated for the potential of the location of the site and its environment before starting their business, because you need to be able to sustain your production before … before starting it. So they probably evaluated the environment before. And also the use of dung probably reflects the connection between the various activities that took place on the site or by the inhabitant, especially the connection between agro-pastoralism and the craft activities. So it was a circular production, let’s say.
22:59 JT
You mentioned at the beginning that you have experience working on a range of sites across the Middle East.
23:04 CD
Yeah.
23:04 JT
So apart from Logardan, what else are you working on at the moment?
23:08 CD
Well, at the moment, I’m mainly engaged on sites in Iraq. So I work on various sites located both north and southern of Iraq. And I actually have a wide chronological framework, because I work on sites from the seventh millennium to the first millennium BC. And this very wide chronology allows me to study various questions, such as the beginning of agriculture during the seventh millennium. And also to have a continuous analysis of various processes, such as how agriculture accompanies the emergence of urbanisation in Mesopotamia, and then how agriculture was able to sustain the large population, and what kind of adaptations people were doing. And also to compare the difference in terms of agricultural strategies, depending on very local environment, because the environment in the north is very different from the one in the south. You can imagine. So they probably have very different practices in terms of agriculture. So that’s what I’m currently investigating.
24:37 JT
To what extent is there a kind of database of results from across Iraq. I just imagine, if you’re working on one particular site, it’d be helpful to be able to contextualise that in terms of what’s happening elsewhere. Given that it’s such a young field, is this a resource that exists, or is this something you’re compiling as you work?
24:54 CD
Well, there is, currently, there is a database that is in Tuebingen, which is for the Middle East in in the broad sense, but I’m currently working on a database, which is focusing on old and new archaeobotanical studies in Iraq, specifically. Because the work in Iraq started long, long time ago–beginning of 20th century. And at that time, there was excavation, but there was no proper archaeobotanical studies. But still, some accidental discoveries of plant remains were made, and there was very brief and very undetailed reports on it. Also it’s very hard to interpret those. They may give us information about the presence or absence of plant remains. So I’m currently compiling these different data and adding the new data yielding on the new site. And this will hopefully give, well it already started to give us a picture of the farming strategies in ancient Iraq, and its evolution through time. Specifically, wheat versus barley, for example. Very
26:18 JT
Very interesting. So can I ask you, then, in terms of somebody who works in your part of the field: what would be the ideal archaeological situation? If you had all the funding in the world, you could do anything you want, any permissions you wanted, what kind of research project would you cook up to solve the big questions?
26:35 CD
{LAUGHS} Well, that’s a very hard question, because as an archaeobotanist, we usually try to adapt to the different situations. More than pick it. But I would say like, well, first of all, an ideal situation is when you have numerous samples instead of three or four samples, because you need to have an assemblage which would be representative of the site. Although we never excavate 100% of the site. There is a strategy, and the more samples you have, the more representative of the site itself it is. So first of all, if I have a lot of funding, I would collect as much sample as possible, and not small samples, but of course, large volume of sediment.
26:35 CD
And also in different contexts, not only palaces or very prestigious contexts. But it’s very important to have an idea of the variety of the archaeological contexts. So domestic as well as temple, palace, monumental buildings, grave soil, midden pits, all kind of archaeological contexts you can imagine. And it’s also important to have very detailed information on these very specific contexts, because it helps us to interpret the archaeobotanical results, to make the link between the composition, the plant composition, and the feature itself. So you may have a different composition if you collect samples in a possible silo or granary compared to midden pit. So it may result in very different results.
28:37 CD
Another ideal situation is, of course, when you have a very good state of preservation, because it’s very helpful for us to go further with the identification. When the plant remains are very damaged, then it’s very hard to get the identification detail. Another thing would be to have in situ material instead of like secondary deposits. Or stuff that were, for example, the fire in the fireplace, instead of just wash out and thrown away from the site. And it’s also important to have other disciplines applied on the site, to have this interdisciplinary study, because you want to be able to compare your results with other materials or other studies, and to see if it fits with a common hypothesis or common model. That’s also the perfect or ideal situation, I would say.
29:40 JT
Thank you very much indeed.
29:42 CD
Thank you.
29:43 JT
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31:04 JT
I really appreciate your support. It makes a big difference. Every penny received has contributed towards translations. Thanks of course to the lovely people who have worked on the translations on a voluntary basis or for well below the market rate. For Arabic, thanks in particular to Zainab Mizyidawi, as well as Lina Meerchyad and May Al-Aseel. For Turkish, thank you to Pinar Durgun and Nesrin Akan. TEW is still young, but I want to reach a sustainable level, where translators are given proper compensation for their hard work.
31:42 JT
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