Kernel Weights of Triticum, Hordeum, Avena, Secale and Panicum Species can be used for Better Estimation of Importance of Different Cereal Species in Archaeobotanical Assemblages

Anotace: The importance of different cereals for human and animal nutrition in different historical periods has been frequently estimated according to the proportion of grains of individual cereal species from the total number of recorded grains in the archaeological assemblage. However, such presentations do not respect the differences in grain size among particular species. The aim of this study was to compare the kernel weights of cereal species planted in Europe since the Neolithic up to the first half of the 20th century and to propose recalculation coefficients for their relevant comparison. Thousand kernel weights (TKW) of cereals were obtained from the Evigez database and from the available literature. Taking the TKW of Triticum aestivum (44.6 g) as 100%, the descending order of cereal species in terms of their TKW in relation to T. aestivum was T. spelta (100%), T. turgidum (99%), hulled Hordeum vulgare (97%), T. durum (92%), T. dicoccum (88%), naked H. vulgare (81%), Secale cereale (79%), T. dicoccoides (76%), T. monococcum (67%), hulled Avena sativa (66%), naked A. sativa (64%) and finally Panicum miliaceum (12%). We recommend the use of these proposed recalculation coefficients for the comparison of proportions of cereal grains in archaeobotanical assemblages. The recalculated values better reflect the importance of the different cereal species for human economies and nutrition rather than simple proportions of the recorded grains of an individual species. The recalculation coefficients are particularly important in the case of a high proportion of P. miliaceum in an archaeological assemblage, as its grain size differs the most from the other frequently-recorded cereals.