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Development of agriculture in Europe and the near east: Evidence from quantitative studies

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Abstract

Quantitative methods of analysis of the data accumulated by European archaeobotanists over the last 30 years allow the agricultural history of Europe and the Near East to be seen in a new perspective. The histories of the major crop plants appear to be fairly simple, but there seem to have been at least two kinds of free-threshing wheat in cultivation at different times in prehistoric Europe. The evidence suggests that rye was a secondary crop associated with the later of these wheats. While the patterns of crop exploitation seem interpretable in terms of natural ecology only in the very earliest periods, they appear to have cultural correlations and may have some archaeological significance.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, North East London Polytechnic, London, England

    R. N. L. B. Hubbard

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Hubbard, R.N.L.B. Development of agriculture in Europe and the near east: Evidence from quantitative studies. Econ Bot 34, 51–67 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02859554

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