Population diet and palaeoenvironment in the 16th-18th c Rusų str. 5 Vilnius: insights from the archeobotanical analysis and historical sources
| Autor: | Indrulėnaitė-Šimanauskienė, Vida, Girlevičius, Linas, Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė, Giedrė |
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| Jazyk: | litevština |
| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Archaeologia Lituana 2022, t. 23, p. 218-236 Archaeologia Lituana, Vilnius University Press, 2023, 23, p. 218-236 |
| ISSN: | 1392-6748 2538-8738 |
| Popis: | Straipsnyje pristatomi archeobotaninių tyrimų Vilniuje, Rusų g. Nr. 5 esančiame sklype, kuriame 2019 m. buvo atlikti archeologiniai tyrimai, rezultatai. Grunto mėginiai imti iš XVI-XVIII a. datuojamų sluoksnių. Ištirtų augalų gausa ir rūšių įvairovė atskleidė to meto Vilniaus miesto gyventojų mitybą, importinių augalų įvairovę ir vyravusią aplinką. Reikšminiai žodžiai: archeobotaniniai tyrimai, egzotiniai augalai, bioarcheologija, Rusų g. 5, Vilnius. This paper investigates archaeobotanical material from Vilnius old town, the area located at the junction between Rusų Street and Latako Street and dated between 16th-18th. The historical accounts indicate that this area was inhabited by craftsmen, merchants and nobles of Vilnius that ran small manufactories. The goal of this study is threefold: firstly, to understand what plant food was available by the inhabitants of this quarter; secondly, to understand the past trade an infrastructure via the analysis of imported or exotic crop species, and lastly, to better understand the paleoenvironment of the district under study and human interaction with forest, that was absent in the topographical maps of Vilnius during this period. The archaeobotanical sediment samples were collected from multiple contexts within the Rusu st. 5 district that included wells, pits, floors also waste dumping areas. As the cultural layers at the site were preserved in a waterlogged conditions, the botanical samples were washed with a stream of water using 0.3 mm sieve instead of floated. In order to prevent botanical samples and already selected seeds from moulding and other damage, the samples were stored in refrigerated conditions. A total of 85 liters of sediment samples from seventeen different contexts were analyzed. The study has shown that rye, buckwheat, hemp and broomcorn millet were consumed by the inhabitants of this district. The study has revealed a surprising abundance of seeds of various fruit trees, includund prunes, sever species of cherries, apples and pairs in particular. It indicates high scale circulation of such fruits from private gardens, usually owned by nobility or clergy, to broader social classes. The study of the seeds, fruits and nuts of exotic plants, that were not grown locally but instead imported all the way from the Mediterranean region, were also identified. Such plants include olive pits, figs and grapes as well as walnut shells. This study shows that such exotic plant species were consumed by the broader social classes in turn suggesting well developed infrastructure and trade networks with distant Southern regions of Europe. Finally, based on archaeobotanical investigation of wild plant species it is clear that the site was located in a wet and highly anthropogenic environment. The abundance of wild plant species that grow in forested environments also suggest close contact with woodland. Keywords: archaeobotanical research, exotic plants, bioarchaeology, Rusų str. 5, Vilnius. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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