A review of the archaeological evidence for food plants from the British Isles: an example of the use of the Archaeobotanical Computer Database (ABCD)

¹ Centre for Manx Studies, Douglas, Isle of Man,
² Dept Archaeology, University of York
Philippa Tomlinson prt1@liverpool.ac.uk Allan R.Hall biol8@york.ac.uk

Cite this as: Tomlinson, P. and Hall, A. R. 1996 A review of the archaeological evidence for food plants from the British Isles: an example of the use of the Archaeobotanical Computer Database (ABCD), Internet Archaeology 1. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.1.5

Summary

The Archaeobotanical Computer Database is an electronic compilation of information about remains of plants from archaeological deposits throughout the British Isles. For the first time, this wealth of published data, much of it post-dating Godwin's (1975) History of the British Flora has been brought together in a form in which the user can explore the history of a particular species or group of plants, or investigate the flora and vegetation of a particular archaeological period or part of the British Isles. The database contains information about the sites, deposits and samples from which the remains in question have been recovered, together with details of the plant parts identified and their mode of preservation. It also provides some interpretative guidance concerning the integrity of contexts and the reliability of dating as an aid to judging the quality of the data available.

In this paper the compilers of the ABCD make use of the database in order to review the archaeological evidence for food plants in the British Isles. The paper begins with a definition of its scope, examining the concept of a "food plant" and the taphonomy of plant remains on British archaeological sites. It then summarises the principal changes in food plants from the prehistoric period to post-medieval times. The body of the paper is a detailed discussion of the evidence for the use of berries, other fruits, vegetables, pulses, herbs and flavourings, oil plants, cereals and nuts. Finally, the paper compares the archaeological evidence with that known from documentary sources.

Readers will be able to view the archaeological evidence as distribution maps and will be able to explore aspects of the database online, enabling queries by taxa, site or worker. Instructions on obtaining electronic copies of the database tables and registering as an ABCD user are also included.

Go to the article Table of Contents

Features

• This article will particularly appeal to: those interested in plant remains of the British Isles, archaeobotany.
• NB. The version of the ABCD accessible here dates from 1996. Some of the information it contains will now be incorrect and it lacks both a proportion of the published data available at the time of publication as well as data published in the succeeding years. The ABCD is currently actively maintained by Dr Allan Hall, Department of Archaeology, University of York, to whom any enquiries concerning the database, including requests for extraction of records, should be made.
• Key Features: Interactive distribution maps, online searchable database, downloadable data.
• Keywords: archaeology; archaeobotany; plants; food; British Isles; database; computer; Archaeobotanical Computer Database; ABCD; food plant

© Internet Archaeology URL: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue1/tomlinson_index.html
Last updated: Wed Sep 11 1996