Plant remains might play an important role to fully understand ritual processes in ancient societies. Despite of their recovery was neglected in old excavations, some of the plant remains and iconographic information collected can shed...
morePlant remains might play an important role to fully understand ritual processes in ancient societies. Despite of their recovery was neglected in old excavations, some of the plant remains and iconographic information collected can shed light on the role played by plants in Iron Age ritual activities. The characteristics of the plants, their color, taste, smell, blooming season and other special features, might have played a decisive role in forming notions about the plants and their role in rituals. Their use in these ceremonies could have made stronger the connection among performers, as well as the connection between the performers and their deads, ancestors and divinities, and their landscape.
Here we report on the study of ritual contexts located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain dating from the 6th to the 1st centuries BC. Many botanical remains and iconographic evidence have been documented in necropolis and other urban and rural sacred spaces, where mainly fruits, but also cereals and wild plants have been recorded. The work presented here is part of the interdisciplinary project From the real to the imagery: Approaching the Iberian Iron Age Flora (HUM2004-04939), which has a large record of plant evidence in Iberian Iron Age sites. Combining a multi-proxy paleobotanical approach, based on anthracology, palynology and carpology, as well as iconography, we aim at reconstructing the use of plants and their symbolism in the Iberian societies to further understand their natural and sensorial history.
