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Abstract Recent excavations at Taraschina, south-eastern Romania, have revealed an extensive Chalcolithic settlement in the heart of the Danube Delta. Based on ceramic data, Taraschina was attributed to the Gumelniţa Culture and dated to the mid 5th millennium BC by radiocarbon dating. Phytolith analysis was conducted at Taraschina in order to reconstruct some activities carried out by the Chalcolithic populations in the Danube Delta. The study was undertaken on the site sediments, as well as on additional deposits sampled around the site by coring. The results show that phytoliths characterizing cereal processing are attested in archaeological deposits, as well as in the surrounding sequence. Our study highlights an important signal of cereal processing in the heart of the Danube Delta, 6000 years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains originating from the middle Holocene (i.e. Chalcolithic site of Poduri-Dealul Ghindaru, in Eastern Romania, Bacău County). Poduri-Dealul Ghindaru site is the only tell settlement known in the area of existence of the Cucuteni culture, with inhabitation levels from Neolithic to the Bronze Age. In order to better understand the diet components of the prehistoric inhabitation belonging to the Cucuteni A and Cucuteni B phases, we follow evidence from archaeozoology, carpology, and palynology. For the carpological taxa, we calculate their ubiquity, diversity, and edibility score. The two sets of taxa are then compared in their similarity. Palynological data record the presence of cereal grains in all samples. We present the archaeozoological taxa with their quantification values and we calculate for the Cucuteni A and B phases, and in comparison with the Bronze Age sample, their richness, Shannon–Weaver diversity index and equitability. A correspondence analysis is carried out in order to compare the exploitation strategies for the three assemblages. For the archaeobotanical data, we find that the Cucuteni A phase is dominated by anthropogenic activity indicators and a heavy reliance on cereals. The Cucuteni B phase seems to be characterized by a restriction of human activity. The archaeozoological data highlight a preference for large mammals (cattle, dear, boar) during Cucuteni A and BA and smaller mammals during Cucuteni B (sheep/goat, pig, hare). We conclude that although the subsistence strategies remain similar, the dietary components change during the Cucuteni A and B phases, probably in response to environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoliths and animal remains deriving from the Chalcolithic site of Răucești (Neamț County, Romania) are used for obtaining a set of data regarding the palaeoenvironment and the resources of subsistence that were available for the Cucutenian community from this settlement. The information obtained in this study is very important considering the precarious preservation state of the archaeological site that has been destroyed in a systematic manner due to agrarian works. Phytolith analysis discloses the dominance of spontaneous grasses, but the results also highlight the presence of grains inside the site. Thus, an open environment is delineated around the settlement, an image that is also testified by the archaezoological data. The analysis of animal remains brings in new clues regarding the palaeoeconomy of the settlement: animal husbandry and hunting were practiced by the Cucutenian community of Răucești. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research of pollen, spores, phytoliths and animal remains was performed in the Chalcolithic settlement (Cucuteni culture, Vth-IVth millennia cal B.C.) of Costeşti (Iaşi County, Romania). Archaeobotanical data are correlated with those of archaeozoology in order to achieve an understanding of the site formation processes, the economic and environmental contexts of the Chalcolithic settlement. Palynological analysis testified the presence of deciduous trees such as linden and oak. Willow, alder and birch probably inhabited banks of river whose course goes right near the site. Regarding the herbaceous plants, there were identified both spontaneous taxa and other taxa which could be cultivated. Cereal inflorescence phytoliths have been identified. In the archaeozoological sample, butchering and the manufacturing originated the fragmentation of remains. The majority of animal remains are from domestic mammals, with the predominance of sheep/goat, followed by cattle and pig. The hunting of wild mammals is less important in the food provisioning system; as game species, red deer, wild boar and aurochs are dominant. Harvesting of molluscs is testified by a very small number of remains. According to these data, the economy of the Chalcolithic settlement from Costeşti was based on the plant cultivation and animal husbandry, and also on forest and even aquatic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]