Plant remains as evidence for seasonality of site use in the Mesolithic period

Dark, P. (2004) Plant remains as evidence for seasonality of site use in the Mesolithic period. Environmental Archaeology, 9. pp. 39-45. ISSN 1749-6314

Abstract/Summary

Attempts to identify the seasons during which Mesolithic sites may have been occupied have usually concentrated on evidence from faunal assemblages, while the potential of plant remains has been largely neglected. In this paper the use of plant remains as indicators of seasonality is discussed, especially where they represent the accidental charring of species unlikely to have been deliberately collected and stored. This is illustrated with reference to the early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, North Yorkshire, and discussed in the context of other Mesolithic sites from which assemblages of charred plant remains have been recovered.