Early bronze age crop plants from Yenibademli Höyük (Gökçeada), Western Turkey

Carbonised plant remains discovered in the Early Bronze Age (II) levels of Yenibademli Höyük on Gökçeada, one of offshore islands of west Anatolia, are presented. Archaeobotanical analysis of the plant remains dating from ca. 2900-2600 BC yielded a broad spectrum of crop plants comprising cereals and legumes, the latter of which appears to be of greater importance in both range and abundance. Deliberate crop mixtures (maslins) consisting of bitter vetch/wheat, fava bean/barley and wheat/barley are deduced from the pattern of crop storage on the site. It is considered that the seeds of Lathyrus clymenum L. (Spanish vetchling) recovered in large amounts are the most ancient archaeobotanical samples of this domesticated legume found in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean sites so far.