Flax for seed or fibre use? Flax capsules from ancient Egyptian sites (3rd millennium BC to second century AD) compared with modern flax genebank accessions (original) (raw)
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In order to determine whether ancient Egyptians had already selected and cultivated very specialized flax types according to their purpose for textile or oil production we compared archaeobotanical flax finds that are kept at the Botanical Museum of the Free University in Berlin, Germany with diverse genebank accessions kept at the Plant Gene Resources of Canada (PGRC). The main result was that fibre flax was most probably already cultivated in Egypt during the the 3rd millennium BC, whereas in all later periods an intermediate flax and/or oil type was in use. The collaboration between archaeobotanists and genebank curators shows how knowledge about ancient usage of plants can be generated by interpreting observations made on ancient findings using characterization data obtained from diverse genebank material.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
For thousands of years, flax was a winter crop of major importance in the ancient Levant, second only to wheat and barley. It was cultivated from the beginning of the early Neolithic period through to Roman times and it is still grown there today. Flax seeds (linseed) contain high concentrations of two essential polyunsaturated fatty acids—linoleic acid (ω-6) and α-linolenic acid (ω-3), which cannot be produced by the human body. Their oxidation occurs rapidly in the air. So, long term storage of linseed needed airtight containers, and tightly stoppered bottles could be used to keep its oil as a remedy. However, were flax seeds consumed as a food, oil or medicament in ancient periods? How commonly were flax seeds eaten? From archaeobotanical finds of flax seed, it is difficult to determine whether the flax was cultivated for fibres alone or for its seeds that can be cold-pressed to release the valuable oil. We have therefore studied ancient written documents describing various uses of flax seeds, including their consumption as a food supplement and uses in medical applications. We conclude that until recently flax was grown primarily for textile fibres, and only smaller quantities of flax seeds were consumed. So, the flax seed finds from the early Iron Age site of Tel Beth-Shean also represent seed consumption or oil extraction.
Textile Society of America 2014 Biennial Symposium Proceedings: New Directions: Examining the Past, Creating the Future, 2014
Flax (Linum sp.) was one of the first domestic plants in Neolithic Europe, providing a potential cultivable source of fibres for the first farmers. As the plant provides both oil and fibre, it is a matter of enquiry as to whether the plant was first domesticated for its seeds or stem. Through examining new data collected by the EUROEVOL Project, UCL it is possible to chart the earliest archaeobotanical evidence for flax species in Europe. This provides the basis on which to consider the origin of fibres from the flax plant (linen) as a basis for change and innovation in the fibre resources used for textiles. These are then explored from a technological and material perspective. From a technological perspective I compare the chaîne opératoire of linen with contemporary sources of fibre, namely tree bast fibres and other wild resources in central and northern Europe. From a material perspective I compare the physical properties of linen, willow and lime bast fibres together with observations from experimental archaeology to consider the material qualities of the linen in relation to other available fibres resources. Through these approaches this paper suggests that flax had a special role as a fibre domesticate in Europe, providing a versatile, valuable resource for the production and use of textiles during the Neolithic period.
Israel Journal of Plant Sciences, 2014
Flax (Linum usitatissimum, 2n = 30) is considered as the first fiber and oil crop of Neolithic Near Eastern agriculture and is often mentioned as one of the Near Eastern Neolithic “founder crops” assemblage. Wild flax fibers were recovered from a 30,000-year-old Upper Paleolithic site in Georgia, suggesting that the utilization of wild flax by Old World hunter–gatherer societies pre-dates the Neolithic agricultural revolution. We examined the potential of a wild flax species (L. pubescens, 2n = 18), an abundant element in open plant formations in Israel, as a source of fibers. Whole plants were pulled by hand in two sites in the eastern Galilee, Israel, during May 2006 and May 2007. The roots, stems and inflorescences of the collected plants were separated, dried and weighed. Fibers were extracted by retting and hammering the stems, dried, weighed and yarn was spun. Because Linum pubescens is not the wild progenitor of domesticated flax but rather a distantly related wild relative, ...