The Neolithic Settlement of Knossos in Crete

New Evidence for the Early Occupation of Crete and the Aegean Islands Frontispiece. The city, the fortifications, the harbor, and the hinterland of Khandax (Herakleion) in the first half of the 17th century. Map by unknown cartographer, 17th c., Collezione Museo Civico, Padua. Vikelaia Municipal Library, Herakleion. PREHISTORY MONOGRAPHS 42

The Neolithic Settlement of Knossos in Crete

New Evidence for the Early Occupation of Crete and the Aegean Islands

edited by Nikos Efstratiou, Alexandra Karetsou, and Maria Ntinou

Published by INSTAP Academic Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2013 Design and Production INSTAP Academic Press, Philadelphia, PA

Printing and Binding Hoster Bindery, Inc., Ivyland, PA

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The neolithic settlement of Knossos in Crete : new evidence for the early occupation of Crete and the Aegean islands / edited by Nikos Efstratiou, Alexandra Karetsou, and Maria Ntinou. pages cm. -- (Prehistory monographs ; 42) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-931534-72-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Knossos (Extinct city) 2. Neolithic period--Greece--Crete. 3. Land settlement patterns, Prehistoric--Greece-- Crete. 4. Crete (Greece)--Antiquities. I. Efstratiou, Nicholas. DF221.C8N46 2013 939’.18--dc23 2013016076

Copyright © 2013 INSTAP Academic Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America To the memory of Professor J.D. Evans, a gentleman of British Archaeology –Nikos Efstratiou

Table of Contents

List of Tables in the Text...... ix List of Figures in the Text...... xiii Preface, Alexandra Karetsou...... xix Acknowledgments...... xxiii Introduction, Nikos Efstratiou...... xxv 1. The Excavation, Nikos Efstratiou, Alexandra Karetsou, and Eleni Banou...... 1 2. The Stratigraphy and Cultural Phases, Nikos Efstratiou...... 25 3. Fabric Diversity in the Neolithic Ceramics of Knossos, Sarantis Dimitriadis...... 47 4. Neolithic Sedimentology at Knossos, Maria-Pilar Fumanal García†...... 53 5. The Economy of Neolithic Knossos: The Archaeobotanical Data, Anaya Sarpaki...... 63 6. Wood Charcoal Analysis: The Local Vegetation, Ernestina Badal and Maria Ntinou...... 95 7. Plant Economy and the Use of Space: Evidence from the Opal Phytoliths, Marco Madella...... 119 8. The Knossos Fauna and the Beginning of the Neolithic in the Mediterranean Islands, Manuel Pérez Ripoll...... 133 9. The Earliest Settlement on Crete: An Archaeozoological Perspective, Liora Kolska Horwitz...... 171 viii the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete

10. Radiocarbon Dates from the Neolithic Settlement of Knossos: An Overview, Yorgos Facorellis and Yiannis Maniatis...... 193 11. Knossos and the Beginning of the Neolithic in Greece and the Aegean Islands, Nikos Efstratiou....201 Index...... 215 List of Tables in the Text

Table 4.1. Correlation of sedimentology samples with excavation levels and cultural phases...... 55 Table 4.2. Munsell color and calculation of statistical parameters of mean size, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis for each of the analyzed sedimentology samples...... 56

Table 5.1. Seed list provided to J.D. Evans by Hans Helbaek (unpublished)...... 67 Table 5.2. List of archaeobotanical samples from the 1997 rescue excavation, along with relative and absolute dates...... 67 Table 5.3. Aceramic Neolithic archaeobotanical sample E 97(30) from Knossos 1997 level 39, retrieved from 16 liters of water-floated soil...... 68 Table 5.4. Measurements of Triticum turgidum/aestivum from Aceramic and EN levels at Knossos...... 71 Table 5.5. Measurements of Triticum dicoccum, Triticum monococcum, Hordeum vulgare, and Lens culinaris...... 74 Table 5.6. Early Neolithic I archaeobotanical (seed) samples...... 75 Table 5.7. Measurements of Trifolium spp. and Leguminosae...... 78 Table 5.8. Measurements of Raphanus cf. raphanistrum and Linum cf. usitatissimum...... 78 Table 5.9. Early Neolithic II archaeobotanical (seed) samples...... 81 x the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete

Table 5.10. Vitis sp. measurements from EN II levels; sketch of a grape seed showing locations of dimensions...... 85 Table 5.11. Middle Neolithic archaeobotanical (seed) samples...... 86 Table 5.12. Late Neolithic archaeobotanical (seed) samples...... 88

Table 6.1. Inventories of plants growing in different parts of the study area...... 99 Table 6.2. Absolute and relative frequencies of taxa identified in the wood charcoal assemblages from Neolithic Knossos...... 102 Table 6.3. Presence of plant taxa in wood charcoal assemblages from Neolithic Knossos, along with the total number of fragments analyzed and the total number of taxa identified in each level...... 104

Table 7.1. Knossos 1997: south profile phytolith counts...... 122 Table 7.2. Knossos 1997: west profile phytolith counts...... 125

Table 8.1. Number of identified and unidentified specimens by taxa and period...... 135 Table 8.2. Measurements of bones from Bos taurus...... 135 Table 8.3. Measurements of bones from Ovis aries (O.a.) and Capra hircus (C.h.)...... 136 Table 8.4. Measurements of bones from Sus scrofa domesticus, Sus scrofa ferus, Capra aegagrus, Martes, and Meles meles...... 138 Table 8.5. Number of identified specimens of Bos, Ovis/Capra, and Sus with number of marks caused by dog gnawing...... 140 Table 8.6. Early Neolithic I and EN II faunal remains...... 141 Table 8.7. Early Neolithic II/MN faunal remains...... 142 Table 8.8. Middle Neolithic faunal remains...... 144 Table 8.9A. Late Neolithic faunal remains...... 146 Table 8.9B. Late Neolithic faunal remains...... 149 Table 8.10. Number of identified specimens of Bos and Ovis/Capra/Sus with burn marks...... 151 Table 8.11. Number of long bone remains (the diaphysis fragments are not counted here), phalanges, and tarsi corresponding to mature and immature bones, along with the number of LN tooth remains, grouped by age, for comparison with the long bones...... 156 Table 8.12. Number of mandibles (NM) for goats and sheep from the LN levels classified by age...... 157 Table 8.13. Number of mandibles (NM) of Bos taurus classified by age...... 158 Table 8.14. Number of maxillary and mandibular remains of Sus scrofa domesticus classified by age.....159 Table 8.15. Number of identified specimens of Bos taurus classified by sex...... 160 Table 8.16. Number of identified specimens of Ovis aries (O.a.) and Capra hircus (C.h.) classified by sex...... 160 LIST OF TABLES IN THE TEXT xi

Table 8.17. Chronological representation of the faunal species at Knossos...... 161 Table 8.18. Percentages of identified specimens of domestic and wild species at Knossos and other sites...... 161 Table 8.19. Representation and abundance of various faunal species at Shillourokambos, Ais Yiorkis, and Khirokitia...... 162 Table 8.20. Introduction and chronological representation of wild animals at various sites in Crete.....163

Table 9.1. Relative frequencies (percentages) of animal species from Knossos...... 175

Table 9.2. Schematic representation of the relative chronology (cal. b.c. dates) of sites mentioned in the text...... 183

Table 10.1. Summary of the British Museum radiocarbon dates on charcoal from the excavations of J.D. Evans at Neolithic Knossos, sorted by age...... 194 Table 10.2. Description of the samples dated in the British Museum Research Laboratory...... 195 Table 10.3. Summary of radiocarbon dating results of carbonized samples collected in 1997 from the Neolithic settlement levels at Knossos...... 196

List of Figures in the Text

Frontispiece. The city, the fortifications, the harbor, and the hinterland of Khandax (Herakleion) in the first half of the 17th century. Map by unknown cartographer, 17th c., Collezione Museo Civico, Padua. Vikelaia Municipal Library, Herakleion...... ii Figure i. The Minoan palace and its Neolithic past...... xxi

Figure 1.1. Plan of the Palace of Knossos showing the Central Court and the location of the excavation...... 2 Figure 1.2. Trench II: (a) view of the Central Court of the Palace, looking northeast; (b) view of the area of the rescue dig, looking northeast; (c) view looking northeast of the stratigraphy of the upper part of the trench in the souther profile...... 3 Figure 1.3. Plan of the excavation trenches next to the staircase...... 3 Figure 1.4. South and west stratigraphic profiles of the trench...... 4 Figure 1.5. View of excavation level 4, showing hearth in northwest corner of the trench...... 5 Figure 1.6. Plans of excavation levels 9 and 10...... 7 Figure 1.7. Plan of excavation level 12, showing the round kouskouras feature (12A) in southwest corner...... 8 Figure 1.8. View of excavation level 12, showing kouskouras deposit and feature (12A) in northwest corner...... 8 xiv the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete

Figure 1.9. Plan of excavation level 13...... 9 Figure 1.10. Plan of excavation level 14, showing hearth in northwest corner...... 9 Figure 1.11. View of excavation level 14, showing hearth in northwest corner...... 10 Figure 1.12. Plans of excavation levels 15 and 16, showing appearance of walls 1 and 2 running from north to south...... 11 Figure 1.13. View of excavation level 15 from above...... 12 Figure 1.14. View of excavation level 16 from above...... 12 Figure 1.15. View of excavation level 16 facing west section...... 12 Figure 1.16. Plan of excavation level 17, showing walls 1 and 2 and the first appearance of walls 3 and 4...... 12 Figure 1.17. View of level 17 facing west section...... 13 Figure 1.18. View of excavation level 18 from above...... 13 Figure 1.19. View of excavation level 19 from above...... 13 Figure 1.20. Plan of excavation level 21, showing walls 3, 4, 5, and 6...... 13 Figure 1.21. View of excavation level 21 from above...... 14 Figure 1.22. View of excavation level 23...... 14 Figure 1.23. View of excavation level 24, showing wall 7 and grinding stones...... 14 Figure 1.24. Plans of excavation levels 22 and 24...... 15 Figure 1.25. Plan of excavation level 27...... 16 Figure 1.26. View of excavation level 28 from above...... 16 Figure 1.27. View of excavation level 28 facing west profile...... 16 Figure 1.28. Plans of excavation levels 29–29a and 30–30a, showing walls and hearths...... 17 Figure 1.29. View of level 29A, showing hearths 1, 2, and 3...... 18 Figure 1.30. View of excavation level 30, showing hearth 4...... 18 Figure 1.31. View of excavation level 30, showing hearth 4 and the elliptical structure...... 19 Figure 1.32. View of the elliptical stone wall from levels 24–27...... 19 Figure 1.33. View of excavation level 31...... 19 Figure 1.34. Plans of excavation levels 31, 32, and 34, showing hearths 5, 6, and 7...... 20 Figure 1.35. Plan of excavation level 37, showing pits 1 and 2...... 21

Figure 2.1. Sedimentological samples of the middle part of the south profile...... 26

Figure 4.1. Fine fraction granulometry (%) of the samples from the west profile...... 57 Figure 4.2. The organic content (%) of the samples from the west profile...... 57 Figure 4.3. The carbonate content of the samples from the west profile...... 57 LIST OF FIGURES IN THE TEXT xv

Figure 4.4. Morphoscopy of sands without acid treatment...... 57 Figure 4.5. Morphoscopy of sands after the elimination of calcareous grains (subsequent to acid treatment)...... 57

Figure 5.1. Drawing of Triticum turgidum L./T. aestivum from the 1997 excavations at Knossos.....69 Figure 5.2. Graphs of measurements and measurement ratios of Triticum turgidum/aestivum from Neolithic Knossos...... 72 Figure 5.3. Measurements of Triticum turgidum/aestivum from Aceramic and Early Neolithic Knossos compared with average values for Erbaba, Ramad, and Bouqras in the Near East...... 73 Figure 5.4. Graphs of measurements and measurement ratios of Lens culinaris from Neolithic Knossos...... 74 Figure 5.5. Early sites including those from mainland Greece where Triticum turgidum/aestivum is reported: 1. Tell Abu Hureyra, 2. Tell Halula, 3. Tell Aswad, 4. Tell Ghoraife, 5. Tell Sabi Abyad, 6. Servia, 7. Cafer Höyük, 8. Dhali Agridhi, 9. Otzaki, 10. Sesklo, 11. Sitagroi, 12. Haçilar, 13. Aşkli Höyük, 14. Çatal Höyük, 15. Can Hasan, 16. Cayönü, 17. El Kown, 18. Bouqras, 19. Tell Ramad...... 89 Figure 5.6. Summary of the distribution of all categories of archaeobotanical remains at Neolithic Knossos...... 90

Figure 6.1. Climate and topography of Knossos: (a) mean annual precipitation in Crete; (b) topographic map of the area around Knossos; (c) west–east topographic section; (d) southwest–northeast topographic section...... 96 Figure 6.2. View of the Knossos valley from Mt. Juktas showing present-day vegetation...... 98 Figure 6.3. Panoramic view of the site of Knossos showing present-day vegetation...... 98 Figure 6.4. Present-day phrygana vegetation on the hills in the study area...... 98 Figure 6.5. Present-day vegetation on deep soils in the study area...... 98 Figure 6.6. Anatomy of plant taxa identified in wood charcoal assemblages from Neolithic Knossos...... 106 Figure 6.7. Wood charcoal diagram from Neolithic Knossos showing relative frequencies of taxa in successive excavation levels...... 108

Figure 7.1. Bar chart of phytolith per­centage frequencies from the south profile...... 122

Figure 7.2. Bar chart of C3 and C4 phytolith percentage frequencies from the south profile...... 122 Figure 7.3. West profile stratigraphy and sampling...... 123 Figure 7.4. Bar chart of phytolith percentage frequencies from the west profile...... 124

Figure 7.5. Bar chart of C3 and C4 phytolith percentage frequencies from the west profile...... 125 Figure 7.6. Trench section (southwest corner to west face) with phases identified according to phytolith composition and frequencies...... 127 xvi the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete

Figure 7.7. Silica skeleton from grass leaf (long cells and a stoma) from the EN I deposits (sample XXa, level 32)...... 129 Figure 7.8. Wheat-type silica skeleton from the EN I deposits (sample XXIVb, level 32)...... 129 Figure 7.9 Silica skeleton from a dicotyledonous plant from the EN I deposits (sample XIV, level 30)...... 129 Figure 7.10. Millet-type silica skeleton from the EN II deposits (sample Xa, level 16)...... 129

Figure 8.1. Percentages of the osseous parts of cattle long bones...... 139 Figure 8.2. Percentages of the osseous parts belonging to the long bones of middle-sized mammals (goats, sheep, and pigs)...... 139 Figure 8.3. Skeletal fragments of long bones of Ovis/Capra from level 14, all with dog-gnawing marks...... 140 Figure 8.4. Fragments of proximal epiphyses of femur and tibia of Bos taurus with fracture marks caused by impacts from the extraction of marrow, level 24...... 151 Figure 8.5. Animal bones from level 3: (a) radius diaphysis; (b) radius proximal part; (c) scapula; (d) fragment of femur; (e) phalanx I of Capra aegagrus...... 153 Figure 8.6. Distal metacarpus of Capra aegagrus and Ovis aries...... 153 Figure 8.7. Animal bones: (a) ulna in lateral view probably belonging to a wild boar (level 23); (b) Sus scrofa ferus: canine fragment (level 10); (c) Sus scrofa domesticus: ulna in lateral view (level 14)...... 154 Figure 8.8. Diaphysis width range (SD) of Sus scrofa domesticus and Sus scrofa ferus from Zambujal (Portugal), Cerro de la Virgen (Spain), Argissa-Magula, and Knossos...... 154 Figure 8.9. Meles meles: (a) left mandible in lateral view (level 14); (b) lower canine (level 14); (c) left ulna in medial views; the proximal epiphysis is not fused (level 3). Martes: (d) distal part of humerus in cranial view (level 9)...... 155 Figure 8.10. Age classes of the mandibles of Ovis and Capra...... 157 Figure 8.11. Age classes of the mandibles of Bos taurus...... 158 Figure 8.12. Distal part of metacarpus belonging to a male (possibly ox) of Bos taurus, with osseous deformations on the articular surfaces...... 158 Figure 8.13. Age classes of Sus scrofa domesticus maxillae and mandibles...... 159 Figure 8.14. Correlation of the measurements of phalanx I belonging to Bos taurus...... 160

Figure 9.1. Map showing location of sites mentioned in the text: 1. Ashkelon; 2. ‘Ain Ghazal; 3. Atlit Yam; 4. Hagoshrim and Tel Ali; 5. Ras Shamra; 6. Cap Andreas Kastros; 7. Khirokitia; 8. Tenta; 9. Asikli Höyük; 10. Mersin; 11. Can Hasan III; 12. Çatalhöyük; 13. Suberde; 14. Haçilar; 15. Nea Nikomedeia; 16. Argissa-Magula; 17. Sesklo; 18. Achilleion; 19. Franchthi Cave; 20. Sidari, Corfu; 21. Cave of the Cyclops, Youra; 22. Melos; 23. Santorini; 24. Knossos, Crete; 25. Tel Aray 2; 26. Umm el Tlel; 27. Qdeir; 28. El Kowm 2...... 173 Figure 9.2. Adult male agrimi (Capra aegagrus cretica) showing phenotypic resemblance to the wild bezoar goat...... 177 LIST OF FIGURES IN THE TEXT xvii

Figure 10.1. Distribution of calibrated dates sorted by stratum of the samples from the excavations of J.D. Evans...... 198 Figure 10.2. Distribution of calibrated dates sorted by depth of the samples from the 1997 archaeological campaign...... 198 Figure 10.3. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from the 1997 excavation at Knossos plotted against the depth of the samples in order to determine the accumulation rate of the habitation deposits...... 198

Preface

The site of Knossos on the Kephala hill in Crete the laborious work of Arthur Evans and Duncan is of great archaeological and historical importance Mackenzie in the early 20th century had re- for Greece and Europe. Dating back to 7000 b.c., it vealed considerable amounts of Neolithic mate- is the home of one of the earliest farming societies rial (Mackenzie 1903). In 1953 Audrey Furness in southeastern Europe. In later Bronze Age periods, studied and published the Neolithic pottery from it developed into a remarkable center of econom- Evans’s test soundings with the aim of testing the ic and social organization within the island, enjoy- three “Stone Age” periods discussed by Mackenzie ing extensive relations with the Aegean, the Greek (Furness 1953). The successful work of Furness mainland, the Near East, and Egypt. Arthur Evans led the British School at Athens to launch a se- excavated the site at the beginning of the 20th cen- ries of systematic investigations at Knossos, di- tury, and through his extensive and spectacular res- rected by Sinclair Hood and John D. Evans, from toration and reconstruction efforts, he transformed 1956 to 1971 (Evans 1964, 1971, 1994; Warren et Knossos into one of the most popular archaeological al. 1968). The well-known Trenches A to C, which sites in the Old World (Evans 1901, 1921–1935, 1927, were opened in the area of the Central Court of the 1928). Knossos is now best known among both palace, together with the peripheral soundings X specialists and the wider public for its unique cen- and ZE, confirmed a chronological sequence of 10 tral building, conventionally called a palace, which strata representing at least 4,000 years of Neolithic is one of the earliest archaeological monuments to occupation, including the still-disputed Aceramic have been restored on such a scale. phase. Looking back at the announcement by J.D. What was not apparent during the early ar- Evans (1971) of the first and very early radiocar- chaeological research at the site was the impres- bon dates for the founding of Knossos (7000 b.c.), sive extent and depth of the earlier habitation I cannot forget the welcome surprise with which that lies under the imposing palace, even though these dates were received, and I am very happy to xx the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete see that our recent radiocarbon dates, published and 1960s, including the opening of rainwater in this volume, confirm Evans’s early chronology channels, deep pre-Minoan deposits remained in- that was attained without the benefit of our mod- tact just a few centimeters under the visitors’ feet. ern technology. I took this to be a sign of good fortune, since, after Other contributions to our knowledge of the three decades of personal, systematic involvement Neolithic of Crete include the work of Richard with Minoan archaeology, the dream of my youth M. Dawkins at Magasa in eastern Crete in 1905 to look down to the “Neolithic Cretan time” was (Dawkins 1905), the investigations of Angelo becoming a reality. Mosso and Doro Levi at Phaistos (Mosso 1908), A collaboration with colleagues familiar with the the publication of the Phaistos material by Lucia excavation of Neolithic sites and modern data col- Vagnetti (Vagnetti 1972–1973), and the pioneering lection and analysis methods was my next immedi- research at Katsambas by Stylianos Alexiou (1953, ate concern. The chance to reexamine the succession 1954). The forthcoming publication of Katsambas of Neolithic occupation strata on the Kephala hill- by Nena Galanidou and her associates (Galanidou, top, some 50 years after the first such investigation ed., forthcoming) and the study of the materi- at Knossos, presented me with great expectations al from older fieldwork at Gerani and Pelekita in and challenges. Professor Nikos Efstratiou of the the Zakros area, carried out by Yiannis Tzedakis Aristotle University of Thessaloniki contributed and Costis Davaras, respectively (Tzedakis 1970; greatly to the success of the project, and I would Davaras 1979), are expected to offer more data re- like to take this opportunity to thank him. He was garding the early occupational horizon of Crete. responsible both for the selection of the research- The recent publication by Valasia Isaakidou and ers who gathered at Knossos with very short notice Peter Tomkins of The Cretan Neolithic in Context that February and for the coordination of the proj- (Isaakidou and Tomkins, eds., 2008), the latest ect. In addition, Professor Giorgos Hourmouziadis, rescue excavations carried out by the Ephorate also of the Aristotle Uni­versity of Thessaloniki, was of Central Crete in the vicinity of Katsambas, very helpful. and, most importantly, the announced presence Many thanks are due as well to my colleague Dr. of Mesolithic material on the islands of Crete and Eleni Banou, who participated in the excavation Gavdos, show that early prehistoric research in on behalf of the Ephorate, to Nikos Daskalakis, the Crete and its immediate environs is a dynamic skilled foreman of the Knossos project, and to the field of investigation. late Andreas Klinis, also a Knossos foreman and a A series of archaeological test soundings was man of rare excavation experience. opened in February 1997 in conjunction with the The general aims of the investigation in the planning of the course of the main and secondary Central Court of Knossos in 1997 were (1) to read- visitors’ routes through the palace, a process that dress questions related to the old material and con- involved widening the existing paths, establishing clusions reached many years ago, and (2) to obtain new ones, and examining the state of the build- new data, which, considering the nature of the ar- ing’s foundations. The south and east slopes of the chaeological site, with the palace standing on top Kephala hill were the main focus of investigation of the Neolithic tell, would have been otherwise (Karetsou 2004; Ioannidou-Karetsou 2006). This impossible. More specific objectives included the research was prompted by the architect Clairy careful study of the stratigraphy for the confirma- Palyvou’s suggestion to double the width of the tion or revision of the already established Neolithic modern narrow stone stair leading from this part sequence, the determination of whether the alleged of the Central Court to the first level of the Grand Aceramic phase was represented, the collection of Staircase, where A. Evans made his last attempt new evidence for the Neolithic ceramic sequence, to restore the Medallion Pithoi. The investigation, and the recovery of new archaeozoological and ar- which lasted five weeks, was carried out under dif- chaeobotanical data and the analysis of their strati- ficult weather conditions and according to a very graphic distribution (Efstratiou et al. 2004). Most strict timetable. importantly, the archaeological information was to We were all happily surprised that in an area be gathered and studied using methodologies that often disturbed for conservation work in the 1950s were not available in the past—sedimentological PREFACE xxi analyses, which might clarify the occupational the Late and Final Neolithic periods (Fig. i). I was gaps in the impressive Neolithic palimpsest, phy- enormously pleased by the opportunity we had to tolith analyses, ceramic technological analyses, investigate this early Cretan farming communi- paleoenvironmental observations, and, most signif- ty, buried deep under the glorious Minoan palace, icantly, new radiocarbon analyses for the establish- and to contribute to its understanding. There is ment of a reliable sequence of dates. no doubt that the Knossos Neolithic settlement— The many archaeological questions relating to whether or not it was the first and only one in the long Neolithic habitation of the Knossos tell Crete—constitutes one of the earliest agricultur- had always intrigued me, especially during my al communities in Greece, and it is also surely the 12 years of service (1992–2004) as head of the earliest in the Aegean islands. Knossos Conservation Project. I was impressed by the extent of the Neolithic settlement and the Alexandra Karetsou density of the scattered material, especially that of Honorary Ephor of Antiquities

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s A 5280 B 5270 C 5260 D 5250 E 5240 F 5230 G 5220 H 5210 I 5200 J 5190 K 5180 L 5170 M 5160 N 5150 O 5140 P 5130 Q 17650 17660 17670 17680 17690 17700 17710 17720 17730 17740 17750 17760 17770 17780 17790 17800 17810 17820 17830 17840

Figure i. The Minoan palace and its Neolithic past; areas where Neolithic deposits and ceramics are found are indicated with black dots (1997­–2004). xxii the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete References

Alexiou, S. 1953. “Ἀνασκαφὴ Κατσαμπᾶ Kρήτης,” Furness, A. 1953. “The Neolithic Pottery of Knossos,” Prakt 108 [1956], pp. 299–308. BSA 48, pp. 94–134. ———. 1954. “Ἀνασκαφὴ Κατσαμπᾶ Kρήτης,” Prakt Galanidou, N., ed. Forthcoming. The Neolithic 109 [1957], pp. 369–374. Settlement by the River Kairatos: The Alexiou Excavations at Katsamba. Davaras, C. 1979. “Σπήλαιο Πελεκητών Ζάκρου,” ArchDelt 34 (B', 2 Chronika), pp. 402–404. Ioannidou-Karetsou, A. 2006 “Από την Κνωσό μέχρι τη Ζάκρο: H περιπέτεια της προστασίας των ιστορι- Dawkins, R.M. 1905. “Excavations at Palaikastro. κών αρχαιολογικών χώρων στην κεντρική και ανα- IV.2: Neolithic Settlement at Magasá,” BSA 11, pp. τολική Κρήτη,” in Conservation and Preservation 260–268. of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Large Efstratiou, N., A. Karetsou, E. Banou, and D. Islands of the Mediterranean, V. Karageorghis and Margomenou. 2004. “The Neolithic Settlement of A. Giannikouri, eds., Athens, pp. 61–76. Knossos: New Light on an Old Picture,” in Knossos: Isaakidou, V., and P. Tomkins, eds. 2008. Escaping Palace, City, State. Proceedings of the Conference the Labyrinth: The Cretan Neolithic in Context in Herakleion Organised by the British School of (Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology 8), Oxford. Athens and the 23rd Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, in November 2000, for the Karetsou, A. 2004. “Knossos after Evans: Past In­ter­ Centenary of Sir Arthur Evans’s Excavations at ventions, Present State and Future Solutions”, in Knossos (BSA Studies 12), G. Cadogan, E. Hatzaki, Knossos: Palace, City, State. Proceedings of the and A. Vasilakis, eds., London, pp. 39–51. Conference in Herakleion Organised by the British School of Athens and the 23rd Ephoreia of Prehistoric Evans, A.J. 1901. “The Neolithic Settlement at Knossos and Classical Antiquities, in November 2000, for the and Its Place in the History of Early Aegean Centenary of Sir Arthur Evans’s Excavations at Culture,” Man 1, pp. 184–186. Knossos (BSA Studies 12), G. Cadogan, E. Hatzaki, ———. 1921–1935. The Palace of Minos at Knossos I– and A. Vasilakis, eds., London, pp. 547–555. IV, London. Mackenzie, D. 1903. “The Pottery of Knossos,” JHS ———. 1927. “Work of Reconstruction in the Palace of 23, pp. 157–205. Knossos,” AntJ 7, pp. 258–266. Mosso A. 1908 “Ceramica neolitica di Phaestos e ———. 1928. “The Palace of Knossos and Its vasi dell’epoca minoica primitiva,” MonAnt 19, pp. Dependencies in the Light of Recent Discoveries and 142–228. Reconstructions,” Journal of the Royal Institute of Tzedakis, I. 1970. “Ἀρχαιλογική Ἐρεύvε Ἀνασκαφί British Architects 36, pp. 90–102. Σπήλαιο Γερανίου,” ArchDelt 25 (B', 2 Chronika), Evans, J.D. 1964. “Excavations in the Neolithic pp. 474–476. Settlement of Knossos, 1957–60: Part I,” BSA 59, Vagnetti, L. 1972–1973. “L’insediamento neolitico di pp. 132–240. Festòs,” ASAtene 34–35, pp. 7–138. ———. 1971. “Neolithic Knossos: The Growth of a Warren, P., M.R. Jarman, H.M. Jarman, N.J. Shackleton, Settlement,” PPS 37, pp. 95–117. and J.D. Evans. 1968. “Knossos Neolithic, Part II,” ———. 1994. “The Early Millennia: Continuity and BSA 63, pp. 239–276. Change in a Farming Settlement,” in Knossos: A Labyrinth of History. Papers in Honour of S. Hood, D. Evely, H. Hughes-Brock, and N. Momigliano, eds., Oxford, pp. 1–20. Acknowledgments

The excavators are grateful to all the people who made this publication possible. First and foremost, we would like to express our thanks to Dr. Iordanis Dimakopoulos, former Director of the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments Service of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism. He fully understood the need for the rescue excavation to be carried out, at a time when the visitors’ walkway project at the pal- ace of Knossos was already under way with a tight deadline. Our warmest thanks are also due to the technical staff of the 23rd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the Knossos Conservation Office, who worked through the particularly cold February of 2011. We would especially like to thank Nikos Daskalakis, Stavros Mavrakis, and Michalis Tzobanakis, who construct- ed a small shelter to protect both staff and trenches from the rain, since the excava- tion ran from sunrise to sunset. The late Andreas Klinis, a foreman of special skill and astuteness, was the person whom we entrusted with the stratigraphy; he was the only one to work at a depth of four to eight meters. We must also thank Konstantinos Ktistakis for his accurate plans, elevations, and sections of the trenches; Dr. Don Evely, former Knossos curator for the British School at Athens, for his help during the study of the material; and archaeologist Maria Kelaidi, who spent an entire sum- mer in the courtyard of the Villa Ariadne, meticulously sieving the huge amount of soil from the excavation. Vital assistance was also provided by the head guard of the palace of Knossos, Manolis Apostolakis, and the rest of the guard staff. The Ephorate accountants Evangelia Fotaki and Litsa Kafousi also provided their services, without which the project would not have been possible. xxiv the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete

Finally, we would like to express our particular thanks for the generosity of Professor Philip Betancourt, who enthusiastically supported the publication of this volume by the INSTAP Academic Press, and to the Director of Publications, Susan Ferrence, for all her efforts in ensuring that the resulting publication was of the high- est possible standard. Our warmest gratitude is also, of course, due to all the contrib- utors to the volume. Introduction

Nikos Efstratiou

The construction of a staircase extension in but inconspicuous Neolithic deposits of the Knossos the northeastern part of the Central Court of the tell afforded both an appealing and a demanding Palace of Minos at Knossos prompted the open- challenge. ing of a new excavation trench in 1997. After the While the Bronze Age palace dominates the his- systematic excavation of the deep Neolithic occu- toriography of the site and its archaeological image, pation levels by J.D. Evans in the late 1950s (1964, the Neolithic settlement at Knossos does not hold 132) and later, more limited investigations of the the position it deserves in discussions of the early Prepalatial deposits undertaken primarily dur- prehistory of the eastern Mediterranean, in part be- ing restoration work, no thorough exploration of cause of the limited research directed toward the the earliest occupation of the mound had been at- early prehistory of Crete and the other Aegean is- tempted. Although our operation was to be swift lands. Moreover, the publication of the Neolithic and limited in extent, we knew that the opening of settlement has been confined to a few preliminary a trench destined to reach the basal layers of the though excellent field reports and short studies pro- settlement offered us the opportunity to address duced by Professor J.D. Evans and his collabora- many old and new research questions concerning tors (1964, 132; 1971, 95; Warren et al. 1968, 239). the chronological, socioeconomic, and spatial as- When attempted, previous syntheses of this ma- pects of Cretan Neolithic society (Evans 1994, 1). terial have been either very cautious analyses of Since the time of Evans’s research, excava- the limited data (Evans 1994, 1) or provocative in- tion techniques and field methods have devel- terpretations containing attractive but ill-founded oped rapidly, and a new, more complex picture of speculations (Broodbank 1992, 39; Whitelaw 1992, late Pleistocene and early Holocene developments 225). Additional Neolithic material recovered from in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean has later small field investigations focusing on Bronze emerged. The chance to reexamine the important Age deposits has been welcome, but because such xxvi the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete information is scarce, it cannot provide the an- horizon in Crete. In the meantime, the apparent swers to many open questions (Manteli and Evely uniqueness of Knossos within the island is hard 1995, 1). to accept in cultural terms, and as we shall see in It is fortunate that certain categories of the ar- later chapters, such a perception is undermined, chaeological material from Evans’s investigations albeit indirectly, by the material remains (pottery, have recently undergone detailed reexamination subsistence) from Knossos, along with other ev- with respect to issues of spatial organization, ce- idence. The key importance of Knossos, howev- ramic typology and technology, lithics, and fau- er, for documenting the beginning of farming in nal remains (Isaakidou and Tomkins, eds., 2008). the Aegean and mainland Greece, whether as a Despite these new and interesting studies, howev- distinctive stage within a westward mobility pat- er, the need for a better understanding of the founda- tern of human groups or as a well-planned coloni- tion and development of Neolithic Knossos continues. zation episode involving specific Aegean islands, This impressive and long-lived settlement—one of remains undiminished. At present the notion of a the very few tells in Greece—is of paramount im- local transition to farming in Crete undertaken by a portance to the history of the eastern Mediterranean dynamic Mesolithic population seems improbable, and the Near East (Berger and Guilaine 2009). as is the case in continental Greece, where the ar- Recent developments in the archaeology of Cyprus chaeological evidence for the arrival of new farm- and the Aegean islands make the reevaluation of ing groups seems overwhelming (Perlès 2001). long-held concepts about this region and time peri- Neolithic Knossos is also important, as sug- od all the more urgent, as discussed in Chapter 11. gested above, in the wider geographic context Although a number of rigorous surface recon- of the early island prehistory of the eastern naissance projects have been undertaken in Crete Mediterranean. Recent discoveries on the island in the past decades, Knossos remains the only early of Cyprus have revealed the presence of a num- settlement known on the island (Manning 1999, ber of pre-Neolithic inland and coastal sites, trig- 469). The methodology employed in these all- gering an interesting debate about a possibly period surveys was not specifically designed to lo- early date for the occupation of the largest east- cate early sites, however. In the last few years field ern Mediterranean islands and the interpreta- researchers have become increasingly critical of tion of this phenomenon as a historical process older methods used to identify traces of early habi- with its own distinctive cultural, technological, tation sites, especially in view of the geomorpholog- and ideological characteristics (Broodbank 2006; ical complexity of coastal and island areas (Runnels Ammerman 2010). Mounting archaeological evi- 2003, 121; Ammerman et al. 2006, 1). Until spe- dence from the Aegean either supports or at least cially designed surface reconnaissance projects are allows us to entertain a new picture of early is- carried out in various coastal areas, the presence land settlement (Sampson 2006). In this context, of other early occupation sites in Crete remains the founding of the early seventh millennium b.c. an open possibility. Thus, the recently reported re- farming village of Knossos on the Kephala hill sults of the Plakias Mesolithic Survey in Crete, in may still be viewed either as the result of a long which a number of pre-Neolithic sites rich in lith- pre-Neolithic process of development on the island ic scatters were identified along the southern coast or as the start of an intrusive occupation by farm- of the island, do not come as a surprise (Strasser et ers from the east. Archaeological evidence from al. 2010). Indeed, current research in Cyprus indi- the long stratigraphic sequence of the Knossos cates that we may encounter more new and unex- tell may be called upon to interpret this ambigu- pected late Pleistocene and early Holocene finds ous cultural process. Indeed, in relation to main- in the eastern Mediterranean (Ammerman 2011). land Greece, specific material evidence from Many older views of early habitation patterns in the Knossos, such as the EN sequence of pottery (fab- Aegean islands should now be treated with skepti- ric types, surface treatment), attests to idiosyn- cism (Cherry 1990, 145). cratic elements of a local island development (see The newly found Mesolithic habitation remains Dimitriadis, this vol., Ch. 3). It is still too early to along the south coast of the island may ultimately argue whether these characteristics should be in- support claims of a missing Early Neolithic (EN) terpreted as the outcome of island isolationism INTRODUCTION xxvii and endogenous developments in Crete or as the the Knossos settlement. The documentation of the manifestation of a more generalized and long- tell’s stratigraphic sequence, which has a depth of standing Aegean island cultural tradition. The for- more than 8 m, along with its comparison to the mer would undoubtedly have resulted in a number old and well-established succession of Evans’s stra- of other distinctive material features and perhaps ta (Efstratiou, this vol., Ch. 2), also contributes to oddities that we may search for in the archaeolog- these insights, as does the the newly obtained se- ical record. ries of radiocarbon dates from accelerator mass Both in terms of a pre-“historical” reconstruc- spectrometry (AMS), which seems to corroborate tion and as far as the archaeology of the site it- the existing chronological framework (Facorellis self is concerned, our endeavor entails a constant and Maniatis, this vol., Ch. 10). shift between different scales (“macro,” “micro”) All of the categories of material remains with and genres of field inquiry (e.g., use of space, ra- the exception of the pottery are analyzed and pre- diocarbon dating, abandonment phases, faunal sented in the following chapters of the mono- changes, pottery changes). The small size of our graph. The detailed study of the ceramics is still 1997 dig admittedly limits the overall representa- in progress and will appear in a separate volume. tional validity of our findings at the site, but this The contributors wish to underline the contingent does not deter us from addressing some of the nature of their results and syntheses, which are broader issues mentioned above. We are particu- constrained by the limited area of the field inves- larly hopeful that the new studies presented here— tigation. Nevertheless, we hope that the rigor em- sedimentology, phytoliths, anthracology, ceramic ployed in the data collection, the meticulous study technology—together with the critical reevaluation of the finds, the constant cross-checking with J.D. of the other categories of material remains, such as Evans’s record, and our final synthesis will bal- the fauna and archaeobotany, will provide new and ance this unavoidable difficulty. meaningful insights into the cultural sequence of

References

Ammerman, A.J. 2010. “The First Argonauts: Towards the ———. 2006. “The Origins and Early Development Study of the Earliest Seafaring in the Mediterranean,” of Mediterranean Maritime Activity,” JMA 19, pp. in Global Origins (and Development) of Seafaring, A. 199–230. Anderson, J. Barrett, and K. Boyle, eds., Cambridge, Cherry, J.F. 1990. “The First Colonization of the Med­ pp. 81–92. i­terranean Islands: A Review of Recent Research,” ———. 2011. “The Paradox of Early Voyaging in the JMA 3, pp. 145–221. Mediterranean and the Slowness of the Neolithic Evans, J.D. 1964. “Excavations in the Neolithic Transition between Cyprus and Italy,” in The Seascape Settlement of Knossos, 1957–60: Part I,” BSA 59, in Aegean Prehistory (Monograph of the Danish pp. 132–240. Institute at Athens 14), G. Vavouranakis, ed., Athens. ———. 1971. “Neolithic Knossos: The Growth of a Ammerman, A.J., P. Flourentzos, C. McCartney, J. Settlement,” PPS 37, pp. 95–117. Noller, and D. Sorabji. 2006. “Two New Early Sites on Cyprus,” RDAC 2006, pp. 1–22. ———. 1994. “The Early Millennia: Continuity and Change in a Farming Settlement,” in Knossos: A Berger, J-F., and J. Guilaine. 2009. “The 8200 cal bp Labyrinth of History. Papers in Honour of S. Hood, Abrupt Environmental Change and the Neolithic D. Evely, H. Hughes-Brock, and N. Momigliano, Transition: A Mediterranean Perspective,” Quaternary eds., Oxford, pp. 1–20. International 200, pp. 31–49. Isaakidou, V., and P. Tomkins, eds. 2008. Escaping Broodbank, C. 1992. “The Neolithic Labyrinth: Social the Labyrinth: The Cretan Neolithic in Context Change at Knossos before the Bronze Age,” JMA 5, (Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology8), Oxford. pp. 39–75. xxviii the neolithic settlement of knossos in crete

Manning, S.W. 1999. “Knossos and the Limits of Sampson, A. 2006. Προϊστορία του Αιγαίου, Athens. Settlement Growth,” in Meletemata: Studies in Ae­ gean Archaeology Presented to Malcolm H. Wiener Strasser T.F., E. Panagopoulou, C.N. Runnels, P.M. on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday (Aegeum 20), Murray, N. Thompson, P. Karkanas, F.W. McCoy, P. Betancourt, V. Karageorghis, R. Laffineur, and and K.W. Wegmann. 2010. “Stone Age Seafaring W.-D. Niemeier, eds., Liège, pp. 469–482. in the Mediterranean: Evidence from the Plakias Region for Lower Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Manteli, K., and D. Evely. 1995. “The Neolithic Levels Habitation of Crete,” Hesperia 79, pp. 145–190. from the Throne Room System, Knossos,” BSA 90, pp. 1–16. Warren, P., M.R. Jarman, H.N. Jarman, N.J. Shackleton, and J.D. Evans. 1968. “Knossos Neolithic, Part II,” Perlès, C. 2001. The Early Neolithic in Greece: The BSA 63, pp. 239–276. First Farming Communities in Europe, Cambridge. Whitelaw, T.M. 1992. “Lost in the Labyrinth? Comments Runnels, C. 2003. “The Origins of the Greek Neolithic: on Broodbank’s Social Change at Knossos before A Personal View,” in The Widening Harvest: The Neo­­ the Bronze Age,” JMA 5, pp. 225–238. lithic Transition in Europe. Looking Back, Looking Forward (Colloquia and Conference Papers 6), A.J. Ammerman and P. Biagi, eds., Boston, pp. 121–133. 6

Wood Charcoal Analysis: The Local Vegetation

Ernestina Badal and Maria Ntinou

The excavation of a small trench in the Central site.* Charcoal analysis, or anthracology, has prov­ Court area at Knossos in 1997 explored the Neo­ en to be a valuable tool for paleoecological and lithic sequence of the site. Previous excavations of paleoethnographic reconnaissance at many arch­ the Neolithic deposits (Evans 1964) had already aeological sites (Vernet, ed., 1992; Chabal et al. established the prominent role of Knossos in the 1999; Thiébault, ed., 2002; Dufraisse, ed., 2006; early spread of agriculture in the Mediterranean. Fiorentino and Magri, eds., 2008). The study of New excavations at the site, although much more the charcoal from the 1997 Knossos excavation limited in scale, presented us with the opportunity has helped us to reconstruct both the plant forma­ to add complementary information on various as­ tions that prevailed in the Knossos area during the pects of the process of neolithization. Neolithic and the ways in which they were used One of the aims of the 1997 excavation was and modified by the first Neolithic settlers. The re­ to undertake paleoenvironmental research at the sults of our analyses are presented in this chapter.

*Abbreviations used in this chapter are: LN Late Neolithic AN Aceramic Neolithic m meters C Celsius, Centigrade m asl meters above sea level cal. calibrated or calendar years mm millimeters cf. compare MN Middle Neolithic Ch(s). Chapter(s) Mt. Mount EM Early Minoan no. number EN Early Neolithic sp. species km kilometers 96 ernestina badal and maria ntinou Physical Background

Location and Geology

The site of Knossos in Crete lies in the valley of south. The area around Knossos is surrounded by the Kairatos River, which runs along the east side hills lower than 300 m, including a limestone ridge of the site. The Vlychia, a tributary of the Kairatos, to the east and the “Acropolis” hill to the west borders the site to the south (Fig. 6.1). The river (Roberts 1979). flows south from Mt. Juktas to the Aegean in the The geology of the area is characterized by Nea Alikarnassos area, approximately 5 km to Cretaceous limestone overlain in places by kou­ the north of Knossos. It carries a low volume of skouras, a soft white marl of Pliocene age. Related water and occasionally dries up in the summer. gypsum deposits form the low hills of Gypsades The Kairatos valley is narrow and gorge-like in its south of Knossos. Debris fans of Plio-Pleistocene upper part, south of Knossos, and becomes slight­ age surround the hills and the higher elevations to ly wider downstream. The terrain is higher to the the south of the site (Roberts 1979).

<300 mm 800–1100 a 300–500 1100–1400 b Cretan Sea 500–800 >1400 mm N

Kairatos River

Herakleion

100

100 100 100

200 m asl c 400 400 knossos B B´ 300 3 300 200 200 200 knossos 200 Kairatos 2 River 100 100

m asl B B´ d 300 Mt. Juktas W–E 800 5 800 300

700 700 400

400 600 600 500

600 300 500 500 Mt. Juktas 4 400 400 400 700

300 KNOSSOS 1 300 Topographic curves every 50 m N 200 Kairatos River 200 River City 100 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 km

A A´ 0 1 2 3 miles SW–NE

Figure 6.1. Climate and topography of Knossos: (a) mean annual precipitation in Crete (after Rackham and Moody 1996); (b) topographic map of the area around Knossos; (c) west–east topographic section; (d) southwest–northeast topographic section. The numbers on topographic sections correspond to plant inventories (see Table 6.1). wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 97

Climate

The climate in the Knossos area is typical­ exceed 35°C. Winter is the wettest season, and ly Mediterranean, and the bioclimatic conditions summers are dry and hot. Mean annual precipita­ are of the thermomediterranean type. The area is tion at the station of Herakleion has been estimat­ warm throughout the year with the average an­ ed to be 476.5 mm by Roberts (1979). According nual temperature estimated between 17°C and to a map of Cretan precipitation in 1970–1982 19°C. January is the coldest month, with an av­ drawn by Rackham and Moody (1996), the area of erage temperature of 11°C. Lower temperatures Knossos receives approximately 500 mm annually are experienced inland and at higher altitudes. (Fig. 6.1:a). As in other Mediterranean areas, how­ Frosts, though rare, can occur from December to ever, annual totals may vary considerably in con­ February. Maximum summer temperatures often secutive years.

Flora and Vegetation

The vascular flora of Crete comprises 1,706 spe­ into one another. Wooded areas exist in the great cies. Many of these are widespread Mediterranean mountain ranges as well as at lower elevations. and Euro-Siberian plants, but some special ele­ During the last decades and especially since the ments associated with the historical geography of number of livestock has decreased and agriculture the area also exist. Certain habitats, particularly has retreated to the best land, the Cretan vegetation calcareous cliffs and naturally treeless mountain is recovering fast. summits, are very rich in relict endemic species Agriculture is practiced extensively in the (Turland, Chilton, and Press 1993). The island’s Kairatos valley around Knossos (Figs. 6.2, 6.3). natural vegetation is typically Mediterranean. The major crops are olive trees and vines, and there Zohary and Orshan (1966, cited in Roberts 1979) are also irrigated areas where vegetable orchards offered the following scheme of the altitudinal and orange plantations are located. Natural vegeta­ zoning of climax communities: tion is restricted to small patches of the landscape. Thermomediterranean communities can be found a. Evergreen maquis, which includes wild from sea level to 600 m asl. They are very degrad­ olive, pistachio, carob, juniper, and oak ed by intense grazing. The elevations to the east (Quercus coccifera), prevailing in all low­ of the site are covered with phrygana formations. land areas up to 300 m Spiny shrubs such as Sarcopoterium spinosum and b. Evergreen oak forest extending between species of the Leguminosae, Labiatae, Cistaceae, 300 m and 800 m of altitude, with pine and Compositae families are common components forests partly substituting on rendzina of these communities (Table 6.1; Figs. 6.1, 6.4). At soils higher elevations on the sides of Mt. Juktas (high­ c. Cupresso-Aceretum orientale covering the est elevation 811 m) phrygana communities also zone above 800–1000 m, which corre­ dominate, but evergreen oak woodland in a de­ sponds to the oromediterranean zone in graded state is found in places. Conifers such as Crete Cupressus sempervirens and Pinus brutia are rare. Scattered deciduous oaks grow on the western side The Cretan landscape presents a variety of veg­ of Mt. Juktas. Rich plant formations, which com­ etation types, and occasionally altitudinal zoning bine evergreen and deciduous species, are found is difficult to distinguish, in part due to intense on deeper soils and along watercourses (Figs. use of the vegetation over the millennia, which has 6.1:d, 6.5). More detailed lists (inventories) of the caused different plant formations such as maquis, plants growing in different parts of the study area phrygana, and pastureland to intermingle and fade are presented in Table 6.1. 98 ernestina badal and maria ntinou

Figure 6.2. View of the Knossos valley from Mt. Juktas showing present-day vegetation. Photo E. Badal.

Figure 6.3. Panoramic view of the site of Knossos showing present-day vegetation. Photo E. Badal.

Figure 6.4. Present-day phrygana vegetation on the hills in the study area. Photo E. Badal.

Figure 6.5. Present-day vegetation on deep soils in the study area. Photo E. Badal. wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 99

Inventory No. 1 Inventory No. 2 Inventory No. 3 Inventory No. 4 Inventory No. 5 River Kairatos Eastern Hill Eastern Hill Juktas Juktas 50–100 m asl 100–200 m asl 200 m asl and up 400–425 m asl 700 m asl Platanus orientalis Pyrus sp. Phlomis fruticosa Quercus coccifera Quercus coccifera

Phragmites australis Salvia fruticosa Cistus creticus Cistus salvifolius Quercus calliprinos Cupressus sempervirens Arundo donax Capparis cf. ovata Calycotome villosa Osyris alba (horizontalis) Vinca sp. Sambucus ebulus Asparagus sp. Salvia fruticosa Calycotome villosa

Parietaria sp. cf. Asphodelus Salvia fruticosa Phlomis fruticosa Cistus cf. crispus

Ecbalium elaterium Thymus capitatus Crocus sp. Genista acanthoclada Phlomis fruticosa

Corylus avellana Satureja sp. Lavatera cf. arborea Calycotome villosa Euphorbia sp.

Morus sp. Lavatera cf. arborea Thymus capitatus Thymus capitatus Sarcopoterium spinosum Ficus carica Calycotome villosa Ebenus cretica Hypericum empetrifolium Phlomis lanata Hedera helix Ebenus cretica Olea europaea Pistacia lentiscus Osyris alba — Asparagus sp. Prunus amygdalus Sarcopoterium spinosum Spartium junceum — Pistacia terebinthus cf. Asphodelus Ebenus cretica Pistacia terebinthus

— Helichrysum sp. Osyris alba Erica multiflora Hypericum empetrifolium — Crocus sp. Ficus carica Asphodelus sp. Olea europaea

— Phlomis fruticosa Hypericum empetrifolium Euphorbia sp. Ranunculus sp.

Oreganum — Euphorbia sp. Euphorbia sp. Asparagus sp. microphyllum

— Sarcopoterium spinosum Capparis cf. ovata Lavatera cf. arborea Rhamnus oleoides

— Rhamnus alaternus Thymelea hirsuta Asparagus sp. Pinus brutia

— Genista acanthoclada Salicornia sp. Phlomis lanata —

— — Sarcopoterium spinosum Ruscus aculeatus —

— — Genista acanthoclada Rubia peregrina —

— — — Fumana sp. —

— — — Oreganum vulgare —

— — — Quercus calliprinos

— — — Styrax officianalis —

— — Rhamnus oleoides —

— — — Cistus creticus

— — — Pyrus amygdaliformis —

— — — Crataegus sp. —

— — — Spartium junceum —

— — — Ficus carica —

— — — Thymelea hirsuta —

— — — Ephedra cf. fragilis —

— — — Pistacia terebinthus —

— — — Capparis spinosa —

Table 6.1. Inventories of plants growing in different parts of the study area. Plants are listed in the order of occurence as observed in each area. 100 ernestina badal and maria ntinou Wood Charcoal Analysis: Methodology and Fieldwork

Daily human activities are reflected in the cul­ together with radiocarbon dating, have established tural remains at archaeological sites. Wood char­ the sequence of archaeological levels and phases of coal is a category of such remains. It originates the Neolithic as follows: either from firewood or from timber and plants Aceramic Neolithic: levels 39–38 used for various purposes and burned deliberate­ Early Neolithic I (EN I): levels 37–30 ly or accidentally at some point during a site’s his­ Early Neolithic II (EN II): levels 29–14 tory. Although wood charcoal has been employed Middle Neolithic (MN): levels 13–4 mainly for 14C dating, it can also be used for the Late Neolithic (LN): levels 3–1 identification of plant taxa, thus providing ethno­ botanical and paleoenvironmental information. Because the paleoenvironmental study of the Wood charcoal analysis requires detailed sampling site was one of the main aims of the 1997 excava­ of all the excavated deposits and precise informa­ tion campaign, sediment samples were taken from tion concerning the state of deposition and ori­ every archaeological level and subsequently dry- gin of the remains. The woody plant species can sieved and floated. Wood charcoal was extracted be identified by using a metallurgical microscope. from the samples, and this material was analyzed The results provide information on the types of to obtain information on the vegetation surround­ vegetation that existed in an area in the past, the ing the site and its use by the Neolithic settlers of climate regime under which they grew, and, most the area. importantly, how they were used by the human In general, the wood charcoal was dispersed but groups visiting or settling in an area (Chabal 1988; not abundant in the sediment. Its relatively low 1997; Badal 1990; Vernet, ed., 1992; Chabal et al. frequency may be explained by the characteris­ 1999; Thiébault, ed., 2002; Dufraisse, ed., 2006; tics of the physical site, which is an open-air set­ Fiorentino and Magri, eds., 2008). tlement exposed to wind, rain, and other erosive Excavation in the Central Court of the pal­ agents that may have caused the displacement and ace of Knossos was carried out in 1997 jointly loss of remains not concentrated in closed features. by the 23rd Ephorate of Classical and Prehistoric Some levels did not provide any wood charcoal at Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture and the all. Material was recovered from 25 archaeological Department of History and Archaeology of the levels altogether, and these fortunately correspond University of Thessaloniki. A 3 x 2 m trench was to all of the Neolithic phases listed above (Table opened in the eastern part of the Central Court, 6.2). The wood charcoal assemblage from each ar­ and 39 archaeological levels were excavated. The chaeological level comprises the material recov­ study of the material culture and pottery typology, ered from both dry-sieving and flotation.

Results

The Plant List

A total of 29 taxa have been identified. These taxa are Acer sp. (maple), Anacardiaceae, Arbutus include evergreen broad-leaved species, deciduous sp. (strawberry tree), Cistus sp. (rockrose), Conifer, species, and conifers (Table 6.3). The identified Cupressus sempervirens (cypress; Fig. 6.6:a, b), wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 101

Daphne sp. (garland flower), Erica sp. (heath­ discussed by Bottema and Sarpaki (2003), there er), Fraxinus sp. (ash), Ficus carica (fig tree), are different opinions concerning the taxonom­ Juniperus sp. (juniper), cf. Laurus nobilis (laurel), ic status of deciduous oak in Crete. Some experts Leguminosae (the pea family), Monocotyledons, accept the presence of only one of the two species cf. Oreganum (marjoram), Phillyrea/Rhamnus mentioned above or consider them synonymous; (mock privet/buckthorn), Pinus brutia (the Cretan some even describe Q. brachyphylla as a subspe­ pine; Fig. 6.6:c, d), Pinus sp., Pistacia lentiscus cies of Q. pubescens. (lentisk; Fig. 6.6:e), Pistacia sp., Pistacia tere­ The taxon Phillyrea/Rhamnus includes two dif­ binthus (turpentine), Platanus orientalis (oriental ferent genera, Phillyrea and Rhamnus, belonging plane; Fig. 6.6:f, g), Prunus amygdalus (almond to different families. Due to their anatomical sim­ tree; Fig. 6.6:h, i), Prunus sp., Quercus sp. ever­ ilarity they cannot be differentiated. Both are quite green type (prickly and/or Holm oak), Quercus common in the Cretan landscape and participate sp., Quercus sp. deciduous type (deciduous oak), in various sclerophyllous communities. Rosaceae/Maloideae (the apple tree family), and Arbutus sp. as a single taxon includes two spe­ Tamarix sp. (tamarisk). Five fragments were not cies both native to Crete: Arbutus unedo (straw­ identified because their small size did not permit berry tree) is the more common, while Arbutus observation of all three anatomical sections. andrachne (andrachne) has a relatively limit­ Overall, both the plant list and individual as­ ed distribution, especially on limestone substrate semblages are rich in taxa. The taxon Quercus sp. (Rackham and Moody 1996, 70). Anatomical dis­ evergreen type includes the species Quercus coc­ tinction between the two species is impossible, cifera (prickly oak) and Quercus ilex (Holm oak), however, and therefore we present the taxon at the which are undifferentiated on the basis of their genus level. anatomy. Prickly oak is the most common tree in The taxon Erica sp. may include the tree heather Crete and can grow at sea level as well as on the E. arborea and other smaller species. The anatom­ highest Cretan mountains (up to 1,780 m in the ical distinction is based on the width of the rays in White Mountains). It grows on any type of sub­ the tangential section (Schweingruber 1990, 367, strate, although preferably on limestone (Turland, 369). The preservation of anatomical characteris­ Chilton, and Press 1993, 5; Rackham and Moody tics of wood charcoal fragments is not always op­ 1996, 64). Holm oak is rather uncommon in Crete timal for the anatomical distinction of different and is usually restricted to crevices of calcare­ species. For this reason we use a single taxon, but ous cliffs where it is protected from browsing, we can confirm the existence of fragments with wood cutting, and burning. It usually forms thick­ ray widths of five cells or more, and these could be ets with the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) and attributed to E. arborea. turpentine (Pistacia terebinthus) on noncalcare­ Acer sp. (maple) is a taxon that includes many ous soils. It also occurs in open woodland on cal­ species, which, as far as their xylem anatomical careous soils and rocky ground together with Acer characteristics are concerned, cannot be differen­ sempervirens, Crataegus, Phillyrea, Pistacia ter­ tiated except in a few cases (Acer platanoides/ ebinthus, Prunus spinosa, and Quercus pubes­ Acer pseudoplatanus; Schweingruber 1990, 175, cens (Turland, Chilton, and Press 1993, 5). In the 177). In the Cretan landscape the most common assem­blages from Neolithic Knossos both species, Acer species is A. sempervirens, the Cretan maple, namely prickly oak and Holm oak, might be repre­ a small deciduous tree or shrub that forms thick­ sented as components of various plant formations ets in the mountains and may descend gorges al­ since all other participants of present-day commu­ most to sea level (Rackham and Moody 1996, 70). nities are also included. In this presentation, we use the taxon Acer sp. due The taxon Quercus sp. deciduous type may in­ to the limitations of xylem anatomy. clude different deciduous oak species that can­ A few wood charcoal fragments were identified not be differentiated by their xylem anatomy. For as Platanus orientalis (plane). In general the taxon Crete the species Q. pubescens and Q. brachyphyl­ is rare in pollen cores from pre-Neolithic mainland la are mentioned as native (Turland, Chilton, and Greece, but it appears early in pollen cores from Press 1993, 6; Rackham and Moody 1996, 65). As Crete (Bottema and Sarpaki 2003). The species 102 ernestina badal and maria ntinou

Level 39 37 35 34 33 32 31 30 29, 28 24 Taxa No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) Acer sp. — — — — — — — — 1 (0.5) — Anacardiaceae — — — — — 1 (0.4) — — — — Arbutus sp. — — 1 (1.3) 4 (2.5) 2 (1.1) 9 (3.2) 3 (16.7) — 5 (2.5) 3 (2.8) Cistus sp. — 5 (5.2) — 6 (3.7) — 1 (0.4) — — 2 (1.0) — Conifer — — — 1 (0.6) — 3 (1.1) — — 2 (1.0) 3 (2.8) Cupressus — 2 (2.1) — 6 (3.7) 2 (1.1) 1 (0.4) — — 7 (3.4) — sempervirens Daphne sp. — — — — — — — — — 1 (0.9) Erica sp. — 16 (16.7) 5 (6.4) 19 (11.7) 31 (16.6) 22 (7.8) — — 11 (5.4) 4 (3.7) Ficus carica — 4 (4.2) — — 1 (0.5) — — — 1 (0.5) 2 (1.8) Fraxinus sp. — 1 (1.0) — — — — — — — — Juniperus sp. — — — 5 (3.1) — 2 (0.7) — — 1 (0.5) 2 (1.8) Laurus nobilis — — — — — — — — 1 (0.5) — Leguminosae — 1 (1.0) — 6 (3.7) 2 (1.1) — — — — 1 (0.9)

Monocotyledons — — 1 (1.3) — — — — — — —

cf. Oreganum sp. — 1 (1.0) — — — — — — — —

Phillyrea/ — 13 (13.5) 12 (15.4) 12 (7.4) 5 (2.7) 33 (11.7) — 2 (16.7) 14 (6.9) 6 (5.5) Rhamnus Pinus sp. — — — — — — — — — — Pinus brutia — 1 (1.0) 2 (2.6) 4 (2.5) 7 (3.7) 1 (0.4) — — 10 (4.9) 1 (0.9) Pistacia — 3 (3.1) — 4 (2.5) 5 (2.7) 5 (1.8) — — — 2 (1.8) lentiscus Pistacia — 1 (1.0) — 5 (3.1) 4 (2.1) 3 (1.1) 1 (5.6) — 17 (8.4) 1 (0.9) terebinthus Pistacia sp. — 8 (8.3) — 10 (6.2) 40 (21.4) 57 (20.2) — 4 (33.3) 4 (2.0) 3 (2.8) Platanus — — — — — — — — — — orientalis Prunus — — — 1 (0.6) 5 (2.7) 12 (4.3) — — 3 (1.5) 9 (8.3) amygdalus Prunus sp. — 4 (4.2) 3 (3.8) 1 (0.6) 7 (3.7) 11 (3.9) — — 29 (14.3) 10 (9.2) Quercus sp. 20 (66.7) 2 (2.1) — — 7 (3.7) 1 (0.4) — — 4 (2,0) — deciduous type Quercus sp. 116 7 (23.3) 24 (25.0) 32 (41.0) 65 (40.1) 46 (24.6) 10 (55.6) 5 (41.7) 73 (36.0) 52 (47.7) evergreen type (41.1) Quercus sp. 3 (10.0) 8 (8.3) 22 (28.2) 5 (3.1) 10 (5.3) 4 (1.4) 4 (22.2) — 13 (6.4) 3 (2.8) Rosaceae — 2 (2.1) — 6 (3.7) 13 (7.0) — — — 2 (1.0) 1 (0.9) Tamarix sp. — — — 1 (0.6) — — — — 2 (1.0) 1 (0.9) Indeterminate — — — 1 (0.6) — — — 1 (8.3) — 1 (0.9) Nutshell — — — — — — — — 1 (0.5) — fragment Parenchymatous — — — — — — — — — 3 (2.8) tissue Subtotal 30 (100) 96 (100) 78 (100) 162 (100) 187 (100) 282 (100) 18 (100) 12 (100) 202 (100) 106 (97) Unidentifiable 1 (3.2) 15 (13.5) 15 (16.1) 46 (22.1) 31 (14.2) 34 (10.8) — 2 (14.3) 27 (11.7) 29 (21.0) Total 31 (100) 111 (100) 93 (100) 208 (100) 218 (100) 316 (100) 18 (100) 14 (100) 229 (100) 138 (100) Table 6.2. Absolute and relative frequencies of taxa identified in the wood charcoal assemblages from Neolithic Knossos. Relative frequency of taxa has not been calculated for levels 20 and 7 due to the scarcity of wood charcoal. wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 103

23 21 20 18 17 14 12 10 9 8 7 4 3 No. (%) No. (%) No. No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. No. (%) No. (%) — — — — — 2 (1.1) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 3 (5.4) 3 (13.6) — 1 (2.9) 4 (5.4) 8 (4.4) 8 (8.6) 16 (18.0) 6 (7.8) 2 (3.8) — 5 (16.1) — — — — — 3 (4.1) — 1 (1.1) 4 (4.5) — — — — — 1 (1.8) — — — — — — — 2 (2.6) — — — —

— — — 2 (5.7) — — — — — — — — —

— — — — — — — — 2 (2.6) — — — — 2 (3.6) — — 2 (5.7) 3 (4.1) 1 (0.6) 4 (4.3) 5 (5.6) 2 (2.6) — — — — — — — 1 (2.9) 1 (0.6) 1 (1.1) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 (1.8) 1 (4.5) — — — — 2 (2.2) 1 (1.1) — 2 (3.8) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 (2.9) — — — — — — — — —

— — — — — — — — — — — — —

— — — — — — — — — — — — —

— 4 (18.2) — — 3 (4.1) 3 (1.7) 2 (2.2) 5 (5.6) 5 (6.5) 1 (1.9) — 1 (3.2) 4 (14.3)

— — — — 2 (2.7) — 3 (3.2) 2 (2.2) — — 2 — — — 1 (4.5) 1 1 (2.9) — 1 (0.6) 4 (4.3) — 1 (1.3) — — 1 (3.2) —

— — — — 1 (1.4) — — 1 (1.1) — — — — —

— — — — — — 2 (2.2) — 1 (1.3) — — — —

— 1 (4.5) — — — 1 (0.6) 5 (5.4) — 8 (10.4) — — — —

— — — — — 3 (1.7) — — — — — — —

1 (1.8) — — 1 (2.9) 3 (4.1) 79 (43.9) — 8 (9.0) 5 (6.5) 11 (21.2) — 9 (29.0) 6 (21.4)

6 (10.7) — — 1 (2.9) 26 (35.1) 54 (30.0) 25 (26.9) 28 (31.5) 15 (19.5) 10 (19.2) 3 6 (19.4) 8 (28.6)

— — — — — — 1 (1.1) — — 2 (3.8) — — —

31 (55.4) 8 (36.4) 1 20 (57.1) 23 (31.1) 21 (11.7) 18 (19.4) 17 (19.1) 19 (24.7) 22 (42.3) — 6 (19.4) 7 (25.0)

6 (10.7) 4 (18.2) — 2 (5.7) 1 (1.4) 3 (1.7) 2 (2.2) 2 (2.2) 6 (7.8) 2 (3.8) — 3 (9.7) 2 (7.1) 1 (1.8) — — — 1 (1.4) — 3 (3.2) — 3 (3.9) — — — 1 (3.6) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 (0.6) 1 (1.1) — — — — — —

4 (7.1) — — — — — 4 (4.3) — 2 (2.6) — — — —

— — — 3 (8.6) 4 (5.4) 2 (1.1) 7 (7.5) — — — — — —

52 (93) 22 (100) 2 32 (91) 70 (95) 178 (99) 82 (88) 89 (100) 75 (97) 52 (100) 5 31 (100) 28 (100) 13 (18.8) 3 (12.0) 1 7 (16.7) 16 (17.8) 26 (12.6) 24 (20.5) 22 (19.8) 12 (13.5) 13 (20.0) — 9 (22.5) 2 (6.7) 69 (100) 25 (100) 3 42 (100) 90 (100) 206 (100) 117 (100) 111 (100) 89 (100) 65 (100) 5 40 (100) 30 (100) 104 ernestina badal and maria ntinou

Cultural period AN EN I EN II

Calendar age years b.c. 7050– 5300– 5468– 5220– 5290– 5310– 5010– 5000– 5208– (95.4% probability) 6690 5000 5228 4950 4960 5000 4350 4730 4936

Archaeological 39 37 35 34 33 32 31 30 29–28 24 level Number of charcoal 31 111 93 208 218 316 18 14 230 138 fragments Acer sp. • Anacardiaceae • Arbutus sp. • • • • • • • Cistus sp. • • • • Conifer • • • • Cupressus • • • • • sempervirens Daphne sp. • Erica sp. • • • • • • • Ficus carica • • • • Fraxinus sp. • Juniperus sp. • • • • cf. Laurus nobilis • Leguminosae • • • • Monocotyledons • cf. Oreganum • Phillyrea/Rhamnus • • • • • • • • Pinus brutia • • • • • • • Pinus sp. Pistacia lentiscus • • • • • Pistacia sp. • • • • • • • Pistacia terebinthus • • • • • • • Platanus orientalis Prunus amygdalus • • • • • Prunus sp. • • • • • • • Quercus sp. • • • • • • • • • Quercus sp. • • • • • deciduous type Quercus sp. • • • • • • • • • • evergreen type Rosaceae/ • • • • • Maloideae Tamarix sp. • • • Nutshell fragment • Panenchymatous tissue • Indeterminate • • • Number of taxa 3 17 8 19 16 17 4 4 21 20 Table 6.3. Presence of plant taxa in wood charcoal assemblages from Neolithic Knossos, along with the total number of fragments analyzed and the total number of taxa identified in each level. wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 105

EN II, cont. MN LN

4982– 4990– 4774 4731

23 21 20 18 17 14 12 10 9 8 7 4 3

69 25 3 42 90 206 117 111 89 65 5 40 30

•

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

•

• • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

•

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• •

• • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • •

• • • • • • • • 10 8 2 11 12 14 18 9 14 8 2 7 6 106 ernestina badal and maria ntinou

100 μm 25.0 μm 250 μm a. Cupressus sempervirens, tangential longitudi- b. Cupressus sempervirens, radial longitudinal c. Pinus brutia, transverse section, x60. nal section, x150. section, x1100.

25.0 μm 100 μm 250 μm d. Pinus brutia, radial longitudinal section, x350. e. Pistacia lentiscus, transverse section, x130. f. Platanus orientalis, transverse section, x100.

10.0 μm 250 μm 100 μm g. Platanus orientalis, tangential longitudinal h. Prunus amygdalus, transverse section, x80. i. Prunus amygdalus, tangential longitudinal section, x1800. section, x250. Figure 6.6. Anatomy of plant taxa identified in wood charcoal assemblages from Neolithic Knossos. Photos M. Ntinou. was probably native in Crete, and this corrobo­ (Turland, Chilton, and Press 1993, 34; Rackham rates its presence in the charcoal assemblages from and Moody 1996, 63), however, and we believe Knossos. that this is the species represented in the wood The species Pinus brutia is anatomically similar charcoal assemblages. to P. halepensis, and according to Schweingruber Finally we should mention the presence of few (1990, 121) the two are undifferentiated. In dis­ small fragments of burned nutshell. Their pres­ cussions of Cretan flora and vegetation P. brutia ence in the assemblages may indicate the discard is considered the only native pine on the island of food residues in domestic fires. wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 107

A general characteristic of the assemblages is and heather (Erica sp.) are present in most of them. their homogeneity in composition (Table 6.3); Deciduous oak (Quercus deciduous type), mem­ some of the taxa are constantly present. Evergreen bers of the Rosaceae family, juniper (Juniperus oak (Quercus sp. evergreen type) is found in sp.), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), rockrose all assemblages, while mock privet/buckthorn (Cistus sp.), and the pea family (Leguminosae) ap­ (Phillyrea/Rhamnus), Prunus sp., the almond pear in many assemblages. The remaining taxa are (Prunus amygdalus), strawberry tree (Arbutus rather infrequent. sp.), Pistacia sp., the Cretan pine (Pinus brutia),

The Charcoal Diagram

Combined qualitative and quantitative results frequency in assemblages 14–9. The frequencies (Table 6.2) for all the assemblages in chronological of lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus) remain constantly sequence are presented in a diagram that shows the below 5%. The lentisk might be partly represent­ representation of the taxa diachronically (Fig. 6.7). ed under the taxon Pistacia sp., as is also the case Comparison between successive assemblages al­ with turpentine (Pistacia terebinthus). The fre­ lows us to distinguish vegetation types, their char­ quency of Pistacia sp. fluctuates between 10% and acteristics, and possible changes through time. The 20% in the oldest part of the sequence. The taxon frequency of the taxa is shown for those assem­ is very well represented in the EN I period (levels blages that included enough fragments (over 70) 37–32). If all three taxa—Pistacia sp., P. lentiscus, for a coherent qualitative and quantitative study and P. terebinthus—are viewed together, they pres­ (i.e., the assemblages from levels 37, 35, 34, 33, 32, ent similar trends as other evergreen taxa, name­ 29, 28, 24, 17, 14, 12, 10, and 9). For the remaining, ly Quercus evergreen and Phillyrea/Rhamnus. charcoal-poor assemblages (those from levels 39, Pistacia appears to have been widely used for fire­ 31, 30, 21, 20, 18, 8, 7, 4, and 3), only the presence wood in EN I and to some extent in EN II, but it of taxa is indicated with a square black symbol. was markedly abandoned as a source by the end of The best represented taxon in the entire se­ the EN II period. Some increase in the Pistacia sp. quence is evergreen oak (Quercus sp. evergreen frequency is observed in level 9, where it reach­ type). In assemblages 37–32, corresponding to the es 10%. EN I period, the taxon’s relative frequency increas­ A quite constant and frequent taxon is heath­ es from 25% to 41%. This frequency, with some er (Erica sp.). The taxon has its highest frequen­ fluctuations, is maintained or slightly higher in as­ cies (16.7%) of occurrence in the first assemblage semblages 29–24, ascribed to the EN II periods. in which it appears, level 37, and in level 33, both The taxon’s frequency decreases in assemblage of the EN I period, and its presence is also notable 17 and reaches the lowest point in the sequence at the beginning of the EN II period. Its value de­ (11.7%) at the end of EN II in assemblage 14. The creases by the end of the EN II, but it is maintained following assemblages 12, 10, and 9, correspond­ at approximately 4%–5% thereafter. The frequen­ ing to the MN period, document a slight increase cy of rockrose (Cistus sp.) fluctuates between ap­ in the taxon’s frequency, which is maintained at proximately 1% and 5% in some assemblages, and approximately 20%. the leguminosae have a somewhat lower frequen­ Mock privet/buckthorn (Phillyrea/Rhamnus) cy (1%–3%). Other taxa such as Daphne sp., Mon­ shows a fluctuating tendency in assemblages 37– o­cotyledons, and cf. Oreganum are scarce. 24, ascribed to EN I and part of EN II. The taxon’s Deciduous taxa are represented in the Neolithic frequency clearly decreases in the following lev­ Knossos diagram by deciduous oak (Quercus els 17–9, that is, at the end of the EN II and in sp. deciduous type), almond (Prunus amygda­ the MN period. The strawberry tree (Arbutus sp.) lus), other Prunus species, maple (Acer sp.), ash shows the opposite tendency, starting with low (Fraxinus sp.), the fig tree Ficus( carica), turpen­ values in the older assemblages and increasing in tine (Pistacia terebinthus), and members of the

108 ernestina badal and maria ntinou Anthracological zone Anthracological

2 1

I Indeterminate I

tissue Parenchymatous P N Nutshell fragment Nutshell N

P U C Conifer C

N U C N U U P C A Anacardiaceae A

A C C N P P P C C N U

Laurus nobilis Laurus cf.

* 1% Platanus orientalis Platanus

1 sp. Tamarix

* 2% Monocotyledons

2

Oreganum cf.

2% sp. Daphne

2% Leguminosae

2

sp. Cistus

* 2%

sp. Erica 10%

*

sp. Juniperus

* 2% Cupressus sempervirens Cupressus

**

2% sp. Pinus

2% Pinus brutia Pinus 5%

* * Rosaceae/Maloideae

5%

carica Ficus

* *

2% sp. sp. Fraxinus

2% sp. sp. Acer 2 **

30%

sp. sp. 20 Prunus 10 * 40%

30 Prunus amygdalus Prunus 20 10

*

deciduous type deciduous Quercus

* 2% Pistacia terebinthus Pistacia 5%

20

sp. sp. Pistacia 10%

* Pistacia lentiscus Pistacia

5%

sp. Arbutus

10% Phillyrea/Rhamnus 10%

20%

sp. uercus Q 10 40%

30 type

evergreen uercus Q 20

10 No. of charcoal fragments charcoal of No.

3 5

42 25 40 69 65 93 89 30 31 90 14 18 206 230 218 316 208 138 117 111 111 Archaeological level Archaeological

8 9 3 4 7 30 24 35 21 32 20 23 37 39 31 33 34 29 – 28 10 12 18 14 17

(95.4% probability) (95.4%

Calendar age years age Calendar . . . c b

7050 – 6690 4990–4731 5468–5228 5000–4730 5310–5000 5290–4960 5220–4950 4982–4774 5208–4936 5300–5000 5010–4350

the basis of the fragments identified. Black squares indicate presence of taxa in charcoal-poorassemblages; asterisks indicate taxa with frequencies lower than0.8%. MN I EN Cultural period Cultural EN II EN LN AN Figure 6.7. Wood charcoal diagram from NeolithicFigure 6.7. Knossos showing relative frequencies of taxa excavation in successive levels. Relative frequencies of taxa are calculated on wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 109

Rosaceae/Maloideae family. With the exception of culminating point for these taxa (especially as­ Prunus sp., the almond, and the turpentine, all the semblage 14 for both). High frequency of Prunus remaining deciduous taxa have a modest represen­ sp. is maintained in the MN period. tation. Deciduous oak is present in some of the as­ Other deciduous taxa are occasionally present semblages with low values overall. The presence of with low values in the assemblages. Their mean rel­ the taxon in the earliest occupation level of the se­ ative frequency is around 2%, and only Rosaceae quence, the Aceramic Neolithic level 39, is inter­ surpass this value once in level 33. Taxa associat­ esting, however. Wood charcoal was very scarce in ed with riversides and humid environments, such this level, and consequently qualitative and quan­ as the oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) and lau­ titative data are incomplete. Nevertheless, the ab­ rel (Laurus nobilis), are present in only one assem­ solute frequency of deciduous oak (Table 6.2) blage each. Tamarisk (Tamarix sp.) is present with establishes it as the dominant taxon in this assem­ low frequencies in three assemblages. blage and clearly differentiates level 39 from the The conifers are represented by the Cretan pine rest of the sequence (see discussion below). (Pinus brutia), the cypress (Cupressus sempervi­ Prunus sp. and the almond are regularly rep­ rens), and juniper (Juniperus sp.). The Cretan pine resented in EN I (assemblages 37–32) with val­ is more constant than the other conifers, although ues that approach 4% on average. The taxa show its frequency hardly exceeds 5%. Only in level 29 a stable increase during EN II (assemblages 29– does it reach 8%. The values of the cypress fluc­ 23). The end of EN II, when the almond tree tuate between 2% and 5% and those of juniper be­ reaches 43.9% and Prunus sp. reaches 30%, is the tween 2% and 4%.

Interpretation

The basal assemblage of the diagram and the A change took place between the first occupa­ sequence derives from level 39, the Aceramic tion and the beginning of EN I (level 37), dated to Neolithic. Unfortunately, wood charcoal was the late sixth millennium. Sclerophyllous wood­ scarce, and thus it does not allow for a good un­ land and evergreen oaks dominated the environ­ derstanding of the vegetation characteristics of ment thereafter. It is difficult to say if this change that period. Furthermore, the large chronologi­ occurred due to climatic reasons or because of cal distance between this assemblage and the next human activities. There is a long period of time one represented in the diagram (assemblage 37) separating the AN occupation from what is con­ makes the comparison between them difficult. sidered to be the EN I occupation (almost 1,500 Nevertheless, the main characteristic of assem­ years). However, if human presence was constant blage 39, the abundance of deciduous oak—the in the area during this period of time, it might dominant taxon—clearly distinguishes the earliest have affected the natural vegetation and caused phase of habitation from the rest of the sequence. the restriction of certain species to protected hab­ The other taxon represented in the assemblage is itats. Deciduous oaks and humans compete for the evergreen oak, and Quercus sp. might be either same environments, valley bottoms, and in Crete’s deciduous or evergreen oak. The abundance of the present-day vegetation these trees are frequently deciduous oak in this assemblage could be the re­ found growing in abandoned fields. It is possible sult of environmental conditions that favored the that deciduous oak groves existed in the Kairatos growth of those trees in the surroundings of the valley, close to the first Neolithic settlement. If Neo­ settlement, conditions that changed sometime be­ lithic farmers opened small plots for cultivation in fore EN I, and/or the selective use of these trees the valley, the constant practice of mixed farming for purposes other than firewood. activities would eventually have caused the territo­ According to the first hypothesis, during the ry of deciduous oaks to shrink. Such a hypothesis Aceramic (dated to 7050–6690 b.c.), deciduous seems to be supported by Isaakidou’s (2008) mod­ oaks prevailed in the vegetation around the site. eling of the subsistence requirements of Neolithic 110 ernestina badal and maria ntinou

Knossos, which, according to the author, could Prickly oak and the other evergreen species would have been easily accommodated in the valley allu­ have participated in Mediterranean sclerophyllous vium throughout this period. The early human pres­ formations, which at present are found mostly in ence at Knossos and the constant use of the valley a shrub-like state, but may reach an arboreal state floor, possibly a favorable location for deciduous and form a dense canopy when left undisturbed oaks, might have accounted for the reduction of the by the pressure of coppicing or browsing by an­ trees in the vegetation sometime after the first 1,000 imals. Lentisk and juniper would have extended years of occupation, especially if that occupation to the areas closer to the coast, giving way far­ was continuous. ther inland to evergreen oak woodland, in which According to the second hypothesis, wood char­ mock privet/buckthorn would have played an im­ coals in assemblage 39 were not firewood remains. portant role. Evergreen woodland would have The presence of only two species in the assemblage grown around the settlement, probably forming a might indicate that the remains originated from noncontinuous mantle interrupted by more open burned timber or wooden material associated with space. Strawberry trees with tree heather might a structure not revealed in the limited excavation either have grown in separate formations, resem­ exposure. In general, assemblages with poor plant bling their modern analogue on the phyllite areas lists are typical of selective plant use or inciden­ of western Crete, or, most probably, they would tal, instantaneous use (Badal 1992; Chabal 1997; have formed part of the understory of evergreen Chabal et al. 1999). The poor plant list of assem­ oak thickets. Deciduous species of the Rosaceae/ blage 39 contrasts with the rest of the sequence, in Maloideae family-subfamily such as Pyrus amyg­ which a wide array of plants has been identified in daliformis and species of the Prunus genus, which individual levels (see Table 6.3). The dominance of are sun-loving and resistant to drought and poor deciduous oak in assemblage 39, therefore, would soils, might have occupied rocky areas with an not reflect the characteristics of the vegetation but open canopy or areas barren of other arboreal veg­ the selection of these trees for their timber. The dis­ etation that were covered by phrygana, rockrose, covery of post and stake holes in Evans’s Aceramic Daphne, and members of the Leguminosae and Stratum X, along with the end of a burned stake Labiatae (such as cf. Oreganum) family. identified as oak, probably of the deciduous type, Deciduous oaks would not have been abundant. supports this hypothesis (Evans 1964; Western They probably grew in more humid areas and in 1964). The abundance of deciduous oak in the ear­ the deeper soils of the evergreen woodland. Holm liest occupation level would thus be a reflection of oak might have been found in such places as well, timber use rather than of the locally dominant veg­ as it demands more humid environments than the etation. Even so, these trees were certainly grow­ other evergreen species, the prickly oak. ing in the vicinity of the settlement. Cretan pine and cypress are not abundant in the Following the Aceramic Neolithic assemblage assemblages from Neolithic Knossos. The exam­ 39, the diagram shows two anthracological zones ples present might represent scattered individuals that can be distinguished on the basis of the rela­ or, since both are gregarious species, they might tive representation of the evergreen oak and the al­ have constituted limited inland groves in areas mond, Prunus sp. In the first zone, which includes bordering the lower elevations of the mountains. the EN I and most of the EN II period, evergreen Laurel, plane tree, and probably monocotyle­ oak is dominant. In the second zone, correspond­ dons and ash would have grown on riverbanks ing to the end of the EN II and part of the MN pe­ or slopes in the upper part of the Kairatos val­ riod, the almond is the most abundant taxon. ley. Tamarisk might have grown either in sandy The first anthracological zone is characterized and coastal areas or along riverbanks. The low by the dominance of evergreen oak accompa­ frequency of these taxa is indicative of the limit­ nied by other sclerophyllous taxa, as well as de­ ed extension of riverine formations along the river ciduous species and conifers. This zone provides course. a good picture of the EN vegetation of the area The first zone presents all the characteristics and its different environments. The characteris­ of an area ascribed to the thermomediterranean tics of the vegetation are typically Mediterranean. bioclimatic level, consistent with the lowland, wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 111 almost coastal location of the site. The identi­ idea of either intensive fruit gathering or more so­ fied taxa could grow under dry (precipitation of phisticated techniques of fruit tree management. 300–500 mm/year) or subhumid (precipitation of Nevertheless, the end of the EN II period is char­ 500–700 mm/year) conditions. Neither precipita­ acterized by a selective use of Prunus species, tion nor temperatures would have been much dif­ probably focused on the fruit of these trees. ferent from the present. The natural plant cover Moreover, there is further evidence in the sec­ surrounding the site of Knossos was probably a ond zone to support the idea that a change in the mosaic of formations, with dense woodland inter­ vegetation was taking place. Evergreen oaks were spersed with open vegetation and small cultivat­ still present, but their frequency was lower. In ad­ ed plots. dition, all the other taxa composing previous as­ The evergreen formation components of the first semblages also decreased in frequency, with the anthracological zone persisted in the second zone exception of strawberry tree (Arbutus sp.) and observed at the end of EN II and into the MN peri­ Prunus sp. In well-developed evergreen oak for­ od. The factor that defines the new anthracological mations Arbutus forms part of the understory, but zone is the high frequency of Prunus sp. (almond) it tends to spread when the evergreen oak wood­ in some assemblages, surpassing that of the ever­ land is set on fire, for it benefits to a certain extent green oak, which is dominant in the rest of the se­ from the opening of the canopy; if the degrada­ quence. The abundance of Prunus sp. could be due tion is continuous and repetitive, however, it is also to a special use of these trees for their edible fruits adversely affected, and the population diminish­ and/or to a change in the vegetation. es (Braun-Blanquet 1936). The above succession The identification of the almond is well docu­ has been observed at prehistoric sites in the west­ mented. The anatomy of this species (ring porous ern Mediterranean and is attributed to increasing distribution and wide rays) clearly differentiates human intervention from the Neolithic onward it from other Prunus species and from P. web­ (Badal, Bernabeu, and Vernet 1994). bii, a wild almond with bitter and poisonous fruit. In the case of Knossos the opposing tendencies Many other small wood charcoal pieces, although of evergreen oak and Arbutus might be related to they were identified as Prunus sp., could also cor­ changes in the density of the evergreen forma­ respond to the almond, but the identification was tions caused by human activities. The increase in limited to the genus because, despite the large Prunus sp. (almond) would be in line with this and wide rays, they did not preserve an entire change, especially given that these taxa thrive in growth ring. Therefore, at Neolithic Knossos peo­ open formations and are favored by solar radia­ ple were using the almond for firewood and prob­ tion. Changes in the composition and density of ably for the consumption of the edible fruits (see the sclerophyllous woodland might have occurred Sarpaki, this vol., Ch. 5) as early as EN I. These after more than 1,000 years of human presence trees were probably part of the natural vegetation, in the area. Farming, herding, and burning would as they occur in Greek mainland areas from the have affected the fragile equilibrium of evergreen end of the Pleistocene (Ntinou 2002a). By the end Mediterranean formations, and the evergreen oak of EN II the almond and Prunus in general be­ woodland surrounding the site would have become came the most abundant taxa. This proliferation less dense. As reported elsewhere (Efstratiou et al. may reflect the managing of these trees. By this 2004), after a long period (more than 1,000 years) we mean planting with seeds and pruning or even the occupation of the site became more solid with grafting the wild trees, activities that could indi­ substantial architecture by the end of EN II. In the cate proto-arboriculture. In the archaeobotanical light of this information, we could explain the in­ record only the end products of tree tending (wood crease of Prunus sp. in conjunction with chang­ from pruning used for fuel) and fruit consump­ es in the vegetation and adaptations of subsistence tion (nutshells) are preserved to testify to such ac­ strategies to local resources. tivities. Consequently, it is difficult to support the 112 ernestina badal and maria ntinou The Olive

The wood charcoal results from Neolithic Knos­ Rackham, and Rapp (1996) have argued, how­ sos show that typically Mediterranean formations ever, that the olive was a natural element of the were growing around the site. These would ordi­ Pleistocene vegetation of Crete. During that period narily include components of thermomediterra­ it survived in refugia somewhere on the island and nean vegetation characteristic of the coastal areas spread with the onset of the Holocene. The authors of Crete such as evergreen oaks, lentisk, Cretan attribute its presence during the MN (4750 b.c.) to pine, laurel, and wild olive (Quézel and Barbéro a native origin, being “a natural part of the oak 1985). The olive in its wild state is the indica­ woodland” (Moody, Rackham, and Rapp 1996, tor of the thermomediterranean bioclimatic level 286). The abundance of the taxon thereafter is an (Ozenda 1982), and at present the olive is a major indication of the manipulation of the vegetation by crop in Crete. It is, however, remarkably absent humans and of local cultivation, which could have from the entire charcoal sequence of Knossos. been an imported practice or a local development The absence of the olive from the charcoal as­ (Moody, Rackham, and Rapp 1996; Rackham and semblages of Knossos might indicate that: (a) the Moody 1996, 20). species was not native to the island, or at least it did The pollen record is inconclusive regarding the not grow along this part of the northern coast; (b) Holocene presence and natural growth of Olea in the species was very rare in the landscape, and it Crete. Moreover, the oldest olive archaeobotanical was not gathered for firewood or other purposes; or remnant, namely an olive stone from the site of (c) the species grew around the site, but for cultural Myrtos, dates to the Early Bronze Age (Rackham reasons it was not used for fuel. The third hypoth­ 1972; Renfrew 1972), millennia after the first esis is difficult to evaluate given that the selection Neolithic settlements were established on the is­ or avoidance of plants varies considerably in rela­ land. The only Neolithic charcoal evidence comes tion to ideologies and taboos. Therefore, it remains from Knossos, and the EN I charcoal results are in a possible explanation for the absence of the olive agreement with the pollen record regarding the ab­ from the Neolithic sequence of Knossos. The other sence of the olive. Furthermore, although the spe­ two hypotheses can be checked in relation to rel­ cies appears in the pollen record after 5000 b.c., it evant information from Crete and adjacent areas. continues to be absent from the charcoal sequence. The olive appears in the pollen record of Crete According to Moody, Rackham, and Rapp late in the Holocene. During the early part of the (1996), the olive might have grown naturally in Holocene the taxon is absent from the Hagia Galini small numbers in the oak woodland of Crete. In core in South-Central Crete, and Bottema suggests the case of Knossos, if the wild olive was a rare el­ that “the wild olive must have been either rare or ement of the natural vegetation, it might have es­ even absent from the island” (Bottema 1980, 214). caped being collected for firewood. The plant list The olive is also absent in the lower spectra of the from the site is very rich in taxa, however, and al­ pollen diagrams from Delphinos (Bottema and though some of them are scarcely represented, they Sarpaki 2003) and Tersana (Moody, Rackham, appear nonetheless, reflecting the use of a variety and Rapp 1996), northwestern Crete. It appears of environments. Therefore, we would expect the for the first time at 6200b .p. (around 5000 cal. b.c.) olive to appear at least once, as is the case with in the Delphinos diagram and presents a continu­ other rare taxa like the plane, the tamarisk, and ous closed curve after 5700 b.p. (ca. 4700 cal. b.c.). the laurel. In the Tersana diagram the olive appears at 6000 The early presence of the wild olive in Neolithic b.p. According to Bottema and Sarpaki (2003), ol­ contexts in other parts of the Mediterranean con­ ives were introduced to the island through over­ trasts with the wood charcoal results from the site seas contacts, and they were certainly grown of Knossos. If the olive grew naturally in the en­ before Early Minoan (EM) I, although cultivation vironment, it would probably have been used. and oil production on a larger scale is not docu­ In Cyprus the olive is well documented both in mented until the Middle Minoan I period. Moody, the form of wood charcoal and archaeobotanical wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 113 remains in the earliest Neolithic settlements of the species. The olive is absent from the Neolithic Shillourokambos, Khirokitia, Cape Andreas– levels of the site of Limenaria on Thassos (Ntinou Kastros, and Ayios Epiktitos–Vrysi (Thiébault 2012), and it only appears in small numbers in LN 2003). The analysis of wood charcoal from the site assemblages from the Cave of the Cyclops on the of Shillourokambos shows that the olive became island of Youra (Ntinou 2002b, 2011). In view of very abundant already by 7500 b.c. Similarly, in the information about the taxon in the archaeo­ the southern latitudes and coastal areas (the ther­ botanical remains from Neolithic sites in Greece, momediterranean bioclimatic level) of the eastern, questions concerning the native origin and use of central, and western Mediterranean, the olive was the species remain open. already present in Epipaleolithic, Mesolithic, and The early presence of the wild olive in Neolithic Early Neolithic contexts, mainly in the form of contexts in other parts of the Mediterranean con­ charcoal remains rather than olive stones (Galili, trasts with the wood charcoal results from the site Weinstein-Evron, and Zohary 1989; Liphschitz of Knossos. Thus, it seems probable that the olive et al. 1991; Bernabeu and Badal 1992; Galili either was not native to Crete or did not grow et al. 1993; Badal, Bernabeu, and Vernet 1994; in the wider area of Knossos. Moreover, even if Liphschitz 1997; Colledge 2001; Badal 2002; Aura the plant was grown locally in western Crete be­ et al. 2005; Rodríguez-Ariza and Montes Moya fore EM I, as the pollen results indicate (Moody, 2005). The presence of an olive stone (dated to Rackham, and Rapp 1996; Bottema and Sarpaki 6415–6089 b.c.) from a Mesolithic context at El 2003), this activity probably did not take place Abric de la Falguera, Spain (García Puchol and at Neolithic Knossos. If it had been grown there, Aura Tortosa, eds., 2006, 115) corroborates the we would expect to find olive wood charcoal re­ idea that the species was growing spontaneous­ mains among the other archaeobotanical materi­ ly in certain places and was used by pre-Neolithic al. The pruning of olive trees would provide wood populations. The olive was a native element of the that could be used for fuel and would eventually be vegetation in these areas, and while the fruit might represented, even in small numbers, in the char­ not have been extensively used, at least during the coal assemblages. Whether the species was intro­ Neolithic, the wild plants were used for fuel and duced to Crete relatively late in the Neolithic as fodder (Badal 1999, 2002). Bottema and Sarpaki (2003) postulate or was pres­ In mainland Greece the olive does not appear ent on the island during the EN period but did not in wood charcoal samples from Neolithic sites, al­ grow/was not grown in the wider area of Knossos though most of these are located in the northern will remain an open question until more charcoal part of the country, which probably did not offer results are available from early contexts and from the optimum conditions for the natural growth of different locations on the island.

Discussion

The wood charcoal data from Neolithic site at higher altitudes. Riverine and estuarine en­ Knossos offer information regarding the history vironments were only used sporadically by the set­ of Mediterranean plant formations and their use by tlers of Knossos, but the existence of such habitats the first settlers of the island from the Aceramic to is documented in the charcoal results and points to the Late Neolithic. the biodiversity of the area. The vegetation around Knossos was typically The wood charcoal data from Neolithic Knossos Mediterranean, presenting a mosaic of evergreen can be compared to the Holocene pollen record. oak woodland and open xerophytic formations. The pollen record for Crete starts during the early The conifers associated with the vegetation of Holocene, in pre-Neolithic times, with the pol­ Crete, namely Pinus brutia and Cupressus semper­ len core from Hagia Galini (Bottema 1980) on the virens, probably grew at some distance from the southern coast. This shows a relatively high pine 114 ernestina badal and maria ntinou frequency at first, after which the pine decreases Complementary information for the Neolithic rapidly and is replaced by oak as the main arboreal period comes from the Tersana core in northwest­ species. During pre-Neolithic times woodland was ern Crete, which documents the existence of mo­ relatively abundant. Plants characteristic of dry saic vegetation of phrygana and woodland at the open conditions such as Leguminosae, Compositae, beginning of the Neolithic (Moody 1987; Moody, Umbelliferae, and Asphodelus existed as well. The Rackham, and Rapp 1996). The woodland in­ absence of wild olive pollen suggests that the olive cluded Mediterranean and central European taxa, might not have been present on Crete in early namely evergreen and deciduous oaks, lime, hazel, Holocene times. According to the Hagia Galini and hornbeam. The Central European taxa would dia­gram (Bottema 1980), throughout the Neolithic indicate that the climate was moister than today. the southern coast continued to be a mosaic of During the MN, ca. 4750 b.c., olive pollen that was open formations and woodland dominated by de­ not present earlier begins to appear in small quan­ ciduous oak. Other pollen types included ever­ tities and indicates human manipulation of the green oak and pine. These characteristics prevailed local vegetation. By the LN it is abundant enough until 4300 b.c., when a decline in the woodland to indicate local cultivation (Rackham and Moody vegetation is documented. 1996). From this time onward the decrease in oak Two more pollen diagrams from northwestern woodland and the increase in phrygana and steppe Crete, Delphinos and Kournas, add information taxa suggest a modification of the natural plant en­ con­cerning the Holocene vegetation of the island vironment due to human activities, especially land (Bottema and Sarpaki 2003). The percentages of clearance for agriculture. nonarboreal pollen are higher than arboreal pol­ The pollen cores and the wood charcoal dia­ len until 6300 b.c., the beginning of EN I, indicat­ gram from Knossos show similarities both in the ing that climatic conditions were dryer and that the components of the vegetation of successive peri­ forest near the coast was sparser than today. De­ci­ ods and in the timing of the changes that took place duous and evergreen oaks could have grown in a in the plant formations. The different locations of few places near the coast, or, alternatively, the ob­ the study areas may account for the discrepancies served ar­boreal pollen might represent the vege­ between them. The pollen cores are from west­ tation at higher elevations. According to Bottema ern Crete, which is considerably moister and pres­ and Sarpaki, the presence of central Eur­opean taxa ents more microenvironments than Central Crete, (lime, hazel, hornbeam) in these two cores, as well where Knossos is located. as in others from northwestern Crete (see below for The vegetation that the first settlers of Knossos Tersana), is due to long-distance transport. encountered around 7000 b.c. is difficult to de­ After 6300 b.c. and during the EN I period, there scribe in detail because of the scarcity of char­ is an increase in both evergreen and deciduous coal from the earliest occupation level. Even so, oaks. Pistacia and Phillyrea start forming contin­ deciduous and evergreen oaks grew in proximi­ uous curves. The landscape included all the typ­ ty to the site. The arboreal pollen of the same pe­ ical Mediterranean components. The main cause riod is composed mainly of the same species. The for the spread of oak forest appears to have been extraordinary presence of central European taxa is an increase in winter precipitation that might have interpreted by Bottema and Sarpaki (2003) as an brought about a shift from the previous dry condi­ effect of long-distance transport during drier con­ tions to the modern situation. Changes in the vege­ ditions in the first three millennia of the Holocene, tation are observed around 5000 b.c., that is, at the while others (Moody 1987; Moody, Rackham, end of EN I and the beginning of EN II. Quercus and Rapp 1996) interpret these taxa as evidence decreases slightly, Ericaceae increase, the olive of moister conditions. Although the charcoal evi­ appears for the first time, and indicators of crop dence cannot resolve this question, since only oaks cultivation and animal husbandry appear or in­ are represented in the earliest level, it shows clearly crease. The indicators of human activity increase that deciduous species grew in lowland areas and considerably after 4870 b.c., the end of EN II, and near the coast. the anthropogenic impact becomes apparent in the Later on, during the sixth millennium, the pol­ fifth millennium. len cores show that the vegetation in western Crete wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 115 was characterized by an expansion of woodland in woodland caused by human activities. Contrary which deciduous oaks played an important role. to what is observed in the pollen cores, the olive Typical Mediterranean elements, namely ever­ is absent from the whole Neolithic sequence of green oaks, mock privet, and Pistacia expanded as Knossos. Other indications of tree management well. According to the wood charcoal results, ap­ and early arboriculture, however, may be seen in proximately at the same time in EN I and II, a typ­ the abundance of Prunus sp. (almond) from the ically Mediterranean woodland of evergreen oaks end of EN II onward, consistent with the proposed grew around Knossos. Woodland or more open use of the olive based on the pollen evidence. formations are documented in the wood charcoal Members of Rosaceae such as Prunus are usually assemblages, and their components are the same absent from pollen cores because they are pollinat­ as those found in the pollen cores. Deciduous ed by insects. Their presence and abundance in the oaks are not so important in the vegetation around charcoal diagram might be an effect of clearance Knossos, unlike the situation in western Crete. of the woodland caused by human activities and/or This is probably due to differences in the pre­ special treatment of these trees with an emphasis cipitation and topography of these two regions. on fruit collection. Changes in the vegetation and Western Crete is rainier, and within a few kilo­ evidence for the intensification of farming prac­ meters of the coast mountain peaks rise to more tices at Knossos occurred after more than 1,000 than 1,000 m of altitude, a situation that favors the years of Neolithic presence at the site, when, ac­ existence of different microclimates and micro­ cording to all the archaeological information, the environments with diverse vegetation and plant consolidation of the settlement took place. formations. These conditions probably contributed Concerning the olive tree, the pollen record to the proliferation of deciduous oak in the west­ from Crete diverges from the wood charcoal re­ ern parts of the island. As one moves to the east sults from Knossos. The earliest appearance of the conditions become relatively drier, perhaps ac­ the olive is in the Delphinos pollen diagram, counting for the lower representation of deciduous around 5000 b.c. (Bottema and Sarpaki 2003), oak in the wood charcoal diagram from Knossos. and after approximately 4500 b.c. it shows con­ Moreover, early and continuous human presence tinuous curves in all pollen cores. The Tersana at Knossos might also have restricted the growth pollen diagram documents the appearance and of deciduous oak, especially if Neolithic farmers increase of olive pollen grains from the MN on­ competed with these trees for the deeper soils of ward. Rackham and Moody (1996) argue that the the valley bottoms. wild olive is native to Crete, having survived gla­ Drier conditions around Knossos probably fa­ ciations in warm gorges and expanding later to vored the growth of evergreen oaks and xerophyt­ the coastal areas. At Neolithic Knossos the olive ic formations. Cretan pines, cypresses, and maples is completely lacking, probably because it did not might have grown in the nearby low mountains. In grow spontaneously in the area, nor was it deliber­ general terms, both the pollen cores and the char­ ately grown by humans. coal diagram attest to the existence of a mosaic of Wood charcoal analysis results from other woodland and open vegetation areas. Neolithic sites in Crete are not available, and there­ Evidence for changes in the vegetation appears fore the data from Knossos can only be compared and increases during the fifth millennium. In the to relevant information from a few other coastal pollen cores, the decrease of oak, the increase of areas and islands in the Aegean. Information for Ericaceae and plants associated with farming ac­ the vegetation during the second half of the sixth tivities, and, most importantly, the first appearance millennium comes from two sites in the northern of the olive are prominent indicators of human Aegean, the coastal site of Makri, Thrace, and the activities that would have caused changes in the settlement of Limenaria on the island of Thassos vegetation. By the end of EN II the charcoal di­ (Ntinou 2002a, 2012). Both these areas are located agram from Knossos shows similar characteris­ at a long distance from Crete and at a higher lati­ tics. Evergreen oaks decrease, while strawberry tude, which may explain the importance of decid­ trees (a member of the Ericaceae) and Prunus in­ uous oaks in their natural vegetation, contrasting crease, probably as a result of the opening of the with the dominance of evergreen oak woodland 116 ernestina badal and maria ntinou and xerophytic formations at Knossos. At Makri, give way to evergreen formations in response to evergreen oaks, lentisk, strawberry tree, and other latitude, temperature, and moisture. The present- thermophilous plants are absent. On the island of day evergreen maquis and the shiblyak forma­ Thassos all of the above-mentioned species are tions (associations of deciduous scrubs and short present, along with deciduous oaks. Farther to the trees as a result of the degradation of oak forests) south on the island of Youra, the Mesolithic hunter- of the northern areas may be interpreted as the re­ gatherers used the evergreen formations with sult of human activities that caused the substitution Phillyrea/Rhamnus and evergreen oaks early in or modification of the Holocene deciduous wood­ the Holocene, and the same vegetation thrived dur­ land through the millennia. At sites in the southern ing the Neolithic (Ntinou 2011). These vegetation­ latitudes such as those in the Sporades and Crete, a al characteristics are quite similar to the ones from mosaic of evergreen oak woodland and xerophyt­ Knossos and contrast with those from the northern ic formations formed the natural vegetation used latitudes. Thus, we can see a north–south transect by the human groups, who gradually transformed along which Mediterranean deciduous formations the landscape through their agricultural practices.

Conclusions

Wood charcoal analysis of the Neolithic depos­ firewood, although the valley of the river Kairatos its at Knossos was undertaken in order to describe would have been the main area of farming activity. the local vegetation and the way it was used by the Throughout the Neolithic, the Knossos settlers first settlers of the area. Although the small size of made use of the local vegetation for firewood. the excavation placed limitations on sampling and Changes relating to the density of the plant for­ recovery of detailed paleoenvironmental informa­ mations, especially the oak woodland, become tion, we believe that the charcoal results for the evident by the end of the EN II period, and they Neolithic sequence are coherent and in agreement should be interpreted in conjunction with the con­ with other lines of paleoenvironmental evidence. solidation of the settlement and human activi­ The area around the Neolithic settlement pre­ ties in the area. Among other farming activities, sented a variety of environments that are reflec­ted tree management or arboriculture of the almond/ in the identified plant taxa. A mosaic of evergreen Prunus sp. is reflected in the abundant remains of oak woodland and open plant formations was the these taxa. Such activities would have been the re­ most common plant cover in the area and the most sult of a longer process involving the adoption of extensively used by Neolithic people. Deciduous local resources in the diet. oaks were a rare component, probably associat­ It is remarkable that the olive, a typical compo­ ed with mature evergreen woodland and grow­ nent of the Mediterranean sclerophyllous forma­ ing in favorable places with deeper soils also tions, is absent from the wood charcoal of Neolithic used by Neolithic farmers. These deciduous trees Knossos. Without other charcoal or archaeobotani­ were widely used in the first Aceramic settlement. cal data from relevant chronological contexts, and Cretan pines and cypresses, characteristic spe­ given the late appearance of the olive in the pollen cies of the Cretan flora, would have grown in the cores from Crete, we are inclined to believe that nearby mountains. The riverside and saline envi­ the species did not grow and/or was not purposely ronments were seldom used for the gathering of grown in the area. wood charcoal analysis: the local vegetation 117 References

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