Archaeobotany
Christine HastorfDuring the 2000 season, the archaeobotanical team operated on two different projects. One group, Andy Fairbain, Julie Near, Daniele Martinoli and Christine Hastorf, worked in their separate laboratories throughout the world. This group met in London in the last week of July to coordinate the identification of the 355 samples that have been selected as priorities for publication. Further, the group chose a subsample of the 355 flotation samples to identify to a more detailed level. While meeting in London, this team presented a seminar on their recent archaeobotanical discoveries at the Institute of Archaeology, including the wood specialist Eleni Asouti and the rhizome specialist, Michelle Wollenstonecroft. The wood information shows a shifting use of microzones surrounding Çatalhöyük through time. We are finding more edible rhizomes in the samples than had been thought likely before this research.
During August, the on-site archaeobotanical field team focused on the excavation on the West Mound (Meltem Ağcabay) and the BACH1 area (Katy Killackey). Christine Hastorf helped get everything set up, Daniele Martinoli visited the group for several days and helped with cereal identifications, and Slobodan Mitrovic oversaw the large task of sorting the heavy residue. The on-site project processed the collected sediment samples by water flotation to recover the botanical remains from every excavation unit. The samples studied in the field came from a variety of contexts, including floors, platforms, burial fills, hearths and packing. Overall the plant preservation was better in the West Mound samples than from the BACH1 area. There were higher densities and better morphology in the cereal grains. As in the past, wood was the dominant component of the samples. Low amounts of fragmented cereal and chaff were also found in most contexts. This combination of wood and some cereal and chaff remains seems to be the general background level of plant remains for the site.
Of special note this year was that the later West Mound contained larger cereal grains than those of the East Mound. This suggests the continuation of the domestication processes at work on the farmed plants. The East Mound had mainly hulled barley whilst the West Mound had more naked barley.
Probably the most interesting botanical find this summer from the BACH1 Building 3 was a cache of charred tubers found along the West screen wall. Besides high tuber presence, this unit also has a lot of cereal and chaff and is located near a burial. Overall, this summers on-site analysis of the BACH1 areas botanical remains demonstrates that the screen wall to the west had a very special meaning, due to it having a very different plant presence than the rest of the building.
Another interesting find between these two areas and phases of the sites occupation is in the shift in the wild hackberry tree fruit (Celtis). These remains are mineralized, making it a common plant found at the site. On the East Mound, in samples from Building 3, they have wavy grey and yellow remains, whilst the West Mound they have better preserved smooth orange and white remains.