macroremainsseeds

Macroremains seeds are macroscopic plant remains recovered from archaeological deposits, including seeds, fruits, and kernels. In archaeobotany they are studied alongside other macroremains and contrasted with microremains such as pollen and phytoliths. Seeds provide direct evidence of plant use, cultivation, and storage and can illuminate past diets, agricultural practices, and environments.

Recovery and identification: Seeds are recovered from sediments by sieving and flotation during fieldwork. Once collected, they are cleaned, measured, and identified by comparing morphological features with modern reference collections and published seed atlases. Where possible, seeds are assigned to genus or species, yielding information on crops such as Triticum and Hordeum, as well as legumes like Pisum and Vicia.

Preservation and dating: Seed preservation depends on taphonomic conditions. Charred seeds survive well in some contexts; waterlogged or mineralized remains can also be preserved but may be more fragile. Preservation biases affect which taxa are recovered, influencing interpretation. Radiocarbon dating may be applied directly to seeds or to associated materials to establish site chronology.

Significance: Macroremains seeds shed light on diet, subsistence strategies, domestication and crop diversity, trade networks, and environmental conditions at archaeological sites. They support reconstructions of early agriculture, processing, storage, and seasonality, and they complement pollen and phytolith data.

Limitations: Identifications can be uncertain, especially for fragmented or degraded seeds. Sampling bias, differential preservation, and the uneven distribution of macroremains require cautious interpretation and often integration with other evidence.