Archaeoantracological evidence of yew (Taxus baccata) from the Czech Republic, thousands of years of exploitation (from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages)

0583960 - ARÚ 2024 PT eng A - Abstract
Kočár, Petr - Kočárová, R. - Novák, J.
Archaeoantracological evidence of yew (Taxus baccata) from the Czech Republic, thousands of years of exploitation (from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages).
Anthraco 2023. 8th International anthracology meeting. Abstract book. Porto: Faculty of Sciences University of Porto, 2023. s. 112.
[Anthraco 2023. International Anthracology Meeting /8./. 29.08.2023-02.09.2023, Porto]
Institutional support: RVO:67985912
Keywords : Taxus baccata * agricultural Prehistory * Middle Ages * yew exploitation * Czech Republic
OECD category: Archaeology
https://anthraco2023.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/2/5/132572102/anthraco2023_abstract_book.pdf

Yew (Taxus baccata) is one of the rarest taxa documented in archaeo-anthropological research in Central Europe. This situation is not the result of overlooking yew charcoals in anthracological analyses. Yew charcoals are easily identified. They can thus serve as a suitable model for the study of species distribution in archaeo-anthropological material. Its rareness is probably due to the fact that this species was not commonly used as fuel. The charcoal finds are therefore considered as evidence of the burning of waste from the processing of yew wood as a specific raw material destined to produce a limited number of artefacts (weapons, wood vessels) or from the artefacts themselves. The study focuses on the findings of yew charcoal in archaeological contexts investigated in the Czech Republic over the last 100 years. It attempts to reveal the relationship of these finds to the type of sites (e.g. overhang, cave, upland site, flat site), chronological period (from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages), altitude of the sites, etc. We work with a database of 601 sites with 289 497 charcoal pieces of evidence. In 2022, two sites (one from the Early Bronze Age and the other from the Early Medieval or Medieval Period) with a significantly higher representation of yew charcoal fragments in archaeological contexts have been documented. The characteristics of these sites are also of interest. In both cases, these are sites with specific natural conditions suitable for yew growth (located near river canyons). We assume that these are unique examples of settlements specialised in processing yew wood.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0351945