9
ABSTRACT
The aim of this review study was to analyse large paleo-botanical datasets derived from investigations of 35 archaeological 
sites and published during a longer time period. The presence of 18 selected crop taxa has been monitored in the region 
of Styria. Our results indicate that in the Copper Age, the cultivation and usage of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and 
the einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) was present. From the Bronze Age period, the most commonly grown taxa are 
barley (Hordeum vulgare), proso millet, emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and spelt wheat (Triticum spelta). In the Iron 
Age, some new crops emerged along with the already common foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and common flax (Linum 
usitatissimum), a species first found in Styria during this exact period. The importance of Roman period for Styria lies 
in the introduction of new taxa like the Persian walnut (Juglans regia), of which remnants were also found in the studied 
area. The late Antiquity and Middle Ages are a wide time frame where all important cereal taxa were already known from 
previous periods and were also grown in the studied area, with the exception of oat (Avena sativa) and durum wheat 
(Triticum durum), of which remnants were absent from this period. 
Key words: archaeobotany, biogeography, crop domestication, paleobotany, Styria
Agricultura 17: No 1-2: 9-17 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.18690/agricultura.17.1-2.9-17(2020)
*Correspondence to:
E-mail: andrej.pausic@um.si                                                                                                          Published in 2021
INTRODUCTION
One of the most dramatic processes in human history 
was the transition or human evolution from hunting and 
gathering to the stage of sedentism (cultivating plants). 
Between 13,000 and 10,500 years BP (before present), a 
group of humans in the area of the Near East began to change 
their lifestyle towards sedentism. At first, communities were 
most probably composed of hunter-gatherers practicing 
anticipatory mobility, whose aggregations gradually became 
permanent settlements, changing their way of life (Belfer-
Cohen and Bar-Y osef, 2002).
With the beginning of agriculture, around 10,500 years 
ago, dramatic changes took place in this longstanding way of 
life, as human societies independently domesticated a variety 
of different plants and animals (Jacomet, 2009) in more than 
a half dozen regions of the world. Food production arose 
independently in nine different areas of the world; in the 
Fertile Crescent, China, Mesoamerica, Andes/Amazonia, 
eastern United States, Sahel, tropical West Africa, Ethiopia 
and New Guinea (Diamond, 2002). Plant (and animal) 
domestication marks the beginning of the archaeological 
period known as the “Neolithic” .
The domestication centre, also known as the ‘Fertile 
Crescent’ is a region in southwest Asia, comprising the valleys 
of the Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan rivers and their adjacent 
hilly flanks. Eight species are considered to be domesticated 
founder crops in the Levant (i.e., the western “arc” of the 
Fertile Crescent). These are three cereals: the diploid einkorn 
wheat (Triticum monococcum L.), tetraploid emmer wheat 
(Triticum dicoccum Schrank ex Schübl.) and barley (Hordeum 
vulgare L.), four pulses; lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus), pea 
(Pisum sativum L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), bitter vetch 
(Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd.) and single oil and fibre crop of flax 
The Occurrence of Cultivated Plants in the Region of Styria from the 
Palaeolithic till the Middle Ages 
Andrej P AUŠIČ*, Andrej ŠUŠEK 
University of Maribor, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Pivola 10, 2311 Hoče, Slovenia

10
The Occurrence of Cultivated Plants in the Region of Styria from the Palaeolithic till the Middle Ages 
(Linum usitatissimum L.) (Weiss and Zohary, 2011).
The use of domesticated plants and animals rapidly spread 
widely from the Near East across Europe. It appears to have 
spread first to Greece and the Balkans and subsequently 
over the rest of Europe. Archaeological evidence produced 
by radiocarbon dating indicates, that the expanding velocity 
of farming is roughly constant all over Europe (Ammerman 
and Cavalli-Sforza, 1971; Ammerman and Cavalli-Sforza, 
1984; Gkiasta et al., 2003; Kabir et al., 2018). With the 
Neolithic agriculturalist spreading across Europe, in the early 
Holocene, from the southeast (c. 6000 B.C.) to the northwest 
(c. 3000 B.C.) (Higgs and Jarman, 1972; Jarman et al., 1982), 
the hunting-gathering way of life, which had prevailed there 
from the earliest times, was terminated.
In this study, we holistically describe the occourence/
presence of important crop taxa in the Central European 
area, on the example of the Styria region in Slovenia and 
Austria. The focus area of interest within this study covers 
mainly the hilly region of the now eastern and southwestern 
Austrian Styria and Slovenian Styria (Štajerska). The aim 
was to investigate large dataset of paleobotanical data that 
include all up to date known paleobotanical records from the 
studied area, from prehistory till the Middle Ages. Our main 
goal was to present the taxa and their occourence from each 
studied epoch per-se. Nowadays, the food production in the 
studied area is used not only to supply the population, but is 
an essential part of tourism. The results of our study could be 
used for the revitalization and utilization of indigenous crop 
species and their inclusion in tourism. The reintroduction 
of old crops leads to a greater biodiversity and allows local 
producers to offer new and for tourists attractive products, 
building their story on the local archaeological heritage.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The focus area of interest within this study covers mainly the 
region of Styria within its historical borders from before 1919, 
Figure 1. The map represents the studied area, the borders of Styria-Štajerska; the black dots represent the archaeological 
excavation sites included in this study

11
The Occurrence of Cultivated Plants in the Region of Styria from the Palaeolithic till the Middle Ages 
including parts of now eastern and south-western Austrian 
Styria and Slovenian Styria (Štajerska) (Fig. 1). Both parts of 
the studied area share similar ecological aspects, such as in 
geology, soil composition and climatic conditions. This led to 
similar historical developments in the food supply and thus 
in the social and cultural development of the region, which is 
also manifested in its rich archaeological heritage. According 
to orographic factors, Styria is in general divided into a larger 
north-western mountainous and alpine region and a smaller 
south-eastern hilly foreland. In Slovenia, the non-alpine 
region in the far northeast of the country, already bordering 
the region, coincides with the Panonian part of Europe, 
reflecting the increasing (sub) Pannonia biogeographical 
influences in the eastern part (Herbert, 2018). Our study 
does not cover excavations in alpine or mountainous areas of 
Styria, but is limited to the non-alpine part of the area, which 
is characterized by low absolute altitudes (rarely above 600 
m.a.s.l.) and relative altitudes (rarely above 300 m).
Within this study, we investigated the dataset of 
paleobotanical data from 35 archaeological study sites, some 
of which coincide with the same geographical locality. The 
remnants found at some archaeological sites chronologically 
coincide with more historical periods. Investigations at 
such sites were finalized in more archaeological sectors that 
coincided with different periods. The archaeological study 
sites were not organised in both parts (Slovenia, Austria) in 
the same number, but 28 are from Austria and 7 study sites 
are from Slovenia (Fig.1). Therefore, the prevailing number 
of material was found in Austria.
The data about the determined plant taxa found in study 
sites were obtained from the Inter-Arch Steiermark site 
(2021).
All the archaeological study sites, included in our study 
coincide or are located on the ravines, flatland areas or hilly-
ish regions that could be considered ecologically quite a 
homogenous space. We do not deal with the samples from 
the pre-Alpine or Alpine areas, nor from say the karstic fields 
or the Dinaric mountains. As the ecological conditions are 
quite the same in both parts of our studied area (Slovenia/
Austria), we did not separate those locations additionally in 
different clusters, regarding the orography or biogeographic 
characteristic of the terrain as the differences within each site 
are minor and had not had any influence on the occurrence of 
different farming practices in the studied epochs (like that of 
the hilly Alpine space, Pannonian basin or in Mediterranean 
areas).
Paleobotanical data were derived from six historical 
epochs: Chalcolithic or Copper Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age 
(the Hallstatt and the La-Tène periods), Roman period, 
Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The list of investigated 
archaeological study sites in the studied area with the 
attributed time frame period is presented in the Table 1.
Time epoch Archaeological excavation sites
Copper Age (4,400–2,300 BC) (1)*Leibnitz 66425.2; (2)Weiz 68239.1; (3)Graz 63019.4; (4)Pesnica 563.1
Bronze Age (2,300–900 BC)
(5)Leibnitz 66413.3; (6)Leoben 60312.1; (7)Liezen 67010.1; (8)Südoststeiermark 62151.2; 
(9)Maribor 694.1; (10)Maribor 706.1; (4)Pesnica 563.1
Iron Age (Hallstatt) 
(900–420 BC)
(11)Leibnitz 66003.11; (12)Leibnitz 66010.13; (13)Leibnitz 66011.2; (14)Leibnitz 66003.1; 
(15)Leibnitz 66023.5; (16)Leibnitz 66023.6; (17)Leibnitz 66147.1; (18)Leoben 60326.1; (19)
Murau 65318.1; (20)Murtal 65035.1; (21)Südoststeiermark 62113.1; (22)Maribor 679.1; (9)
Maribor 694.1; (23)Maribor 704.1; (24)Maribor 707.1; (4)Pesnica 563.1
Iron Age (La Tène) 
(600–01 BC)
(17)Leibnitz 66147.1; (25)Leibnitz 66172.4; (19)Murau 65318.1; (20)Murtal 65035.1; (10)
Maribor 706.1; (4)Pesnica 563.1
Roman period 
(01 BC–5 AD)
(26)Graz 63010.2; (27)Hartberg – Für. 64135.1; (28)Leibnitz 66011.6; (25)Leibnitz 66172.4; 
(29)Leibnitz 66188.1; (30)Leibnitz 66425.8; (10)Maribor 706.1; (31)Ptuj 400.10
Late Antiquity (5–7 AD) and 
Middle Ages (7–11 AD)
(32)Deutschlandsberg 61057.1; (33)Graz(city) 63101.11; (34)Graz 63254.10; (28)Leibnitz, 
66011.6; (25)Leibnitz 66172.4; (35)Murtal 61011.1
Table 1: List of investigated archaeological study sites, attributed with the time frame period
*The number in brackets represents the archaeological study site number, as shown on the map (Fig. 1). Each archaeological site is attributed with the archaeological 
site number. The plant material from some archaeological sites coincides with different time periods, depending on the researched soil layers.
We excluded from this study the potentially edible/usable 
plants taxa, that were found at the archaeological sites, since 
we do not have any information about their usage in the past 
(like parsnip, (Pastinaca sativa L.), wild carrot (Daucus carota 
L.) and species from the genera Atriplex, Brassica, Polygonum, 
Sinapis etc.). By now we know those plants are either edible, 
useful as herbs or even as medical plants. However, we lack 
any evidence about the usage in the observed time scale. 
There is some evidence of usage of mentioned herbs in the 
Roman cuisine, but those were still rather taxa collected by 
locals in nature and not grown in their gardens. Even for that 
we completely lack any evidence, for say the Bronze Age. We 
additionally excluded edible taxa that were found only in one 
location– once in only one-time epoch (e.g. pomegranate, 
Punica granatum L.) as we do not have enough information 
about the trade and usage of taxa through the broader area 
of study.
RESULTS
A total of 500 plant remnants were found at 35 study sites 
in the studied area, belonging to different time epochs. To 
simplify our additional analysis of data, we appended all the 

12
data with a time frame attribute (Fig. 2). Most of the remnants 
were identified from the archaeological sites, belonging to 
the Iron Age (from Hallstatt period 109 remnants and from 
La Tène period 75 remnants), Late Antiquity and the Middle 
Ages (116 plant remnants), and from the Bronze age (108 
plant remnants). From the Copper Age and Roman period 
only 20 and 72 remnants were found respectively. Therefore, 
the Copper Age represents a time frame, the least remnants 
were found.
Figure 2: Number of determined plant taxa per time epoch in the studied area of Styria 
Through all the investigated time epochs, 18 plant taxa 
were found that were possibly a staple diet and therefore 
cultivated by farmers during the observed time frame (Table 
2). Some taxa were of course absent in the early time epochs 
and present in later epochs (and vice-versa). The taxa were 
divided into four ‘artificial’ categories, which do not follow the 
morphological characteristics or phylogenetics of taxa and 
are rather a simplified representation of the results: 1) cereals 
and other taxa from the Poaceae family, 2) pulses, 3) trees and 
shrubs and 4) other cultivated species, morphologically and 
genetically unrelated annual plant taxa.
For the purpose of studying the occurrence of each plant 
species, we appended the time frame (in which the species 
were found at the archaeological sites of the studied area) to 
each studied plant species (Table 2). It helped us to get a good 
insight into the occurrence of particular taxon throughout the 
studied time frame. Additionally, we added the information 
about the number of studied sites and the species found in a 
particular time epoch.
DISCUSSION
Our study indicates a particular trend of occurrence of 
species remnants in the observed time frame. 
In the Neolithic (Stone Age), which began in Styria at 
about 6,000 BC, first attempts of farming in this part of 
Europe became evident. For the first time man changed 
the landscape structure at a bigger scale (the Neolithic 
revolution), although not as dramatically as in the following 
time periods (Jacomet, 2009). Currently, we do not own large 
datasets of determined archaeobotanical material from this 
time epoch in Styria (Lenneis, 2001).
The Chalcolithic or Copper Age (4,400–2,300 BC). 
Although there are not many archeobotanical remnants left 
from that period in the region of Styria (Culiberg, 1999), our 
study clearly shows the presence of two important crop taxa 
from that time frame. During the excavations, the remnants 
of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) and einkorn wheat (T. 
monococcum) were found in the studied area. The remnants 
of both taxa were found at two different archaeological 
excavation sites (Table 2).
However, in the central part of Slovenia (Ljubljana Moor) 
the remains of domestic plants such as barley (H. vulgare), 
einkorn wheat (T. monococcum), emmer (T. dicoccum), 
garden or opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.), common 
oat (Avena sativa L.) and even remnants from wild grapevine 
seed (Vitis vinifera ssp. Sylvestris L.) indicate their early 
cultivation in that area (Jeraj et al., 2008). Also in Central and 
South Croatia, a dominance in einkorn and emmer wheat can 
be observed, followed by barley. Less frequent were findings 
of proso millet (P . miliaceum) and spelt (Triticum spelta L.), 
but due to their limited numbers, it is less clear whether 
they were grown as crops or represented weeds. Pulses (e.g. 
lentil, pea and grass pea), fruit remains, wild plants and weed 
species were also found, although more commonly from the 
late Copper Age sites (Reed, 2016). 
The Occurrence of Cultivated Plants in the Region of Styria from the Palaeolithic till the Middle Ages 

13
Taxon/ Sc. Name English name
Copper Age 
(4,400–2,300 BC )
Bronze Age 
(2,300–900 BC )
Iron Age 
(Hallstatt)
(900–420 BC)
Iron Age (La Tène)
(600–01 BC)
Roman period 
(01 BC–5 AD)
Late Antiquity 
(5–7 AD) and 
Middle Ages (7–11 
AD)
Cereals
Avena sativa L. Oat 2
Hordeum vulgare L. Barley 6 9 5 6 3
     Panicum miliaceum L. Proso millet 2 6 9 3 5 4
Secale cereale L. Rye 1 1 1 6
Setaria italica (L.) P . Beauvois Foxtail millet 4 6 3 3 3
Triticum aestivum L. Wheat 2 1 2 4 1
Triticum dicoccon (Schrank) Schuebl. Emmer 5 9 1 2 2
Triticum durum Desf. Durum wheat 1 3 1
Triticum monococcum L. Einkorn wheat 2 2 1 3 2
Triticum spelta L. Spelt wheat 4 5 2 3 2
Trees and shrubs
Juglans regia L. Persian walnut 2 3
Prunus persica (L.) Siebold & Zucc. Peach 3
Vitis vinifera L. Grape vine 6 2 3 3 2
Pulses
Lens culinaris Medik. Lentil 9 7 1 1 7
Pisum sativum L. Pea 1 1 1 3
Vicia faba L. Broad bean 2 2 1 1 3
Other
Linum usitatissimum L. Common flax 2 2 1
Papaver somniferum L. Opium poppy 3 2 1
Table 2: The most important crop taxa in Styria through observed time periods, corresponding with the number of study sites 
the taxa were found
The Bronze Age (2,300–900 BC) is a period from which 
large quantities of archaeobotanical material were already 
found. From that period 108 plant remnants were found in 
Styria, belonging to 14 different taxa (Table 2). According to 
the number of study sites where plant remains were found, we 
can conclude that lentil (L. culinaris) (found at 9 study sites), 
barley (H. vulgare) and proso millet (P . miliaceum) (both taxa 
were found at 6 study sites), emmer (T. dicoccum) (found at 
5 study sites), foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P . Beauvois) 
and spelt wheat (T. spelta) (fund at 4 study sites) were the 
most important cultivated plants in human nutrition during 
this period.
Other cereals that were identified were emmer (T. 
monococcum), common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), 
durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) and rye (Secale cereale 
L.). From the group of trees and shrubs, remnants of the wild 
grapevine-seed (V . vinifera ssp. sylvestris) were identified at 6 
study sites. From pulses, plant remains of broad bean (Vicia 
faba L.), peas (P. s a t i v u m ) and also seeds of the garden poppy 
(P . somniferum) were found.
Other studies conclude that in the broader Central European 
area, spelt wheat (T. spelta), emmer (T. monococcum), durum 
wheat (T. durum), common wheat (T. aestivum), as well as 
foxtail millet (S. italica), proso millet (P . miliaceum) and some 
legumes (Vicia spp.) were already known to local farmers, 
sown and used as an everyday food source (Stika and Heiss, 
2013; Reed, 2016)
Our study suggests that this period is one of the most 
important epochs in Styria, since one can find an astonishing 
array of cultivated plant taxa in the studied area. It is therefore 
evident that with the Bronze age, the ‘farmers’ in the studied 
area already produced and consumed crop taxa that were 
important up until the Middle Ages.
The Iron Age (900 BC–01 BC). If we merge the Hallstatt 
and La Tène periods, our result show that in Styria, the most 
important crops were barley (H. vulgare) (found at 14 sites), 
proso millet (P . miliaceum) (found at 12 sites), emmer wheat (T. 
dicoccum) (found at 10 sites), foxtail millet (S. italica) (found at 
The Occurrence of Cultivated Plants in the Region of Styria from the Palaeolithic till the Middle Ages 

14
9 sites), lentil (L. culinaris) (found at 8 sites) and spelt wheat 
(T. spelta) (found at 7 sites).
The plant remnants of rye (S. cereale), wheat (T. aestivum), 
durum wheat (T. durum) and einkorn wheat (T. monococcum) 
indicate that these cereal plant species were also grown in the 
area. Only in the Hallstatt period, and during no later period, 
the remains of oats (A. sativa) were found. 
From the same period, oat was found in some Central 
Alpine regions and in France (Paušič and Šušek, 2020). 
Therefore, we assume that this taxon was already wide spread 
in that period.
Common flax (L. usitatissimum) was observed for the first 
time in this period (Table 2). Additional plant remains of 
grape vine, pea, broad bean and garden poppy (P . somniferum) 
were found also during the excavations of Iron Age sites from 
this period.
Our findings coincide with some other studies that highlight 
the importance of the two primitive wheat taxa, einkorn (T. 
monococcum) and emmer (T. dicoccum) which were the most 
important taxa at that time in Europe. Studies show that 
einkorn was mainly grown in the southern facing slopes or 
lover places, while emmer was a staple throughout the region 
(Alonso and Bouby, 2017; Paušič and Šušek, 2020).
Spelt and einkorn wheats need less nitrogen than modern 
crops and are very resistant to weed competition. The 
importance of emmer lay principally in its ability to tolerate 
a wide variety of soil and climatic conditions; it also makes 
fewer demands regarding mineral and other chemical 
properties on the soil than some other cereals (Paušič and 
Šušek, 2020).
The other, indeed important cereal grown in the Iron Age 
in the broader region of Styria, was barley (highest abundance 
rate in the Hallstatt epoch, Table 2). Barley divided into two-
row and six-row forms, respectively H. vulgare - distichum and 
H. vulgare - hexastichum, both of which could be hulled (with 
the husks attached to the grains) or naked. The early history 
of these two taxa is rather obscure. The naked and hulled 
barleys seem to have been important in the earlier phases of 
cereal cultivation in Europe, whereas the hulled varieties were 
preferred in later phases as threshing technology improved 
(Stika and Heiss, 2013; Paušič and Šušek, 2020). Both taxa 
were found during excavations in Central France, the Central 
Alpine area and in Styria (Paušič and Šušek, 2020). Therefore, 
we can conclude that those species were already widespread 
in the Central European area at that time. 
Proso millet (P . miliaceum) is a prevailing crop species, 
as it is evident from our study. The species is best suited for 
relatively dry, sandy soils. It has a short growing season and 
was especially important in Central and Southern Europe as 
a crop that could be sown in the spring and would ripen in 
the time of the summer harvest. In the early Iron Age, it may 
have been taken into cultivation first in the Balkans (Zohary 
et al., 2012). Proso millet was found also at other central 
European excavation sites and even in the Alpine areas of 
northern Italy (South Tyrol) (Heiss et al., 2005). 
Oats (A. sativa) and rye (S. cereale) are thought to have 
accompanied wheat and barley into Europe as weeds. They 
began to be cultivated in the Iron Age in Styria at a significant 
rate, usually at higher elevations. Optimum conditions for 
oats resemble those of wheat, but oats can ripen under wetter 
conditions and on more acidic soils, and so can be grown 
successfully where wheat cannot thrive - for example, in the 
higher settlement of the Styrian Alps (Schmidl et al., 2007).
The excavations at the Iron Age sites in the region of Styria 
show that they belong to cereals, but legumes were important 
too. The primary importance of legumes for the farmer is 
that these crops take nitrogen from the air and, through the 
symbiotic bacteria in the roots, feed both themselves and 
the soil. Legumes are of two morphological categories; the 
taxa that are sown annually, such as peas (Pisum sp.), broad 
beans (V . faba) and lupins (Lupinus spp.); and clovers which 
stand for several seasons, such as Trifolium sp. The lentil (L. 
culinaris) as well as the broad bean (V . faba) seed was found 
at many archaeological Iron Age sites and are therefore 
considered to be important pulse taxa, that were common 
(cultivated) in the studied area. Other studies indicate that 
the above mentioned taxa like the broad bean and the pea 
occurred regularly in alpine and prealpine regions of Central 
Europe and supplemented the diet of prehistoric settlers at 
that time (Barker, 1985; Schmidl et al., 2007).
With the addition of all the taxa cultivated at higher 
elevations of Styria (Alpine belt), other, more thermophylous 
were cultivated in flatland areas, taxa as common flax 
(L. usitatissimum) and breadseed or opium poppy (P . 
somniferum). Remnants of those species were found during 
excavations in the studied area (Hack, 2002; Šoštarić et al., 
2009; Šoštarić et al., 2017).
In Styria, throughout the Roman time (01 BC–5 AD), 
some important crops from previous epochs were still used 
as staple crops. According to the results of our study based on 
72 remnants found at 8 study sites (Table 1, Fig. 2), the most 
frequently found cereals were barley (H. vulgare), which 
remnants were found at 6 study sites, followed by proso 
millet (P . miliaceum) (found at 5 study sites), common wheat 
(T. aestivum), foxtail millet and spelt wheat (all were found 
at 3 study sites). Interestingly, the remnants of rye (S. cereale) 
and einkorn wheat (T. monococcum) were not found at the 
archaeological sites of the studied area for that time frame 
(Table 2). 
Another fact worth mentioning is that pulses were 
identified in the studied area in low quantities, compared to 
the findings from older time intervals (Table 2). This is the 
first time the remnants of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) 
were found in the studied area.
Many studies indicate that with the modernisation 
of road systems and better logistics it is possible to find 
archaeobotanical remnants of taxa used by Romans that 
otherwise do not thrive at northern latitudes of the studied 
area. The Romans included figs (Ficus carica L.), olives (Olea 
europaea L.), dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and other “exotic” , 
non-native taxa in their daily diet, grown in their southern 
provinces. Even in Styria, some studies mention the findings 
of fig fruit and olive kernel remnants (Neef et al., 2012). 
Interestingly, from this period we do not have any evidence 
for the presence of the common flax and the garden poppy 
in Styria (Table 2), which does not mean those taxa were not 
present here at that time. Simply, there are too many factors 
which influence the presence of a particular archaeobotanical 
remnant in a particular place. 
Our study shows that in the late Antiquity and Middle 
The Occurrence of Cultivated Plants in the Region of Styria from the Palaeolithic till the Middle Ages 

15
Ages (start from around 5 AD), the remnants of lentil (L. 
culinaris) (found at 7 archaeeological sites) and rye (S. cereale) 
(found at 6 archaeological sites) have the highest abundance 
rates, followed by proso millet (P . miliaceum) (found at 4 
sites) (Table 2). 
One can conclude that basically all other cereal taxa, known 
from previous periods, also grew in this time frame. The 
exceptions are oat (A. sativa) and durum wheat (T. durum), 
which were not found for this time frame. 
Some cultivars of plums and apples emerged as well as pear 
varieties with larger fruits, that were brought to the broader 
Central European area via trade routes. However, we have 
not found evidence of mass spread of these taxa, with the 
exception of three remnants of peach seed (Prunus persica 
(L.) Siebold & Zucc)(Neef et al., 2012).
CONCLUSIONS
This study was primarily based on the occurrence analysis 
of the most important crop taxa in the studied area over a 
larger time period. The study shows a clear presence of some 
crops in all of the observed time periods, while some other 
taxa (e.g., the oat remnants) were found only in one or two of 
the studied time periods. 
Importantly some methodological issues and limitations 
of the data interpretation clearly stand out. First of all, the 
area of study was not excavated evenly. The material came 
only from archaeological sites, which were linked to major 
settlements from a particular time. We do not have enough 
data, or no data at all, for parts of particular time periods. 
Consequently, we are not able to generalize results, nor 
produce any specific conclusions. We are able to solely say 
that the taxa occurred (or did not occur) in the studied period 
A at place X. The second issue is that not all archaeological 
sites were investigated through all epochs or time frames. 
As a result, we sometimes have an open time window, for 
which we do not have any data. Lastly, our large datasets 
(the base we gained information from) often contained 
false determinations of taxa that were excluded at the end (a 
normal procedure in paleo botany, but all those data could 
not be used at the end). All those facts should be taken into 
account when interpreting the results and preparing any 
interregional and regional comparisons.
With the help of botanical evidence and paleobotanical 
remnants, we do know today that the majority of planted 
crop taxa used by the first Central European farmers were 
not native to that area. We also know that, apart from 
animals (cattle, dogs and pigs), the rest of the important 
cultivated plants (e.g., emmer, einkorn, barley, legumes 
etc.) and livestock from the Neolithic were most probably 
first domesticated in the Near East. Therefore, the simplest 
mechanism for the first entry and the subsequent spread 
across Europe of these “exotic” species, were most likely the 
migrations of colonising farmers and their trade.
The results of our study indicate that people in Styria 
certainly used proso millet and einkorn wheat in their staple 
diet during the Copper Age. Since these are non-native 
plant taxa (they were domesticated and were brought to the 
Central European area from the Middle East) and could not 
be harvested in the wild, we can conclude with certainty that 
those two taxa were among the first cultivated plants in Styria. 
The production of cultivated plants increased in the Bronze 
Age. During this period, which lasted from 2,300 to 900 BC in 
Styria, we found all cultivated plants that were used in the diet 
even later throughout all time periods up to the Middle Ages. 
Among the 9 different cereals, barley, proso millet, emmer 
wheat, foxtail millet, and spelt wheat were most commonly 
found. In addition to cereals, legumes were also used and 
grown, mainly lentils, broad beans and peas. In addition, we 
also found garden poppy and grape seed.
The importance of individual cultivated plants could be 
defined according to the number of sites where its remains 
were found. Plant that residues found at a number of sites was 
probably more commonly used in the diet. In the period from 
the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages, we found that the most 
commonly grown cereals were barley, proso millet, emmer 
wheat, einkorn wheat, fox tail millet and spelt wheat. Of the 
legumes, lentil is the single most commonly found taxon, 
followed by broad bean and peas. The remnants of grape wine 
seed also occurred frequently throughout the observed time 
frame.
At the end it is important to mention the importance of 
native, wild fruit bearing species, which were consumed by 
local inhabitants during all observed time periods and are 
important for local cuisine even today (Colledge and Conolly, 
2014). Some of the prominent native, wild-fruit bearing taxa 
(collected and used as a food source in the studied area from 
prehistory on) are: wild apple (Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill.), hazel 
nuts (Corylus avellana L.), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa 
Mill.), strawberries (Fragaria spp.), raspberry (Rubus idaeus 
L.), black elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.), blackthorn (Prunus 
spinosa L.), cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.), wild cherry 
(Prunus avium L.), service tree (Sorbus domestica L.), as well as 
many native herbal species. 
However, wild plants obtained from foraging activities 
were also a component of subsistence economies and diets 
throughout the studied time periods. Since all those taxa belong 
to the native flora of the studied area and were already present 
in the forest and meadow communities from the prehistory 
onwards, we decided to exclude them from our study.
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Pojavnost gojenih rastlin na področju Štajerske od paleolitika do 
srednjega veka
IZVLEČEK
V delu so zbrani arheobotanični popisi rastlinskih makroostankov, najdenih v arheoloških grobiščih širšega območja Štajerske. 
Glavni namen tega preglednega članka je predstaviti najpomembnejše kultivirane rastline, ki jih je človek gojil v omenjeni regiji, v 
daljšem časovnem obdobju ali časovnem oknu. Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da je človek na območju Štajerske gojil proso (Panicum 
miliaceum) in pšenico enozrnico (Triticum monococcum), že v bakreni dobi. V bronasti dobi na omenjenem območju zasledimo 
rastlinske makroostanke ječmena (Hordeum vulgare) in pire (Triticum spelta), ter ostanke pšenice enozrnice in prosa. Železna 
doba je čas, ko na območju raziskav najdemo ostanke novih vrst poljščin. To sta laški muhvič (Setaria italica) in navadni lan 
(Linum usitatissimum). Za Štajersko je pomembno Rimsko obdobje, ko v regiji prvič najdemo makroostanke plodu navadnega 
oreha (Juglans regia). V antičnem obdobju ter v srednjem veku se v regiji pojavljajo številne pomembne vrste poljščin iz prejšnjih 
zgodovinskih obdobij, z izjemo ovsa (Avena sativa) in trde pšenice (Triticum durum), katerih rastlinski ostanki v obravnavanih 
grobiščih niso bili najdeni.
Ključne besede: arheobotanika, biogeografija, domestikacija poljščin, paleobotanika, Štajerska 
The Occurrence of Cultivated Plants in the Region of Styria from the Palaeolithic till the Middle Ages