New evidence of late Neolithic and early Metal Period agriculture in Turku, southwest Finland

: Lempiäinen-Avci, Mia; Pukkila, Jouko; Bläuer, Auli; Pääkkönen, Mirva; Asplund, Henrik

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH

: 2025

: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany

: 34

: 1

: 121

: 138

: 0939-6314

: 1617-6278

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-01008-5

: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-01008-5

: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/457938423

A re-evaluation of late Neolithic cereal grains, combined with new archaeobotanical data, add to the evidence of late Neolithic and early Metal Period farming in southwest Finland. Earlier indications of late Neolithic cereals at the Niuskala Kotirinne site in Turku are confirmed by new radiocarbon dating results. An early occurrence of Hordeum has also found at a second site nearby, Räntämäki Riihivainio. The finds are discussed in relation to early dates of cereal finds and other indications of farming, as well as general interpretations of the earliest cereal growing in Finland and the northern Baltic region.

s00334-024-01008-5.pdf

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The work by authors HA and MP was supported by Suomen Akatemia (the Academy of Finland) under Grant SA258294 (Pots, Food and Function, Organic Residue Analyses of Neolithic and Early Metal Period Ceramics from Fennoscandia). The work of author AB was supported by the Academy of Finland Grant SA SA286499 (BoNe. Borrowing from the neighbour. Animal husbandry methods and cultural contacts in the Northern Baltic Sea region). Open Access funding provided by University of Turku (including Turku University Central Hospital).