[Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks Digest, Vol 20, Issue 45

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

> I have a question for you all. I am looking for someplace where I can find a list or research native foods of Scotland, mainly fruits and vegetables. Does anyone know of such a resource online? I do not have any money to buy a book at present and I just moved and do not know where the library is let alone have a library card. Thank you for any information you can offer up!

Hm... among the experts seem to be James H. Dickson, author of "Plants 
and People of Ancient Scotland". I'm looking for more information from 
him.. A bibliography of his writings are online at:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/ibls/DEEB/jd/ref.htm

You can look him up as J.H. Dickson in Google Scholar.

I'm inclosing a review of the book from the Journal Antiquity.

Also, there's an article in Nature from 1994 that might be helpful:
  	Flowers and funerals,
	P. D. Moore
Nature 369, 708 - 709 (1994). 

CAMILLA DICKSON & JAMES DICKSON. Plants and people in ancient Scotland. 
320 pages, 172 figures. 2000. Stroud: Tempus/ Charleston (SC): Arcadia; 
0-75241905-6 paperback 25 & $39.99.

This book represents an important new synthesis on the use of plants by 
humans in Scotland from the Mesolithic through to the end of the 
Medieval period. Past archaeobotanical syntheses for Scotland have 
concentrated on particular aspects, such as the presence of cereals or 
the reconstruction of Holocene woodland. However, the authors have 
attempted to address the full range of evidence and interpretation that 
can be gained from analysing plant micro- and macrofossils on a national 
scale, with laudable success.

Essentially, the book is split into two sections: the first comprises a 
chronological narrative of the use of plants by period and the second 
details 40 particularly noteworthy plants, both common and exotic. Most 
of the discussion is based on archaeobotanical remains from 
archaeological sites, with wider reference to the regional plant 
communities through pollen analysis and other sources of evidence, such 
as zooarchaeological assemblages, where appropriate. The structure is 
well laid out and the figures, appendices and references complement the 
readable and knowledgeable text.

The book opens with a review of the archaeobotanical research undertaken 
in Scotland prior to 1970 and the development of the palaeoenvironmental 
techniques that provide the basic data discussed thereafter. This 
introductory chapter refers to a series of appendices outlining the 
concepts of a number of sub-disciplines, such as archaeobotany and 
zooarchaeology, providing the non-specialist with the basic 
understanding needed to engage with the contents. Each chapter outlines 
the evidence and interpretation from the major site assemblages within a 
given period. A general synthesis is also provided, with more detailed 
discussion and new insights on particular topics, such as the 
interpretation of Small-leaved lime and Meadowsweet pollen in Bronze Age 
cists. The final chapter in this section summarizes the present state of 
knowledge for each period and suggests future avenues for research.

The second section details 40 case studies of significant species, 
explaining their formal name and outlining the plants' ecology, 
potential uses and presence, both chronologically and spatially, on 
archaeological sites across Scotland. For many of these plants, their 
present-day distribution and habitat across the British Isles is 
presented and discussed, highlighting the detailed palaeoecological 
reconstruction possible from both plant micro- and macrofossils. The 
plants covered in this section include those that are ubiquitous on most 
excavations where appropriate sampling has been undertaken, such as the 
cereals and more common trees and shrubs, to the rarer plants, such as 
the Cloudberry recovered from the Iron Age crannog at Oakbank, Loch Tay.

The book is a success for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is accessible 
to the specialist and nonspecialist, stimulating both initial interest, 
judging by the number of positive responses from undergraduates, and 
more complex ideas for those more familiar with the data set. Also, 
concerted attempts are made to integrate the regional pollen spectra and 
the on-site archaeobotanical assemblages, a process that can be 
routinely overlooked in specialist reports. This integration 
demonstrates the interpretive value of analysing charcoal and wood 
assemblages, from sites such as Skara Brae and the Howe on Orkney, that 
allow insights into the wood and timber procurement strategies practised 
in relatively open landscapes. Another important contribution of this 
book is the dissemination of unpublished material from sites awaiting 
publication. Also, the detailed discussions of research problems unique 
to Scottish archaeobotany, such as the deforestation of the Northern and 
Western Isles, are full of new ideas. However, the intellectual scope is 
not always restricted to Scotland as the excellent summary of the new 
plants introduced by the Romans demonstrates, through its wider 
comparisons to Roman/native interactions elsewhere on the frontiers of 
the Empire.

The value of this book can be demonstrated by the advances in knowledge 
over the past 30 years summarized in the concluding chapter of the 
chronological narrative. The authors have been at the forefront of this 
research and this book serves as a testament to their contribution. 
Camilla Dickson, who died in 1998, inspired and helped many people to 
develop interests in the archaeobotany of Scotland and this book will 
continue to do so in the future.


-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 
"The tumult and the shouting dies/ The captains and the kings depart
And we are left with large supplies / Of cold blancmange and 
	rhubarb tart." -- Ronald Knox