Millet cultivation history in the French Alps as evidenced by a sedimentary molecule

We report on the detection, in a sediment core drilled in Lake Le Bourget (French Alps), of a fossil molecule (miliacin) that was synthesized by broomcorn millet cultivated in the watershed, and then exported to the sediment. The variation in abundance of this molecule allows us reconstructing the h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of archaeological science 2008-03, Vol.35 (3), p.814-820
Main Authors: Jacob, Jérémy, Disnar, Jean-Robert, Arnaud, Fabien, Chapron, Emmanuel, Debret, Maxime, Lallier-Vergès, Elisabeth, Desmet, Marc, Revel-Rolland, Marie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Bibliography
Bronze Age
domain_sde.mcg.cpe
Earth Sciences
Environmental Sciences
Generalities
Geochemistry
Global Changes
Holocene
Lake sediments
Land use
Millet
Molecular biomarker
Organisation and history of research
Prehistory and protohistory
Sciences of the Universe
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Summary:We report on the detection, in a sediment core drilled in Lake Le Bourget (French Alps), of a fossil molecule (miliacin) that was synthesized by broomcorn millet cultivated in the watershed, and then exported to the sediment. The variation in abundance of this molecule allows us reconstructing the history of millet cultivation around Lake Le Bourget. Our results support the introduction of millet around −1700 BC in the region. After an intensive cultivation during the Late Bronze Age, the failure of millet cropping during the Hallstatt period coincides with a phase of climatic deterioration. Millet cultivation recovers during the Roman and Mediaeval periods before falling most probably due to the introduction of more productive cereals. These pioneering results constitute the first continuous record of an agrarian activity covering the last 6000 years and emphasize the close relationships between local hydrology, land use and agro-pastoral activities around Lake Le Bourget.
ISSN:0305-4403
1095-9238
DOI:10.1016/j.jas.2007.06.006