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SUMMARY:Understanding the formation of early weed floras in the Neolithic 
 period in southwest Asia - Alexander Weide - University of Cambridge\, arc
 haeology department
DTSTART:20241108T130000Z
DTEND:20241108T140000Z
UID:TALK221674@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sainsbury Laboratory
DESCRIPTION:Ecologically\, weeds are annuals or short-lived perennials tha
 t grow in disturbed habitats\, where they can inform about processes relat
 ed to soil disturbance and habitat productivity. This makes archaeobotanic
 al remains of weeds valuable for understanding the development of disturba
 nce-related activities in the past\, such as the early development of plan
 t cultivation during the Neolithic period. Crucially\, in southwest Asia\,
  most species that successfully reproduce in crop fields also grow in habi
 tats subjected to various types of ‘natural’ disturbance\, which makes
  it impossible to isolate individual taxa as markers for initial cultivati
 on. We challenge this problem using plant functional ecology\, and present
  the results of two research projects that focused on understanding soil d
 isturbance and productivity in modern grasslands and ‘traditionally’ m
 anaged arable fields in the Levant. The constructed ecological models dist
 inguish between these modern habitats\, and our results suggest that they 
 also successfully identify conditions of soil disturbance and productivity
  from archaeobotanical weed assemblages dating to the early and late Neoli
 thic periods (ca. 12\,000 - 8\,250 cal. BP). Moreover\, our models can ide
 ntify self-shading as an ecological factor\, which characterises some of t
 he surveyed grasslands and may represent an indicator of vegetation densit
 y. Taken together\, plant functional ecology provides a promising tool for
  understanding agro-ecological processes in the formation of early weed fl
 oras\, which we can use to reconstruct specific plant management practices
  that underpin crop domestication and the economic strategies of the world
 's first farmers.
LOCATION:Zoom or in-person at Sainsbury Laboratory\, 47 Bateman St\, Cambr
 idge CB2 1LR
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