ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Evidence of ‘new glume wheat’ from the Late Neolithic (CopperAge) of south-eastern Hungary (4th millennium cal. B.C.)

Arpad Kenez • Akos Pet}o • Ferenc Gyulai

Received: 7 August 2012 / Accepted: 29 May 2013

� Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract In 2000, remains of an unknown Triticum

species—later named ‘new glume wheat’ (NGW)—were

identified in the archaeobotanical material of Neolithic and

Bronze Age Greek sites. The presence of NGW was later

reported from several other locations across Europe, from the

seventh to the first millennium cal. B.C. During the systematic

archaeobotanical survey of the multiperiod site of Hod-

mez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya (5310–2936 cal.

B.C.) more than 2,000 cereal remains were recovered. During

the morphological analyses, ten spikelet forks showed the

distinctive traits of NGW, therefore morphometric analyses

were conducted on the remains to reinforce the morpholog-

ical identification. The results suggest that both approa-

ches—morphological and morphometric—should be

applied in parallel to securely separate the NGW remains

from Triticum turgidum L. ssp. dicoccum (Schrank) Thell.

(emmer) and T. monococcum L. ssp. monococcum (einkorn).

All NGW glume bases were recovered from Late Copper

Age features (3338–3264 cal. B.C.) of the settlement, which

represent the Baden culture of the Great Hungarian Plain.

Similarly to other Baden culture sites of the Carpathian Basin

einkorn and emmer dominated the crop production of the

settlement. The ratio of the NGW remains within the cereal

assemblage was measured to be 0.48 %, which suggests that

NGW did not have the status of a regular crop; still it may

have been part of the accompanying weed flora of the cereal

fields during the fourth millennium in the south-eastern

Great Hungarian Plain landscape.

Keywords Baden culture � Plant macroremains �Cereals � Triticum � Morphometric analysis

Introduction

Archaeobotanical remains of an unknown species called

‘new glume wheat’ or ‘new type of glume wheat’

(NGW)—recovered at Neolithic sites in northern Greece

(Makri, Makriyialos and Arkadikos) and the Bronze Age

site of Assiros Toumba—were first described morpholog-

ically by Jones et al. (2000) (for dating see ESM 1). This

prompted investigators to have a closer look at new finds of

untypical chaff remains and to re-check specimens for-

merly classified as aberrant emmer or einkorn, with NGW

turning up in several instances (Kohler-Schneider 2003).

At the time being, it was demonstrated that the glume

bases and spikelet forks of the unknown new wheat species

show similarities to those of diploid Triticum moncoccum

L. ssp. monococcum (einkorn) and tetraploid T. turgidum

L. ssp. dicoccum (Schrank) Thell. (emmer), but are not

similar to those of hexaploid T. aestivum L. ssp. spelta (L.)

Thell. (spelt). They show a range of morphologically dis-

tinctive features that distinguish this type of glume wheat

from the very similar einkorn and emmer. At present, the

possible closest relative of the NGW is thought to be the

tetraploid T. timopheevii Zhuk. (Timopheev’s wheat).

Communicated by S. Jacomet.

Electronic supplementary material The online version of thisarticle (doi:10.1007/s00334-013-0405-3) contains supplementarymaterial, which is available to authorized users.

A. Kenez (&) � A. Pet}oLaboratory for Applied Research, National Heritage Protection

Centre, Hungarian National Museum, Daroci ut 3.,

Budapest 1113, Hungary

e-mail: kenez.arpad@mnm-nok.gov.hu

F. Gyulai

Institute of Environmental and Landscape Management, Szent

Istvan University, Pater Karoly utca 1., Godoll}o 2103, Hungary

123

Veget Hist Archaeobot

DOI 10.1007/s00334-013-0405-3

In this case the NGW is part of the T. urartu (Tuman. ex

Gandilijan.) (2n; AuAu)—T. araraticum (Jakubz.) (4n,

AAGG)—T. timopheevii (Zhuk.) (4n, AAGG)—T. zhu-

kovskyi (Men. & Er.) (6n, GGAmAmAA formula) phylo-

genetic line (Fig. 1 in Charmet 2011).

Subsequently several studies have been published with

new identifications demonstrating that the NGW was

present from Anatolia to Western Germany (Fig. 1). Beside

the wide geographical range, the presence of NGW was

demonstrated from various cultures from the Early Neo-

lithic to the Iron Age (Fig. 1 and ESM 1).

One of the first identifications reported—after the paper

of Jones et al. (2000)—on the NGW was published by

Kohler-Schneider (2001), who demonstrated the presence of

NGW remains from the Late Bronze Age site of Stillfried

(Lower Austria) (1031–819 cal. B.C.). A year later Fairbairn

et al. (2002) reported on unusually robust emmer spikelet

forks from the archaeobotanical material of Neolithic

Catalhoyuk (6640–6510 cal. B.C. (level VII) and

6480–6220 cal. B.C. (level II)) (Fig. 2 in Fairbairn et al.

2002). Emmer predominated in the cereal spectra and was

present in each investigated phase of the site. The authors

pointed out that the remains were similar to those described

by Jones et al. (2000) and ‘‘they formed part of a continuous

range of variation with the other’’ emmer types (Fairbairn

et al. 2002, p 41). In the same year Aldona Bieniek identified

NGW glume bases from the Middle Neolithic Lengyel

culture (4400–4000 cal. B.C.) at Miechowice (Kujawy

region, Poland) (Bieniek 2002), whilst Amy Bogaard

reported on the identification of NGW remains from the

Early Neolithic, Linear Pottery culture site of Vaihingen,

South-Western Germany (Bogaard 2002, 2012).

Neither Fairbairn et al. (Table 4 in Fairbairn et al. 2002), nor

Bieniek (2002, p 35) published the ratio of the NGW remains

within the cereal spectra of the examined sites, or discussed

the status of the species as a crop (or as a weed). It was

Kohler-Schneider (2003) who, in accordance with Jones

et al. (2000), noted that NGW (based on the ratio of the

grains compared to einkorn in the archaeobotanical record

and the form of storage at Stillfried) was cultivated in

mixture with einkorn, probably as a winter crop. She also

presented a morphometric approach to distinguish glume

bases and grains of the NGW from other glume wheats, like

einkorn and emmer, and established indicator value ranges

for five different indices (Tables 1 and 2 in Kohler-

Schneider 2003). In her paper, Kohler-Schneider mentions

that Helmut Kroll recognized ‘‘slender-type’’ of emmer

grains from Bronze Age Feudvar (1600–1500 cal. B.C.)

(Magyarkanizsa), Serbia, published by Borojevic (1991) as

NGW (http://www.sgi.co.rs/html/006/00612.html). In this

view then, the publication of Borojevic from 1991 is one of

the earliest accounts on the appearance of the taxon.

In the research on NGW accounts of its possible closest

relative, Timopheev’s wheat, are also important. Fischer

and Rosch (2004) reported on spikelet bases of T. cf.

timopheevii (Zhuk.) from the Neolithic site of Uivar

(Ujvar), Romania (7,000–6,600 uncal B.P., date from

Kadereit et al. 2006), and mentioned that similar wheat

remains occured at the Early Neolithic site of Dudestii

Vechi (5990 to 5560 cal. B.C.; Table 2 in Spataro 2006) and

the Late Neolithic site of Parta, Romania (5850 to

5470 cal. B.C.; Table 2 in Spataro 2006). A year later,

Kreuz et al. (2005) gave accounts of NGW glume bases

from Early Neolithic Bulgarian and German sites.

Fig. 1 Location of published

NGW findings. See ESM 1 for a

detailed list including available

dating of these locations

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

Bogaard et al. (2007) published archaeobotanical data

for the Early Neolithic Koros culture site Ecsegfalva in

Hungary (later seventh to middle sixth millennium cal.

B.C.) and reported on spikelet forks of the NGW. In addi-

tion, numerous authors of the monograph entitled ‘The

origin and spread of domestic plants in Southwest Asia and

Europe’ (Colledge and Conolly 2007) reported on the

presence of NGW—or frequently referred to it as

‘Timopheevi-like wheat’ at various Neolithic sites (Greece:

Giannitsa—Valamoti and Kotsakis 2007; Italy: Sammar-

denchia and Piancada—Rottoli and Pessina 2007; Slova-

kia: Brehov-Pod Veikym vrchom—Hajnalova 2007;

Poland: Smolsk, Wolica nowa, Konary, Osłonki and

Zagajewice—Bieniek 2007).

Meanwhile, during a study of two Early Bronze Age

wetland settlements in Northern Italy (Lavagnone and

Lucone, south of Lake Garda) larger amounts of NGW,

including parts of ears from a burnt store, were discovered.

The Early Bronze Age finds date to around 2000 cal. B.C.

(Perego and Jacomet, personal communication).

Bieniek and Licheli (2007) proved the presence of NGW

from the Early Iron Age (first millennium B.C.) site of

Atskouri in Georgia. It may be said though that Mount

Ararat and the Eastern Anatolian plateau is the home of

Timopheev’s wheat (!), which is thought to be the closest

ancestor of the NGW; therefore the appearance of the

NGW from this area is more or less obvious. With regard to

Iron Age finds, there are single records of NGW from

Eastern Austria, from Michelstetten (Kohler-Schneider and

Heiss 2010) and Sandberg/Roseldorf (Caneppele et al.

2010), which can be accepted as so far the most recent

appearance of the species. The Austrian Iron Age finds

possibly indicate a weed status for NGW at that time, its

importance supposedly having declined since the Bronze

Age.

Kohler-Schneider and Caneppele (2009) published data

on the appearance of NGW at Krems/Hundssteig (Austria),

a Late Aeneolithic site of the Jevisovice culture. In Eastern

Austria, the Baden culture preceds the Jevisovice culture

while in the Hungarian prehistorical chronology the Baden

culture is the main and the most extended cultural complex

of the Late Copper Age (3600/3500–2800 cal. B.C.). Thus

the finds at Krems/Hundssteig, dated to 3100–3010 cal.

B.C., are contemporaneous with those presented in this

study (see ESM 2 for radiocarbon dates).

The presence of NGW from Hungary was demonstrated in

the material from the Early Neolithic Koros culture site of

Ecsegfalva (Bogaard et al. 2007), the Middle Bronze Age

(Reinecke BB1) Klarafalva (cited in Kohler-Schneider 2003),

as well as from Szazhalombatta-Foldvar (Vatya culture; ca.

2000/1900–1500 cal. B.C.) (Stika and Heiss 2012/2013). At

www.archaeobotany.de (the website for archaeological

remains of cultivated plants, compiled by Helmut Kroll,

containing data from 1981 to 2004), NGW is mentioned for

the archaeologically intensively studied Late Neolithic tell of

Hodmez}ovasarhely–Gorzsa (4970–4380 cal. B.C.; Szakmany

et al. 2008). This is significant for the material presented here,

since this site is in the close vicinity of Hodmez}ovasarhely-

Kopancs and the finds presented in this paper, although not

dating to the same period.

The aim of this study is to provide additional informa-

tion on the spatial and temporal distribution of NGW in a

wider European context, and to assess its possible status

within the plant economy of the site of Hodmez}ovasarh-

ely–Kopancs, I. Olasz-tanya. As a methodological aim, the

paper wishes to shed light on the necessity of applying both

morphological and morphometric approaches in the iden-

tification of NGW remains.

Materials and methods

Geographical setting of the site Hodmez}ovasarhely–

Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya

The Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya archaeo-

logical site is located in Csongrad county, in the south-

eastern part of Hungary (Fig. 2). From a geographical point

of view, the site is part of the Great Hungarian Plain and

lies in the western part of the Csongradi Plain microregion,

which is situated in the Koros-Maros interfluve. The mi-

croregion is characterised by fluvial and airborne sedi-

ments. Orographically the territory is a low floodplain with

badly drained depressions. The monotony of the surface is

interrupted by eroded, clay-filled depressions in the loess

covered surface, by various abandoned meanders and by

low sand dunes and loess ridges. The clayey and silty

sediments—situated near the surface—are either covered

by an infusion loess layer, which thickens from the east to

west, or by windblown sand. The soil geography in the

region is dominated by Chernozems evolved on loess

(e.g. pseudomiceliar, slightly alkaline and meadow

Chernozems). Also, with a less-extended distribution, pat-

ches of meadow and alkaline soil appear which, in many

cases, show transition development types with the

Chernozems (Marosi and Somogyi 1990).

The climate of the micro region is a transition between

the moderately warm-moderately dry and warm-dry cli-

mate typologies. Today, the medium annual temperature is

between 10.3 and 10.6 �C and the mean annual precipita-

tion varies between 560 and 620 mm. Only remnant pat-

ches survive of the modern woodland associations of the

microregion that belongs to the Magyar flora range (Pan-

nonicum), the Alfoldi flora region (Eupannonicum) and the

Tiszantul flora district (Crisicum) (Kiraly et al. 2008). The

potential vegetation cover consists of Festuco-Quercetum

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

roboris, Festuco pseudovinae-Quercetum roboris and Aceri

tatarico-Quercetum pubescentis roboris woodland associa-

tions. Steppe land areas are characterised by the Salvio-

Festucetum sulcatae tibiscense association. Slightly alka-

line, sandy pastures, such as Potentillo-Festucetum pseud-

ovinae, and alkaline ‘‘puszta’’-s (Artemisio-Festucetum

pseudovinae) are still to be found to a great extent on the

Csongradi Plain today (Kiraly et al. 2008).

The multiperiod archaeological site complex of Hod-

mez}ovasarhely-Kopancs is located on sand dunes emerging

from the former wetlands and marshy areas. The territory

called Nagysziget (‘‘Big Island’’) is well-known for its rich

archaeological heritage. Features from the Neolithic to the

Middle Ages have previously been identified and excavated

in the last decades due to the ever extending sand mining

activity (Ando 1984; Bokorne Nagy 1984; Korek 1984).

The geographical setting is in good correspondence with all

of these, as the sand dunes emerging from the landscape

provided suitable dry surfaces and alluvial islands for

human settlement in the Carpathian Basin before regulation

of the rivers in the 19th century took place.

Archaeological background

In 2009, due to ever extending mining activities, a pre-

ventive excavation of an area of 6,500 m2, forming

approximately 3.5 % of the entire multiperiod site, was

conducted by the legal predecessor of the National Heritage

Protection Centre, the Field Service for Cultural Heritage

Protection. The excavation, led by Orsolya Herendi,

revealed 230 settlement features of the Baden culture (Late

Copper Age) (app. 3600/3500–2800 cal. B.C.). Storage pits,

pit complexes, ritual pits with animal and human burials,

ditches and multiple wells were unearthed. Unfortunately

Baden culture houses were not found in this phase of the

excavation. The majority of the features occured on the top

of a slightly elevated sand dune indicating where people of

Late Copper Age settled. Fig. 3a represents the layout of the

entire excavation, features discussed in this paper are

marked by their feature number on the site map (Fig. 3a).

The description of the features that yielded NGW remains

are included in ESM 2, whilst line drawings and field

photographs of them are presented in Fig. 4.

The dating of the settlement features was not only based

on ceramic typological examinations, but AMS radiocarbon

measurements were performed on human and animal bones.

With regard to the results of 14 radiocarbon dates the life of

the site can be placed between 5310 and 2936 cal. B.C.

(unpublished data). This time span overlaps with the Late

Neolithic/Aeneolithic of the western part of Europe and the

Late Copper Age of the Carpathian Basin (3600/

3500–2800 cal. B.C.). In this paper we only consider fea-

tures dated to the Late Copper Age (Baden culture) (35

features, see Fig. 3a; Table 1). One of these, No. 60/227,

from which two NGW spikelet forks were recovered, was

dated to 3338–3264 cal. B.C. (1r-range) (ESM 2). Further

radiocarbon dates obtained from Baden culture features are:

Feature No. 85/90: 3335–3263 cal. B.C. (1r), Poz-45182

Feature No. 94/99.1: 3332–3263 cal. B.C. (1r), Poz-45294

Feature No. 94/99.3: 3079–3071 cal. B.C. (1r), Poz-45183

Feature No. 98/103: 3370–3326 cal. B.C. (1r), Poz-45181

Sampling and recovery of the botanical remains,

identification, morphometrical study, evaluation

Altogether 79 samples with a total volume of 450.1 l from

35 features of the Baden culture (Table 1 and ESM 3) such

as storage pits, vessel infills, wells, hearths, middens and

ditches have been collected during the integrated archaeo-

botanical survey of Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-

tanya archaeological site. The sampling was done system-

atically, since it included all types of features excavated on

the site and covered most of those belonging to the Baden

culture. The integrated archaeobotanical survey included

off-site and on-site sampling strategies to perform phytolith,

pollen, macro-botanical and charcoal analysis in an inte-

grated way (analyses in progress by the authors and col-

leagues from the Laboratory of Applied Research, National

Heritage Protection Centre, Hungarian National Museum,

Budapest). This paper focuses on the on-site botanical

macroremains with special emphasis on the NGW remains.

As the structures lie above the groundwater level, only

Fig. 2 Location of Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya

archaeological site near the town of Hodmez}ovasarhely (Csongrad

county, SE-Hungary)

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

charred plant material was preserved. Plant remains other

than charred were not detected during the analysis.

Bulk samples collected for macro-archaeobotanical

analysis were wet sieved through a 1.0 and 0.5 mm mesh.

Bigger particles of pebbles, daub, ceramics, charcoal and

shell fragments were separated directly during sieving,

while the sorting of the sieved material was conducted with

the help of a binocular stereomicroscope at a magnification

of 209 in the Laboratory of Applied Research (HNM

NHPC, Budapest).

The recovered plant remains (excluding charcoals) were

identified based on Schermann (1966), Radics (1998),

Cappers et al. (2006), Brecher (1960) and Jacomet (2006a),

as well as based on the reference collection of the Labo-

ratory of Applied Research (HNM NHPC, Budapest).

Morphometric measurements and analyses on the sus-

pected NGW remains were carried out according to the

methodological recommendations of Kohler-Schneider

(2003, Fig. 4) and based on morphological properties

(Kohler-Schneider 2003, Figs. 2, 3). The morphometric

protocol included the measurement of the width of the

glume base, of the disarticulation scar, of the spikelet fork

and the distance between the disarticulation scar and the

glume base insertion (Fig. 5).

Weeds and other wild plants were grouped according to

actualistic parameters according to Borhidi’s relative

Fig. 3 Plan of the

Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I.,

Olasz-tanya archaeological site:

a Baden culture features that

were sampled for

archaeobotanical analysis are

marked with numbers;

b Distribution of different

species of wild plant remains in

the features of the site;

c Distribution of weed remains

in the features of the site;

d Distribution of cereal remains

in the features of the site.

Features that yielded NGW are

additionally marked with white

dots and the number of the

features (for detailed description

of these features see Fig. 4 and

ESM 2)

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

ecological indicators (Horvath et al. 1995). In addition we

used knowledge of wild plants present in Neolithic cereal

stocks as described by Brombacher and Jacomet (1997) and

Maier (2001).

The nomenclature of scientific plant names of the cul-

tivars follows Van Zeist (1984), and the modern grouping

summarised by Zohary et al. (2012, Table 3, p 29), whilst

the nomenclature of wild plants is given according to

Kiraly (2009).

Results

Archaeobotanical results

In 450.1 l of sediment from the 35 features of the Baden

culture we found in total 4,394 charred remains of seeds and

fruits as well as other identifiable plant parts (excluding

charcoal) (for raw data see ESM 3). The overall density of

these remains varies on a broad scale (Table 1), and there are

Fig. 4 Field photographs and

line drawings of the Baden

culture features that yielded

NGW remains. For feature

descriptions see text and

ESM 2, for their location

in the site see Fig. 3

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

considerable differences between the features regarding

macroremain densities (ESM 4). The archaeobotanical

material of the site is discussed below in three groups:

cereals, weeds and wild species of the environment.

Cereals

The spatial distribution of the plant remains within the

boundary of the excavated site is without any doubt domi-

nated by the presence of cereals (Fig. 3d). Although their

number and density varies on a wide scale (min Dcereal

= 0.0714 n/l, Feature No. 23; max Dcereal = 28.2857 n/l,

Feature No. 55: ESM 4), they are present in the vast majority

of the examined archaeological features (ESM 4, Fig. 3d).

Only three pits (Nos. 97, 114, 116) did not contain any cereal

remains. The ubiquity of the cereal remains in general in the

Baden culture features, was calculated to be 91.4 %

(ESM 4), which is significantly higher than that of the other

two plant groups. The mean density of the cereals was

calculated to be 3.8 n/l, which is similar to that of the weed

density score, though the standard deviation of the cereals is

much lower (5.7 n/l), which indicates the fact that the cereals

are not only widely distributed over the site, but their

distribution is more even than that of the weeds (Fig. 3d).

Cereal remains of different taxa were discovered in a

range of features. The cereal remains reach a proportion of

48.5 % of the whole of the archaeobotanical assemblage

(excl. charcoal). 2,093 items of cereal parts (including

grains, spikelet forks and bases, one scutellum, chaff,

fragmented plant remains and stem remains, such as

internode and node pieces) have been separated from the

4,319 identified plant remains (Table 1 and ESM 4).

Table 1 The archaeobotanical

record of Hodmez}ovasarhely–

Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya, Baden

culture features (n = 35, total

number of samples is 79)

n Absolute value, P proportion

of the taxa based on the total

number of each plant remain

group, U ubiquity (frequency of

occurrence) of the taxa

calculated on the basis of the 35

examined features, D density of

the remains of the taxa

calculated on the basis of the

entire processed soil material

(450.1 l) and expressed in

number of remains (n) per

processed soil litre (l)

* Might include grain, spikelet

forks, glume base and scutellum

n P U D

Cereals (48.46 %) (%) (%) (n/l)

Cereal fragments/food remains 1,348 64.41 91.43 2.9949

Hordeum vulgare L. 5 0.24 8.57 0.0111

Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum* 344 16.44 57.14 0.7643

Triticum turgidum L. subsp. dicoccum Schubl.* 23 1.10 22.86 0.0511

Triticum sp. * 363 17.34 31.43 0.8065

Triticum sp. (cf. ‘new glume wheat’) 10 0.48 17.14 0.0222

Sub-total 2,093

Weeds (48.92 %)

Acinos arvensis (Lam.) Dandy 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

Bromus arvensis L. 4 0.19 2.86 0.0089

Bromus sp. 2 0.09 5.71 0.0044

cf. Coronilla varia L. 2 0.09 5.71 0.0044

cf. Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

Chenopodium album L. 1,096 51.87 25.71 2.4350

Chenopodium sp. (cf. album) 1,001 47.37 5.71 2.2240

Fallopia convolvulus (L.) A. Love 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

cf. Lolium temulentum L. 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

Papaver rhoeas L. 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

Polygonum persicaria L. 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

Rumex acetosella L. 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

Vicia tetrasperma (L.) Schreb. 1 0.05 2.86 0.0022

Sub-total 2,113

Wild species (2.61 %)

cf. Iris pseudacorus L. 1 0.88 2.86 0.0022

Phleum pratense L. 1 0.88 2.86 0.0022

Schoenoplectus lacustris (L.) Palla 1 0.88 2.86 0.0022

Sparganium erectum L. 1 0.88 2.86 0.0022

Stipa sp. 107 94.69 37.14 0.2377

Teucrium chamaedrys L. 2 1.77 2.86 0.0044

Sub-total 113

Total 4,319

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

The ratio of the fragmented and broken cereal remains is

high; 64.4 % out of the 2,093 pieces (ESM 4). The

experimental results of both Valamoti (2002), as well as of

Antolın and Buxo (2011) were considered in order to

exclude modern breakage. Amongst the securely identifi-

able cereal remains T. monococcum L. ssp. monococcum

predominates with 331 glume bases and 13 grains, which is

16.4 % of the entire cereal assemblage. With 344 remains

the general density of einkorn was calculated to be 0.76 n/l,

whilst its ubiquity exceeded 50 %, which means that ein-

korn was present in more than half of the examined fea-

tures. T. turgidum L. ssp. dicoccum (Schrank) Thell. is

represented by three grains and 20 pieces of chaff remains;

this counts for 1.1 % of the cereal assemblage. Compared

to its low density (0.05 n/l) scores the general ubiquity of

emmer is high (22.86 %), which might refer to its wider

distribution on the site. The increased ubiquity might also

refer to its importance. Beside the wheats, only five rem-

nants of barley (Hordeum spp.) have been detected; both

the ubiquity (8.6 %) and density (0.01 n/l) scores are the

lowest for this genus within the cereal spectra (Table 1 and

ESM 4). Since unidentified cereal remains were present in

32 features from the examined 35, they count for the

highest ubiquity score (91.4 %), and since they were

present in the highest amount in the examined soil material

the density of this remain type was measured to be the

highest (3 n/l) (Table 1).

Remains identified as NGW were recovered from vari-

ous features. Samples 189/1 and 189/2 derive from a

slightly beehive-shaped storage pit (No. 44/46, ESM 2;

Fig. 4a). A huge pit complex composed of storage pits and

trenches (No. 32/32, ESM 2; Fig. 4b) yielded sample 304,

whilst sample 528 derives from a burnt layer of a hearth,

which was established on the top of the infill of a well

(No. 40/40, ESM 2; Fig. 4c). Pit No. 60/227 (ESM 2;

Fig. 4c), from which remains 1290/1,/2 were recovered,

was dated to 3362–3082 cal. B.C. (2r-range) (ESM 2). The

beehive-shaped Pit No. 55/185 (ESM 2; Fig. 4b) that

contained a broken jug yielded three samples (1233/1,/2,/3)

that are probably associated with the content of the vessel.

Weeds

Overall, the density of the weeds varies between 48.7 and

0.05 n/l, which interval is much broader than that of the

cereals and of the wild species (ESM 4). The high density

value is the result of a concentration of Chenopodium seeds

in feature No. 60, and although the mean density score is

similar to that of the cereals, the standard deviation is more

than double that of the latter (ESM 4), which underlines the

extremely uneven distribution of this assemblage. Weeds

reach a proportion of 48.9 % of the entire archaeobotanical

material.

The weed spectrum is dominated by the overwhelming

presence of the Chenopodium genus (Table 1). Over 2,000

remains, mostly seeds and seed fragments of Chenopodium

spp. were observed. Their common proportion within the

weed spectrum is 99.2 %. Also the presence of cereal

weeds such as Bromus arvensis, cf. Digitaria sanguinalis,

cf. Lolium temulentum, Acinos arvensis, Fallopia convol-

vulus, Papaver rhoeas, Polygonum persicaria, Rumex

acetosella and Vicia tetrasperma was identified (Table 1).

Based on the present-day ecological classification the weed

remains of the site represent root or summercrop weeds,

cereal or wintercrop weeds and species of meadow habitats

as well as ruderal plant associations. However, all these

plants must be seen as weeds as is known from their

presence in Neolithic cereal stocks (e.g. Brombacher and

Jacomet 1997; Maier 2001).

The spatial distribution of weed species shows a less

dense intrasite pattern (Fig. 3c). Their frequency was cal-

culated to be 40 %, which means that they are not even

present in half of the examined features (ESM 4). This

score must be carefully interpreted, since almost 99.2 % of

the weed remains—the Chenopodium sp. seeds and their

fragments—are concentrated in one single feature (No. 60,

ESM 3 and 4). In addition to the presence of the Cheno-

podium genus, 3 further taxa (Bromus sp., Acinos arvensis,

Fallopia convolvulus) were also recovered from the same

feature No. 60. The ubiquity of the Chenpodium remains is

pretty high, which is due to presence of single or only few

weed remains in the remaining 13 features (Table 1).

Other wild species

The remaining wild species assemblage reaches only a

proportion of 2.6 % of the entire archaeobotanical material

Fig. 5 Parameters of the morphometric analysis conducted on the

spikelet forks (partly modified after Kohler-Schneider 2003, Fig. 4);

a width of the glume base, b width of the disarticulation scar, c width

of the spikelet fork, d distance between the disarticulation scar and the

glume base insertion

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

(Table 1). The density scores of the remaining wild species

vary between 0.06 and 5.6 n/l, with a standard deviation of

1.4 n/l. Their ubiquity on the site was calculated to be

42.9 %, which means that these remains are present in 15

features of the examined 35 (Table 1, Fig. 3b).

Most of the remains were identified as Stipa sp. awns

(94.7 %). These remains occurred in 13 features of the

examined 35, therefore the ubiquity score of this taxa was

calculated to be 37.1 % (Table 1). It is interesting to note

that both Bieniek (2002) and Kohler-Schneider and

Caneppele (2009) reported on Stipa awn fragments toge-

ther with NGW remains in the archaeobotanical material of

Polish and Austrian sites. At Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs,

feature No. 32, which contained one NGW, yielded 21

Stipa sp. remains, whilst feature No. 60, which contained

three NGW glume base fragments, yielded nine Stipa sp.

remains as well. At this point in the research it is unclear

whether the co-occurrence of the two species holds deeper

ecological or economical significance or not, though the

similarities between the sites in the neighbouring countries

and Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs are worth noting.

In addition to the overwhelming dominance of Stipa sp.

remains, one charred fruit or seed remnant of each of the

taxa cf. Iris pseudacorus, Phleum pratense, Schoenoplectus

lacustris and Teucrium chamaedrys were recovered from

the features. Though the number of the wild species which

are most probably not weeds is low, the recovered species

seem to point to two distinctive habitat types within the

vicinity of the site. Schoenoplectus lacustris and cf. Iris

pseudacorus represent wet meadows or wetlands, whilst

Phleum pratense, Teucrium chamaedrys, as well as Stipa

species, represent steppe habitats, dry grove and fringing

forest and areas with loess parent material.

Fruits of gathered edible plants were most astonishingly not

detected in the material, therefore the wild species sub-assem-

blage does not contribute to the understanding of the subsis-

tance strategy of the Baden population at Hodmez}ovasarhely-

Kopancs. However, it is known that such types of remains have

lower chances of being carbonised (e.g. Jacomet 2013).

Results of the morphological and morphometric

investigations of the NGW remains

Altogether 352 pieces of unidentifiable fragmented and 219

pieces of identifiable glume bases were detected in the

archaeobotanical material. During the morphological

observations ten spikelet forks were separated, as they

seemed robust and formed a well-defined U-shape com-

pared to those of einkorn and emmer. Although these

remains differ in size and fragmentation from each other,

based on our observations the following properties seem to

be valid for all of them (explained in Fig. 6):

– Robust and strong spikelet forks, which are bent and

form a distinctive U-shape and have prominent keels on

the adaxial side (Figs. 6, 7, 8)

– Parallel and well-defined veins are observable both on

the single glume bases as well as on the whole spikelet

forks in adaxial and abaxial view as well (Figs. 7 and 8),

which is unique to the NGW, because in other glume

wheat species these are observable in lateral view only

– On the adaxial side—where the articulation scars are

located—a clear veining is evident and the veins

originate from the side of the articulation scars (Fig. 6a)

– The articulation scar is big, rounded in shape and

extended, filling the spikelet bay entirely (Figs. 7 and 8)

– In comparison to the known glume wheat species, the

articulation scar is biggest in the case of this taxon.

Based upon the above described morphological features

the ten spikelet forks recovered from the Baden culture

Fig. 6 Important morphological features of the spikelet fork remains

of the NGW from Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya.

Distinctive key features are marked and highlighted with red for

better visualisation. For more explanations see text

Fig. 7 Macrophotographs of the fragmented NGW chaff remains

from the Baden culture features from Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I.,

Olasz-tanya archaeological site

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

features at Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya

can be attributed with high probability to NGW, even when

some of the finds are badly preserved. We compared our

finds to spikelet fork illustrations published earlier

(ESM 2). Solely on a morphological basis, the ten remains,

although they show similar distinctive traits, can only be

matched with Polish, Turkish, Bulgarian and Greek Neo-

lithic finds of the NGW (ESM 2).

The results of the morphometric investigations only

partly support the identification we obtained by morpho-

logical studies of the finds. The data obtained are compiled in

Table 2 and Fig. 9. They are presented and discussed below.

Discussion

The potential environment of the site

Based on the limited ecological information retrieved from

the archaeobotanical data, the Late Copper Age

(3338–3264 cal. B.C., 1r; 3362–3082 cal. B.C., 2r) environ-

mental setting of the settlement can be characterised by

mosaics of periodically wet meadows and dry steppe patches

situated on loess ridges rising slightly from the landscape.

Most of the identified wild species—based on their ecological

needs—prefer slightly wet environmental conditions and a

frequently flooded soil environment. Stipa, a typical steppe

indicator genus was present in large amounts. The ecological

and habitat needs of Stipa species of the Great Hungarian

Plain are linked to Chernozem type soil and semi-dry

Fig. 8 Line drawings of the fragmented NGW chaff remains from

the Baden culture features from Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I.,

Olasz-tanya archaeological site

Ta

ble

2R

esu

lts

of

the

mo

rph

om

etri

can

aly

sis

18

9/1

18

9/2

30

45

28

12

33

/11

23

3/2

12

33

/31

29

0/1

12

90

/2E

ink

orn

*E

mm

er*

NG

W*

a0

.81

n.a

.1

.04

0.9

00

.76

n.a

.n

.a.

0.9

50

.77

0.6

6(0

.5–

0.8

)0

.90

(0.7

–1

.0)

0.9

1(0

.8–

1.1

)

b0

.90

0.8

1n

.a.

1.0

30

.73

n.a

.0

.82

1.1

00

.76

0.8

7(0

.7–

1.0

)0

.70

(0.6

–0

.8)

0.8

5(0

.7–

1.0

)

cn

.a.

n.a

.n

.a.

n.a

.1

.63

n.a

.n

.a.

n.a

.1

.48

1.8

4(1

.7–

2.0

)2

.21

(2.0

–2

.5)

2.1

2(1

.8–

2.4

)

d0

.80

0.7

8n

.a.

n.a

.n

.a.

n.a

.n

.a.

0.9

80

.65

0.5

9(0

.5–

0.7

)0

.90

(0.7

–1

.1)

0.7

4(0

.5–

0.9

)

b9

c/1

00

n.a

.n

.a.

n.a

.n

.a.

n.a

.n

.a.

n.a

.n

.a.

51

.35

47

.2(4

0.2

–5

1.6

)3

1.4

(27

.2–

35

.3)

40

.5(3

4.5

–4

7.5

)

Fo

rm

easu

rem

ent

lin

esse

eF

ig.

5

n.a

.p

aram

eter

no

tm

easu

rab

led

ue

toth

efr

agm

enta

tio

no

fth

esp

ikel

etfo

rkre

mn

ant,

aw

idth

of

the

glu

me

bas

e,b

wid

tho

fth

ed

isar

ticu

lati

on

scar

,c

wid

tho

fth

esp

ikel

etfo

rk,

dd

ista

nce

bet

wee

nth

ed

isar

ticu

lati

on

scar

and

the

glu

me

bas

ein

sert

ion

*B

ased

on

Ko

hle

r-S

chn

eid

er(2

00

3,

ES

M1

)

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

micro-environments. Based on the reconstruction of the

postglacial vegetation history of the Carpathian Basin as

compiled from palynological evidence, the beginning of the

subboreal phase, which overlaps with the Copper Age, is

characterised by the expansion of both forest cover and

marshland vegetation. According to Jarai-Komlodi (1987,

2000) the Great Hungarian Plain was characterised by woo-

ded-steppe habitats and during the postglacial periods the

forest cover reached its maximum on the plains of the

Carpathian Basin. Based on palaeopedological and palaeo-

ecological studies it seems certain that instead of the

dominancy of forest vegetation of the Great Hungarian Plain,

open and dry grassland habitats remained in large areas

(Bodrogkozy 1980; Boros 1958; Barczi et al. 2003; Sumegi

et al. 2011; Pet}o and Cummings 2011), and anthropogenic

activities led to the development of cultural steppe. Archae-

obotanical data presented here suggest that in the catchment

area of the site meso- and microclimatic conditions suitable

for periodically flooded meadow (e.g. on Vertisol) and drier,

even semi-dry habitats (e.g. on Chernozem and Solonetz soils)

existed. These climatic conditions could have served as the

ecological basis for the maintenance of cereal cultivation at

the Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs archaeological site.

Discussion of the morphometric analyses in comparison

with the morphological study

In order to validate the correctness of the morphological

observations and the identification of the NGW spikelet

forks, morphometric analysis was undertaken on the

remains. In spite of the fragmented state of the remains and

distortion caused by charring (see for instance the hori-

zontal crack on the specimen 1290/2 in Figs. 7, 8), as many

parameters as possible were measured. Results plotted

against the reference data published by Kohler-Schneider

(2003) are summarised in Table 2 and Fig. 9. The results

of the morphometric measurements only partly support the

morphological observations and identification of the

spikelet forks. With the exception of specimen 1290/2, the

dataset of the remains is incomplete, which means that not

each and every parameter could be measured. Specimen

1233/2 was so fragmented that we made no morphometric

measurements.

In the case of specimen 189/1 the width of the glume

base (a), and that of the articulation scar (b) and the dis-

tance between the two (d) fall into the range of the NGW. It

must be noted however, that the width of the glume base

(a) also coincides with emmer, whilst the width of the

disarticulation scar lies within the range of einkorn, but not

within that of emmer. Again, the parameter (d) of specimen

189/1 coincides with the interval of emmer, but not with

that of einkorn (Table 2; Fig. 9). Although the morpho-

logical features seem to be obvious in terms of the

identification of the glume base, the morphometric data is

somewhat contradictory. Therefore unambiguous identifi-

cation of spikelet fork 189/1 is not entirely possible.

Somewhat more convincing data were obtained for sample

189/2. The (b) parameter, namely the width of the disar-

ticulation scar of this glume base falls only in the range of

the NGW, whilst parameter (d) of the same remnant falls in

the overlapping interval of the NGW and emmer. However,

it lies mathematically closer to the mean value for the

NGW (Fig. 9). In our view, these two items of data support

the morphological identification and therefore it might be

concluded that specimen 189/2 belongs to the taxon known

as NGW today.

In case of specimen 304 only one parameter, the width

of the glume base, was measureable (a). The parameter

(a) of this glume base falls within the range for the NGW

and outside the range for the two others. This, supported by

the morphological observations, is convincing. Two

parameters, the (a) and (b) values, could be obtained for

specimen 528. The width of the glume base (a) falls in the

overlapping interval between the value range for NGW and

that for emmer, whilst the width of the glume base (b) was

measured as somewhat wider than that of any of the ref-

erence material (Table 2). However it only exceeds the

upper limit of the NGW (b) parameter by 0.03 mm (!).

The glume base width of specimen 1233/1 falls in the

overlapping range of einkorn and emmer, and outside of

the indicator range of NGW. The width of the disarticu-

lation scar (b) is the smallest in the examined assemblage,

Fig. 9 Graphical representation of the morphometric analyses. For

figures of the chaff finds see Figs. 7 and 8, for measured parameters

see Fig. 5

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

still it falls within the range determined for the NGW. It

is interesting to note that none of the (c) parameters, the

width of the spikelet fork, fall in any of the value ranges

determined earlier for einkorn, emmer and NGW by

Kohler-Schneider (2003). This phenomenon opens up

more questions: Do the glume bases of the examined

spikelet bases form a more closed U-shape, or are they

really smaller in size? Or is this bias caused by the dis-

tortion of the charred material? At this point these ques-

tions remain unanswered.

On specimen 1233/3 only the disarticulation scar width

(b) was measureable. This exceeds the value ranges both of

emmer and einkorn, and falls within the value range

determined for the NGW (Table 2; Fig. 9). In our opinion,

parameter (b) is the key feature, since the distinctive size of

the disarticulation scars is a determining factor in the NGW

identification process, and parameter (b) directly indicates

this.

The analysis of glume base 1290/1 resulted in three

usable items of data. Parameter (a) falls within the value

range of emmer, although close to the upper limit and to

the value range of NGW. Parameter (b) however exceeds

by a little the value range of the NGW. 1.10 mm was

measured for sample 1290/1, whilst the upper size limit

was previously set at 1.0 mm (Kohler-Schneider 2003).

Parameter (d) for this specimen falls within the overlapping

range of emmer and NGW, however it must be noted that

in the case of parameter (d) a distinctive value range for the

NGW does not exist. The upper values coincide with those

of emmer, whilst the lower with those of einkorn.

The best morphometric results in terms of completeness

were obtained during the analysis of glume base 1290/2,

since all of the parameters could be measured. The

parameter (a) falls outside the NGW value range, the

(b) falls within, but overlapping with emmer and einkorn,

the (c), as discussed above, falls way below it, while the

parameter (d) falls in the overlapping value range of ein-

korn and NGW (Fig. 9). The identification index, calcu-

lated as the percentage of the width of the articulation scar

and the width of the spikelet fork indicates NGW if it falls

between 34.5 and 47.5 %. In case of specimen 1290/1, this

index was calculated to be 51.35 %, which significantly

exceeds the aforementioned and falls within the upper

range valid for einkorn. Again, the data scores vary and

seem partly contradictory, but this is to be expected with a

rather small overall sample size, where single aberrant and

distorted specimens might blur the picture.

Concluding, it can be stated that the morphometric data

alone may not be sufficient to identify NGW glume bases

in all instances, especially if the remains are few and

greatly fragmented. In our experience, a combined

approach of morphological and morphometric analyses

produces the least contradictory and best reliable results.

Discussion of NGW finds in the light

of the archaeobotanical results and archaeological

contexts of Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs I

The fortunate recovery of NGW remains at the Late Cop-

per Age site of Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-

tanya provides another piece of mosaic in the distribution

pattern of this wheat type in Europe and especially in the

Carpathian Basin.

Based on bone data it is thought that the subsistence

strategy of the Baden culture was more animal husbandry

based than plant (cereal) cultivation dependent (e.g. Bokonyi

1968, 1974; Craig et al. 2003; Bartosiewicz 2005; Horvath

2006a, b; Gyorgy 2008). However, still not too much is

known about the plant cultivation of Baden culture popula-

tions, since neither significant cereal nor other crop finds were

revealed in this area. Only sparse archaeobotanical evidence

is available for this time period and for this particular culture

(Gyulai 2011), although the number of Baden culture sites

that were more or less thoroughly investigated from an ar-

chaeobotanical point of view is close to 30 within the territory

of Hungary. It is therefore still difficult to estimate the

importance of plant husbandry, mainly because of the limited

preservation of charred archaeobotanical material. Our newly

investigated site Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya

permits the shedding of a bit more light on this question.

The cereal spectra of the previously examined Baden

culture sites were dominated by an identical ratio of einkorn

and emmer, whilst Panicum miliaceum L. (broomcorn mil-

let) and Hordeum spp. (barley species) were only playing a

secondary role in their plant economical model. However, it

must be noted that cereals did not dominate the archaeobo-

tanical record of the sites, but gathered remains of edible

species, such as Quercus acorns, formed the greater part of

the botanical record (Gyulai 2011). In contrast to this, the

archaeobotanical analyses of contemporaneous cultures in

the northern border region of the Alps point to a more

developed agricultural technological level for this period

(Jacomet 2006b). However, the preservation of the archae-

obotanical material of the lake dwellings provides a deeper

and better interpretive insight to the plant based economy of

the western European Late Neolithic cultures, than is

allowed by the charred remains in the case of the south-

eastern Great Hungarian Plain. At least in Austria the

seemingly lower importance of crop production in the Baden

culture compared to that of the Jevisovice culture is almost

certainly a result of the low available number and small size

of archaeobotanical samples from the Baden culture sites;

therefore no direct comparison is performed here. However,

it should be noted that only half as many crop species have

been recovered from four Baden culture sites then from

those of the succeeding Jevisovice culture so far (Kohler-

Schneider and Caneppele 2009).

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

In the case of our site discussed here we can see that

cereals are widely distributed over the site (Fig. 3a). In com-

parison with the other plant groups cereals undoubtedly

dominate. This phenomenon may indicate the significance of

cereal cultivation and opens up the possibility that cereal

cultivation was not only an additive subsistance strategy, but

played an important role alongside animal husbandry. Simi-

larly to the researched Baden culture sites in eastern Austria

(Kohler-Schneider and Caneppele 2009), einkorn could have

played the most significant role in crop production at Hod-

mez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya, and therefore it is

suggested that the cereal cultivation was mostly einkorn

dependent, whilst the other species probably played a minor

role. With regard to the ubiquity scores, einkorn is followed

by emmer, NGW and barley in the cereal spectra of the site

and it’s worth noting that even the proportion (0.5 %),

ubiquity (17.1 %) and density (0.02 n/l) of NGW exceed

those of barley (ESM 4). However, the low proportion value

of NGW makes it is difficult to imagine that this species had

the status of a regular crop in the agricultural system of the

settlement. The status of the NGW was discussed thoroughly

by Jones et al. (2000), who suggested and argued that in

prehistoric times the NGW could have been a widespread

crop. The same conclusion was drawn by Kohler-Schneider

(2003), who demonstrated in agreement with Jones et al.

(2000) that the NGW was most probably an autumn-sown

maslin cereal harvested together with einkorn. Equal or close

to equal proportions to other wheats at Hodmez}ovasarhely–

Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya could not be detected, and in this

sense we could neither underline the conclusions of Jones

et al. (2000), nor that of Kohler-Schneider (2003); namely

that the NGW was utilised as a ‘maslin’ crop. In our vision the

archaeobotanical results of the site support another possible

option, which was also previously raised by the above

authors. This was that NGW was part of the accompanying

weed flora in the fourth millennium Great Hungarian Plain,

and therefore was a minor contaminant of other crops.

To more precisely assess the possible status of NGW at

Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs archaeological site, those

archaeological contexts from which the NGW remains were

recovered should be more closely analysed. Two NGW

remnants (189/1 and 189/2) were found in the

archaeobotanical material of pit No. 44/46, which is a

slightly beehive-shaped storage pit, with a flat bottom

(Fig. 4a). Its fill was mixed in with significant amounts of

daub and charcoal and sampling focused on this bottom

layer. The archaeobotanical material from this pit is domi-

nated by the presence of unidentified cereal fragments

(72.8 %) and einkorn spikelet forks (24.6 %). Only two

pieces of NGW remains were recovered, which account for

1.75 % of the pit’s archaeobotanical material. The weed

record of the pit is also extremely sparse; we could only

detect the presence of Polygonum persicaria (0.9 %). In

general, the density of the remains is also low (16.3 n/l)

compared with that for some of the other features that

yielded NGW remains (ESM 5). Similarly to the previous

feature, pit No. 55/184 showed similar properties (Fig. 4e),

but in addition a partly broken jar, laying on its side (Fig. 4e)

was unearthed in this pit. The sub-sample that yielded the

three NGW remnants (1233/1,/2,/3) was collected from the

fill of the partly broken jar. Since the artefact in question was

partly broken and lying on its side (Fig. 4e) it is uncertain

whether the NGW remains are directly associated with the

vessel content or whether they represent the waste/midden

material of the feature in general. Thus it must be stated that

the vast majority of the archaeobotanical assemblage was

recovered from the soil sample representing the jar’s fill.

This, to us, opens up the possibility that these remains,

including the NGW remains, represent the vessel content.

Still, the amount of the NGW only counts for the 0.4 % of

the entire archaeobotanical assemblage of the sub-sample

(ESM 5). It is interesting to note that sample representing

the vessel content provided huge amounts of cereal material

in which broken caryopsis fragments and inflorescence

elements dominate (ESM 5). Similarly to pit No. 44/46, this

feature in general is also dominated by caryopsis fragments,

glume base and spikelet fork remains, which may represent

cereal cleaning by-products and points to a possible waste

storage or midden function for this archaeological feature.

At this point it is difficult to assess whether the jar was refuse

and only a part of the recovered archaeobotanical material

was originally within the vessel, or whether most of the

recovered specimen truly represents the vessel content.

Archaeological features with this prominent shape and fill

type, with sparse findings of material, are often associated

with waste storage. If this is the case, the presence of non-

edible cereal parts is acceptable. Besides several contem-

porary and secondary taphonomical factors, which may both

quantitatively and qualitatively change the originally

deposited plant assemblages, to a given extent the distri-

bution of the by-products relates to the presence of different

cereals that were cultivated and used on the settlement.

From this point of view, the low ratio of NGW, as compared

to einkorn, supports the idea that the NGW ‘‘was a minor

contaminant of other crops’’ (Jones et al. 2000, p 142).

Two pit complexes (No. 32/32; No. 60/227), prelimi-

narily identified as ritual or cultical archaeological features,

also yielded NGW remains (ESM 5). Pit complex No.

32/32 (Fig. 4b) yielded 181 items of plant remains, from

which only one NGW remnant was recovered (0.55 % and

0.03 n/l). Samples were taken from the fill of the pit. The

archaeobotanical record is dominated by cereal fragments

(70.2 %), but einkorn spikelet forks were also identified in

larger amounts (14.9 %, ESM 5). One of the most inter-

esting archaeobotanical finds is the appearance of Stipa sp.

awn fragments, which count for 11.6 % of the assemblage

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

(ESM 5). The sub-unit of pit complex No. 60/227, from

which the soil sample was collected, was recovered under

the rubble layer of a collapsed kiln. The intact skeleton of a

sub-adult cow (Bos taurus L., Fig. 4d) points to the pos-

sible sacrificial or ritual context of the pit (Horvath 2010,

2012). The archaeobotanical assemblage of the feature

complex is dominated by huge amounts of Chenopodium

seed remains and fragments. Their common proportion is

93.75 %. 128 remains associated with cereals were

recovered from the assemblage, from which three pieces

were identified as NGW, while the vast majority of the

cereal remains were caryopsis, spikelet fork and glume

base fragments belonging to the Triticum genus (ESM 5).

The lowest quantity and density was yielded by a sample

collected during the excavation of well No. 40/40. The

periodic collapse of the well could be seen during its

excavation (Orsolya Herendi, leader of the excavation,

personal communication). At a relative depth of

90–100 cm a charcoal layer indicating the presence of a

hearth on the top of the fill was also detected. The ar-

chaeobotanical sample was collected from this layer and

yielded 13 plant remains, from which eight (61.54 %)

cereal fragments, three (23.0 %) spikelet forks of einkorn,

one fragment of Triticum sp. (7.7 %) and one NGW

(7.7 %) inflorescence remnant were recovered. No other

plant remains could be detected (ESM 5). The relatively

high proportion of NGW in this sample is only due to the

extremely low number of archaeobotanical remains.

Conclusion

As seen from the brief summary of its discoveries, the taxon

known today as the NGW was probably present in most of

Neolithic Europe throughout the Copper, Bronze and prob-

ably the Iron Age as well (ESM 1). The sites at which NGW

remains were discovered form a more or less continuous line

starting from the Caucasian region, reaching up to the centre

of Poland and north-western Germany (Fig. 1). However, it

must be noted that a few emerging centres appear; typical

examples being the northwestern Aegian region (northern

Greece), south-eastern part of the Carpathian Basin, the

Vienna Basin with the Danube and Morava valley (Lower

Austria) and the Kujawy region (Poland, Fig. 1). These

centres are all situated in a typical plain environment and bear

favourable climatic and soil conditions for cereal production.

In the case presented here, the examined site is located within

one of the most fertile Chernozem soil regions of the Car-

pathian Basin. In our view, the archaeobotanical data of

Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs I. point towards a cereal-deter-

mined plant economy of the site. However, the ratio of NGW

remains in the archaeobotanical record of the Baden culture

features (Late Copper Age; app. 3600/3500–2800 cal. B.C.) is

fairly low. Ten glume bases represent 0.5 % of the cereal

assemblage and 0.2 % of the entire archaeobotanical record.

These results alone seem minor, though in the context of other

European finds it is possible to somewhat extend our

knowledge on the distribution, role and status of NGW. Based

upon the appearance, proportion and context in the examined

features, it can be concluded that the status of the NGW is

similar in every archaeological context it was recovered from

at Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs. Neither their ratio within the

individual archaeobotanical assemblages of the features, nor

their density appears significant enough to justify either a

‘maslin-type’ or pure status. However, if NGW lingered on as

a weed, it may also, like many other cultivated plants, have

been incorporated into the agricultural cycle of harvest and

sowing, and also have arrived at the stage when it was utilized

as a maslin or mixture cereal (Nesbitt and Samuel 1996).

However, this stage of domestication is not confirmed by the

archaeobotanical results from Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs.

Most interestingly, the species morphologically very similar

to NGW, T. timopheevi, was also first described as a weed

rather than a domesticated species (Zhukovsky 1928), and to

a certain extent it remains unclear whether T. timopheevi

grows as a crop in its own right, or if it is a weed species

accompanying other wheats. At this point we must emphasise

that, based upon previous results and the results gained at

Hodmez}ovasarhely-Kopancs, both ecological strategies are

still conceivable.

Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Orsolya Herendi

(leader of the excavation, Hungarian National Musuem, National

Heritage Protection Centre) who co-operated in the systematic sam-

pling of Hodmez}ovasarhely–Kopancs I., Olasz-tanya site and pro-

vided descriptions, images and photographs of the features. In

addition we would like to acknowledge the support of Attila Gyucha

(Hungarian National Musuem, National Heritage Protection Centre)

who provided access to the material. The authors are also grateful to

Stefanie Jacomet (Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science,

IPAS, Basel University) for her comments which helped to improve

the manuscript. Finally, the authors are thankful to two anonymous

reviewers whose comments helped to improve this paper.

References

Ando M (1984) Hodmez}ovasarhely termeszeti foldrajza. [Geography

of Hodmez}ovasarhely] In: Nagy I (ed) Hodmez}ovasarhely

tortenete. A legregibb id}okt}ol a polgari forradalomig I. [History

of Hodmez}ovasarhely from the oldest times to the civil

revolution] Hodmez}ovasarhely, pp 55–110

Antolın F, Buxo R (2011) Proposal for the systematic description and

taphonomic study of carbonized cereal grain assemblages: a case

study of an early Neolithic funerary context in the cave of Can

Sadurnı (Begues, Barcelona province, Spain). Veget Hist

Archaeobot 20:53–66

Bakels C (1991) Tracing crop processing in the Bandkeramik culture.

In: Renfrew JM (ed) New light on early farming. Recent

development in palaeoethnobotany. University Press, Edinburgh,

pp 281–288

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

Barczi A, Sumegi P, Joo K (2003) Adatok a Hortobagy paleookolo-

giai rekonstrukciojahoz a Csıp}o-halom talajtani es malakologiai

vizsgalatai alapjan [Data to the palaeoecological reconstruction

of the Hortobagy based on the pedological and malacological

examination of the Csıp}o-halom kurgan]. Foldtani Kozlony

133:421–431

Bartosiewicz L (2005) Plain talk: animals, environment and culture in

the Neolithic of the Carpathian Basin and adjacent areas. In:

Bailey D, Whittle A, Cummings V (eds) (Un)Settling the

Neolithic. Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp 51–63

Bieniek A (2002) Archaeobotanical analysis of some early Neolithic

settlements in the Kujawy region, central Poland, with potential

plant gathering activities emphasized. In: Jacomet S, Jones G,

Charles M, Bittmann F (eds) Archaeology of plants. Current

research in archaeobotany. Veget Hist Archaeobot 11:33–40

Bieniek A (2007) Neolithic plant husbandry in the Kujawi region of

central Poland. In: Colledge S, Conolly J (eds) The origins and

spread of domestic plants in Southwest Asia and Europe. Left

Coast Press, Walnut Creek, pp 327–342

Bieniek A, Licheli V (2007) Archaeobotanical studies at the Atskouri

settlement (SE Georgia, 1st mill B.C.)—preliminary results. In:

Bieniek A (ed) 14th Symposium of the International Work

Group for Palaeoethnobotany. 17–23 June 2007, Krakow,

Poland. Programme and abstracts, p 120

Bogaard A (2002) The permanence, intensity and seasonality of early

crop cultivation in western-central Europe. Ph.D. Dissertation,

Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield

Bogaard A (2012) Plant use and crop husbandry in an Early Neolithic

Village: Vaihingen an der Enz, Baden-Wurttemberg. Frankfurter

archaologische Schriften 16. Habelt, Bonn

Bogaard A, Bending J, Jones G (2007) Archaeobotanical evidence for

plant husbandry and use. In: Whittle A, (ed) The Early Neolithic

on the Great Hungarian Plain. Investigations of the Koros culture

site of Ecsegfalva 23, County Bekes. Varia Archaeologica

Hungarica 21:421–445

Bokonyi S (1968) Die Wirbeltierfauna der Siedlung von Salgotarjan-

Pecsk}o, Acta Archaeologica—Academiae Scientiarum Hungar-

icae. Tomus XX. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, pp 59–100

Bokonyi S (1974) History of domestic mammals in Central and

Eastern Europe. Akademia Kiado, Budapest

Bokorne Nagy K (1984) Az avar kaganatus. [The Avar Khaganate]

In: Nagy I (ed) Hodmez}ovasarhely tortenete a legregibb id}okt}ol

a polgari forradalomig [History of Hodmez}ovasarhely from the

oldest times to the civil revolution] vol 1., Hodmez}ovasarhely,

pp 229–256

Borojevic K (1991) Emmer aus Feudvar. Ber RGK 72:171–177

Boros A (1958) A magyar puszta novenyzetenek szarmazasa [Origin

of the vegetation of the Hungarian ‘puszta’]. Foldrajzi Ertesıt}o7:33–46

Brecher Gy (1960) A magismeret atlasza (The atlas of seed

identification). Mez}ogazdasagi Kiado, Budapest

Brombacher C, Jacomet S (1997) Ackerbau, Sammelwirtschaft und

Umwelt: Ergebnisse archaobotanischer Untersuchungen. In:

Schibler J, Huster-Plogmann H, Jacomet S, Brombacher C,

Gross-Klee E, Rast-Eicher A (eds) Okonomie und Okologie

neolitischer und bronzezeitlicher Ufersiedlungen am Zurichsee.

Monographien der Kantonsarchaologie Zurich 20:220–279

Caneppele A, Heiss AG, Kohler-Schneider M (2010) Weinstock,

Dill und Eberesche: Pflanzenreste aus dem Tempelbezirk der

latenezeitlichen Siedlung Sandberg/Roseldorf. Archaologie

Osterreichs 21:13–25

Cappers RTJ, Bekker RM, Jans JEA (2006) Digital seed atlas of the

Netherlands/Digitale Zadenatlas van Nederland. Groningen

Archaeological Studies 4. Barkhuis, Groningen

Charmet G (2011) Wheat domestication: lessons for the future. CR

Biol 334:212–220

Colledge S, Conolly J (2007) The origins and spread of domestic plants

in Southwest Asia and Europe. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek

Craig OE, Chapman J, Figler A, Patay P, Taylor G, Collins MJ (2003)

’Milk Jugs’ and other myths of the Copper Age of Central

Europe. Eur J Archaeol 6:251–265

De Moulins D (1993) Les restes de plantes carbonisees de Cafer

Hoyok. Cahiers de l’Euphrate 7:190–234

De Moulins D (1997) Agricultural Changes at Euphrates and Steppe

Sites in the Mid-8th to the 6th Millennium B.C. BAR 683, Oxford

Fairbairn A, Asouti E, Near J, Martinoli D (2002) Macro-botanical

evidence for plant use at Neolithic Cataloyuk, south-central

Anatolia, Turkey. In: Jacomet S, Jones G, Charles M, Bittmann F

(eds) Archaeology of plants. Current research in archaeobotany.

Veget Hist Archaeobot 11:41–54

Fischer E, Rosch A (2004) Archaobotanische Untersuchungen. In: Schier

W, Drasovean F (eds) Vorbericht uber die rumanisch-deutschen

Prospektionen und Ausgrabungen in der befestigten Tellsiedlung

von Uivar, jud. Timis, Rumanien. Prahist Zschr 79: 209–220

Gy B (1980) Szikes pusztak es novenytakarojuk [Salt affected steppes

(‘puszta’) and their vegetation]. A Bekes Megyei Muzeumok

Kozlemenyei 6:29–50

Gyorgy L (2008) A Baden-kultura telepe Mez}okovesd-Nagy-Fert}on.

Die Siedlung der Badener-Kultur in Mez}okovesd-Nagy-Fert}o.

Herman Otto Muzeum, Miskolc

Gyulai F (2011) Archaeobotanical remains of the Late Copper Age

from the Carpathian Basin. In: Pet}o A, Barczi A (eds) Kurgan

studies: an environmental and archaeological multiproxy study

of burial mounds in the Eurasian steppe zone. BAR Int Ser 2238.

Archaeopress, Oxford, pp 301–313

Hajnalova M (2007) Early farming in Slovakia: an archaeobotanical

perspective. In: Colledge S, Conolly J (eds) The origins and

spread of domestic plants in Southwest Asia and Europe. Left

Coast Press, Walnut Creek, pp 295–314

Hansen JM (1991) The palaeoethnobotany of Franchthi Cave

(Excavations at Franchthi Cave, fascicle 7). Indiana University

Press, Bloomington

Horvath T (2006a) A badeni kulturarol–rendhagyo modon [On the

Baden culture in an unconventional way] A nyıregyhazi Josa

Andras Muzeum evkonyve 48, pp 89–133

Horvath T (2006b) Allattemetkezesek Balaton}oszod-Temet}oi d}ul}obadeni lel}ohelyen. Animal burials in the Late Copper Age Baden

site: Balaton}oszod-Temet}oi d}ul}o. Somogy Megyei Kozlemenyek

17:107–153

Horvath T (2010) Transcendent phenomena in the Late Copper Age

Boleraz/Baden settlement uncoveredat Balaton}oszod–Temet}oi d}ul}o:

human and animal depositions. http://www.jungsteinsite.unikiel.de/

2010_horvath/2010_Horvath_high.pdf. Accessed 4 May 2012

Horvath T (2012) Balaton}oszod–Temet}oi-d}ul}o }oskori telepulesreszei

[Prehistoric settlement parts of Balaton}oszod–Temet}oi-d}ul}o].

Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia Bolcseszettudomanyi Ku-

tatokozpont Regeszeti Intezete, Budapest 2012, pp 563–572.

Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia Konyvtaranak Repozitoriuma.

http://real.mtak.hu/ 2959/Accessed 28 Oct 2012

Horvath F, Dobolyi KZ, Morschhauser T, L}okos L, Karas L,

Szerdahelyi T (1995) FLORA Adatbazis 1.2. Taxon-lista es

attributum-allomany. Flora Munkacsoport MTA Okologiai es

Botanikai Kutatointezete es MTM Novenytar, Vacratot-Budapest

Jacomet S (2006a) Identification of cereal remains from archaeolog-

ical sites, 2nd edn. Archaeobotany Lab, IPAS, Basel University,

Basel, pp 27–36

Jacomet S (2006b) Plant economy of the Northern Alpine Lake

dwelling area—3500–2400 B.C. cal. In: Karg S, Baumeister R,

Schlichtherle H, Robinson DE (eds) Economic and environmen-

tal changes during the 4th and 3rd Millenia B.C. Proceedings of

the 25th Symposium of the AEA Sept 2004 in Bad Buchau,

Germany. Envir Archaeol 11:64–83

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123

Jacomet S (2013) Archaeobotany: the potential of analyses of plant

remains from waterlogged archaeological sites. In: Menotti F,

O’Sullivan A (eds) The Oxford handbook of wetland archaeol-

ogy. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 497–514

Jarai-Komlodi M (1987) Postglacial climate and vegetation history in

Hungary. In: Pecsi M, Kordos L (eds) Holocene environment in

Hungary. Geographical Research Institute, Hungarian Academy

of Sciences, Budapest, pp 37–47

Jarai-Komlodi M (2000) A Karpat-medence novenyzetenek kialakulasa.

In: Bartha D (ed) Valogatott Tanulmanyok II. Tilia 9: 5–59

Jones G, Valamoti S, Charles M (2000) Early crop diversity: a ‘‘new’’ glume

wheat from northern Greece. Veget Hist Archaeobot 9:133–146

Kadereit A, Sponholz B, Rosch M, Schier W, Kromer B, Wagner GA

(2006) Chronology of Holocene environmental changes at the

tell site of Uivar, Romania, and its significance for late Neolithic

tell evolution in the temperate Balkans. Zeitschrift fur Geomor-

phologie N.F. 142:19–45

Kiraly G (2009) Uj Magyar fuveszkonyv. Magyarorszag hajtasos

novenyei. Hatarozokulcsok. [New Hungarian Herbal. The Vas-

cular Plants of Hungary. Identification key.] Aggteleki Nemzeti

Park Igazgatosag, Josvaf}oKiraly G, Molnar Zs, Boloni J, Vojtko A (2008) Magyarorszag

foldrajzi kistajainak novenyzete. [Plantgeography of Hungary’s

microregions] MTA Okologiai es Botanikai Kutatointezete,

Vacratot

Knorzer KH (1974) Bandkeramische Pflanzenfunde von Bedburg-

Garsdorf, Kreis Bergheim/Erft. Rhein Ausgrab 15:173–192

Knorzer KH (1980) Pflanzliche Großreste des bandkeramischen

Siedlungsplatzes Wanlo (Stadt Monchengladbach). Archaeo-

Physika 7:7–20

Kohler-Schneider M (2001) Verkohlte Kultur- und Wildpflanzenreste

aus Stillfried an der March als Spiegel spatbronzezeitlicher

Landwirtschaft im Weinviertel, Niederosterreich. Mitt Prahist

Komm 37. Osterr Akad Wiss, Wien

Kohler-Schneider M (2003) Contents of a storage pit from late

Bronze Age Stillfried, Austria: another record of the ‘‘new’’

glume wheat. Veget Hist Archaeobot 12:105–111

Kohler-Schneider M, Caneppele A (2009) Late Neolithic agriculture

in eastern Austria: archaeobotanical results from sites of the

Baden and Jevisovice cultures (3600–2800 B.C.). Veget Hist

Archaeobot 18:61–74

Kohler-Schneider M, Heiss AG (2010) Archaobotanische Untersuchung

der latenezeitlichen Siedlung von Michelstetten, Niederosterreich.

In: Lauermann E (ed) Die latenezeitliche Siedlung von Michel-

stetten. Archaol Forsch Niederosterr 7: 116–147

Korek J (1984) Az ujk}okortol id}oszamıtasunk kezdeteig [From the

Neolithic to the beginning of the Modern Times] In: Nagy I (ed)

Hodmez}ovasarhely tortenete a legregibb id}okt}ol a polgari forra-

dalomig. [History of Hodmez}ovasarhely from the oldest times to

the civil revolution] vol 1, Hodmez}ovasarhely, pp 112–188

Kreuz A, Marinova E, Schafer E, Wiethold J (2005) A comparison of

early Neolithic crop and weed assemblages from the Linear-

bandkeramik and the Bulgarian Neolithic cultures: differences

and similarities. Veget Hist Archaeobot 14:237–258

Kulcsar G, V Szabo G (1997) Kronologia—Kronologie. In: Havassy P

(ed) Sie sahen die Tore von Ilion. Funde aus der Bronzezeit vom

mittleren Theissgebiet. Gyulai Katalogusok 3, Gyula, pp 155–157

Link B (2004) Archaobotanische Untersuchung der mittelneolithischen

Kreisgrabenanlage Kamegg, Niederosterreich. Diploma thesis,

BOKU, Vienna

Maier U (2001) Archaobotanische Untersuchungen in der neolithischen

Ufersiedlung Hornstaad-Hornle IA am Bodensee. In: Maier U,

Vogt R (eds) Siedlungsarchaeologie im Alpenvorland VI. Botan-

ische und pedologische Untersuchungen zur Ufersiedlung Horns-

taad-Hornle IA. Forsch Ber Vor- u Fruhgesch Baden-Wurtt 74,

Stuttgart, pp 9–384

Marosi S, Somogyi S (1990) Magyarorszag Kistajainak Katasztere

[Cadastre of Hungary’s microregions] Magyar Tudomanyos

Akademia. Foldrajztudomanyi Kutato Intezet, Budapest

Nesbitt M, Samuel D (1996) From staple crop to extinction? The

archaeology and history of the hulled wheats. In: Padulosi S, Hammer

K, Heller J (eds) Hulled wheat. Promoting the conservation and use of

underutilized and neglected crops 4. Rome, pp 40–99

Pet}o A, Cummings LS (2011) Palaeovegetational reconstruction of

the Hajdunanas–Tedej–Lyukas-halom based on combined micr-

opalaeobotanical analysis. In: Pet}o A, Barczi A (eds) Kurgan

studies: An environmental and archaeological multiproxy study

of burial mounds in the Eurasian steppe zone. BAR Int Ser 2238.

Archaeopress, Oxford, pp 315–325

Radics L (1998) Gyommaghatarozo (Field guide to weed seeds.)

Mez}ogazda, Budapest

Rottoli M, Pessina A (2007) Neolithic agriculture in Italy. In: Colledge S,

Conolly J (eds) The origin and spread of domestic plants in South-

west Asia and Europe. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, pp 141–154

Schermann Sz (1966) Magismeret I-II. (Seed identification I-II.)

Akademiai Kiado, Budapest

Spataro M (2006) Pottery typology versus technological choices: an

Early Neolithic case study from Banat (Romania). Anelele

Banatului 14:63–78

Stika HP, Heiss AG (2012/2013) Lebensweisen in Sudosteuropa. Arch-

aobotanische Untersuchungen am bronzezeitlichen Tell von Szazha-

lombatta-Foldvar an der Donau in Ungarn. Offa 69/70:411–427

Sumegi P, Persaits G, Tor}ocsik T, Nafradi K, Pall DG, Hupuczi J,Molnar D, Locskai T, Mellar B, Cs T, Sz TG (2011) An analysis

of the environmental history of Maroslele-Pana. In: Paluch T

(ed) Maroslele-Pana: a Middle Neolithic Site at the Frontier of

Cultures. Monographia Archaeologica II, Szeged, pp 205–246

Szakmany Gy, Starnini E, Horvath F, Bradak B (2008) Gorzsa kes}oneolit tell telepulesr}ol el}okerult k}oeszkozok archeometriai viz-

sgalatanak el}ozetes eredmenyei (Tisza kultura, DK Mag-

yarorszag)—Investigating trade and exchange patterns in

Prehistory: preliminary results of the archaeometric analyses of

the stone artefacts from tell Gorzsa (Southeast Hungary).

Archeometriai M}uhely—Archaeometry Workshop 5: 13–26

Tasic N (2004) Historical picture of development of Bronze Age

Cultures inVojvodina. CTAPBAP 53-54/2003-2004:23–24

Ulas B, Fiorentino G (2010) Recent identification of a new glume

wheat type: a biometrical and morphological study of spikelet

forks from the neolithic levels in Mersin-Yumuktepe (Turkey).

In: Bittmann F (ed) 15th International Conference of the

International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany. Terra Nostra

2010/2: 183. http://www.palaeoethnobotany.com/download/

posters/ulas_poster_whv2010.pdf. Accessed 31 May 2012

Valamoti SM (2002) Food remains from Bronze Age-Archondiko and

Mesimeriani Toumba in northern Greece? Veget Hist Archaeobot

11:17–22

Valamoti SM, Kotsakis K (2007) Transitions to agriculture in the

Aegean: the archaeobotanical evidence. In: Colledge S, Conolly

J (eds) The origins and spread of domestic plants in Southwest

Asia and Europe. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, pp 75–92

Van Zeist WA (1984) List of names of wild and cultivated cereals.

Bull Sumer Agric 1:8–16

Zach B (2012) Bronzezeitliche Getreide- und Hulsenfruchtvorrate

vom Kathreinkogel, Karnten. In: Spurensuche am Kathreinkogel.

Archaologie Alpen Adria 5:131–141

Zhukovsky PM (1928) A new species of wheat [T. timopheevi Zhuk.].

Bulletin of Applied Botany, of Genetics and Plant-Breeding

(Trudy po Prikladnoi Botanike, Genetike i Selektsii) 19:59–66

Zohary D, Hopf M, Weiss E (2012) Domestication of plants in the old

World: The origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest

Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin. Oxford University

Press, Oxford

Veget Hist Archaeobot

123