Optimal use of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) during Antiquity: anatomical identification of plant remains from Madâ in Sâlih (Saudi Arabia)

• Autores: Charlène Bouchaud, Romain Thomas, Margareta Tengberg
• Localización: Saguntum: Papeles del Laboratorio de Arqueología de Valencia-Extra, ISSN 2253-7295, ISSN-e 2254-0512, Nº. Extra 13, 2012 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Wood and charcoal evidence for human and natural history), págs. 173-186
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Ethnographic observations, literary sources and plant remains underline the usefulness of the date palm products and by-pro- ducts, from at least the Bronze Age until today. Recent anatomical works on modern palms enable us to identify various genera of palms and the different parts of these plants: stem, petiole and lamina. Practical application of these anatomical studies is applied for the first time at the archaeological site of Madâ�in Sâlih (Saudi Arabia) where charred plants have been found in domestic contexts dating from at least the 2nd century B.C. until the 7th century A.D. Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) dominates the assemblage. Petiole and midrib remains are more often testified than stem fragments. These results are discussed in terms of plant use and fuel economy.