Alpine influences on core crop package variation during the Neolithic: The Prealpine case study of Trou Arnaud, a Chasséen agropastoral cave within the Diois (Drôme)

This dissertation presents the results of archaeobotanical investigation into the Chasséen cave of Trou
Arnaud (Diois) (c.4460-4040 BC) within the context of Neolithic core crop variety in and around the
Alpine landscape. Cereal and legume crops were staples of the Neolithic subsistence economy across
western Europe, essential to human diet and livestock management. However, despite the
widespread importance of grains and pulses, agricultural practices were heterogenous and core crop
preferences were variable, fluctuating based on cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental
influences. This diversity was especially pertinent around the Alps. Particularly focusing on the
adaptation of agrarian strategy in marginal mid-mountain environments, this dissertation aimed to
understand the causes of diversity in Neolithic core crop packages. Broad-scale variation was
identified through a spatial analysis of existing crop macrofossil data from the circum-Alpine
landscape, while a reassessment of archaeobotanical macrofossils from Trou Arnaud acted as a case
study into the role of crops on Prealpine agropastoral caves during the Chasséen. Although
preferences towards certain crops appears partly culturally influenced, agricultural strategies were
adapted to maximise resilience and ensure reliable yields within the challenging environmental and
climatological constraints of the Alps. Inner Alpine sites often diverged from the practices of
contemporaneous lowland groups, preferring hardier, more adaptable crops. Trou Arnaud presented
a good example of this adaptation. While a predominance of Hordeum vulgare and Triticum
aestivum/durum/turdigum was characteristic of contemporaneous Chasséen sites in southern France,
glume wheats, particularly Triticum monococcum, were most significant at Trou Arnaud. This was
perhaps in response to the harsh environmental conditions experienced in the Diois, including late
frosts, strong winds, irregular precipitation, and the poor soil quality of the limestone slopes. Although
the primary function of the cave remains enigmatic, a reliance upon crops by Prealpine communities
is highlighted, and the integration of groups occupying marginal environments within the Chasséen
agropastoral economy is supported.