Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Vegetation History and Archaeobotany https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00723-8 SHORT COMMUNICATION The frst identifcation of Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) from Early Bronze Age Lebanon Alison Damick 1 Received: 1 February 2018 / Accepted: 18 March 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract This paper presents preliminary results of the analysis of phytolith evidence for Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) from Early Bronze Age occupation levels at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida on the north-central coast of modern Lebanon. Sediment samples were collected from a wide range of activity areas and contexts, but date palm only occurred in Early Bronze Age (EBIII) storage contexts, its earliest positive identifcation in the archaeological record of Lebanon. Tell Fadous-Kfarabida is a rela- tively small early urban settlement of only c. 1.5 ha, but evidence from 10 years of excavation suggests that it held a signif- cant administrative role in the agrarian economy of the Lebanese coastal plain. Archaeobotanical research is still relatively uncommon in the archaeology of Lebanon, but is beginning to make major contributions to better understand ancient plant use practices in the region. This short report contributes signifcantly to our understanding of the early pathways for the spread and use of date palm in 3rd millennium BCE Lebanon. Keywords Phytoliths · Early Bronze Age · Lebanon · Date palm · Storage Introduction Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) occurs naturally at springs and oases in the arid regions of southwest Asia and North Africa; it is also one of the oldest known cultivars of those regions. Throughout history it has played an important eco- nomic role in human societies of the regions and continues to do so in the present. Part of its economic signifcance comes from the fact that nearly all the parts of the plants can be used for commercially and socially valuable products. From the well-known fruit itself, to palm wine made from the sap, basketry, thatching and matting from the bark and fronds, and medicinal treatments derived from the roots, sap, fruit and leaves, the date palm is used in a number of useful and socially meaningful ways (Danin 1996; Zohary et al. 2012). The antiquity of its value is attested by the specifc regulation of date palm orchards in the Code of Hammu- rabi (Babylonian code of law, c. 1750 BCE) as well as the appearance of date palm as attributes of the deities Ishtar/ Astarte (Canaan), Dumuzi and Inanna (Sumeria), and Tam- muz (Babylonia), all associated with vegetation, fertility and abundance, and it is suspected by some to be the emblematic Assyrian “Tree of Life” (Fig. 1; Littleton 2005). Nonetheless, the pathway and timeline by which the date palm became cultivated in these regions remains unclear. Although P. dactylifera is now commonly grown throughout the Mediterranean and specifcally along the coast of Leba- non, this has not always been the case. Its arrival and spread in the area remains a question for researchers, as compre- hensive archaeobotanical evidence has only very recently been obtained that would allow its progression and use to be traced with any precision. P. dactylifera is a difcult plant to cultivate outside of its natural eco-zones, requiring specifc conditions throughout the growing period and not produc- ing fruit until it is at least fve years old. The story of its spread must therefore be understood as one of intentional progressive human negotiations with each other and their landscapes. As a step towards understanding that progress in the eastern Mediterranean, this paper presents the evidence of the earliest positively identifed P. dactylifera from secure archaeological contexts in Lebanon, namely, from the Early Bronze Age tell site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida. Communicated by A. Fairbairn. * Alison Damick a.damick@utexas.edu 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway Stop C3200, Austin, TX 78712, USA