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<p>This study examines subsistence strategies in a coastal landscape of the Late Bronze Age Baltic and the associated landscape changes resulting from agricultural activity. It focuses on Kukuliškiai (ca. 800–400 cal <span>bc</span>), an archaeological site in western Lithuania with exceptional organic preservation. The site has yielded evidence of bronze casting, amber collection, and Scandinavian-style ceramics, highlighting its participation in <i>circum-Baltic</i> exchange networks. Crucially, Kukuliškiai also produced an exceptionally rich archaeobotanical assemblage, which, together with zooarchaeological data and stable carbon (δ<sup>13</sup>C) and nitrogen (δ<sup>15</sup>N) isotope analyses, allows detailed reconstruction of agricultural practices and landscape transformation in a dynamic coastal setting. The results reveal that the local population cultivated a diverse crop repertoire, including cereals, pulses, and oil/fibre plants. <i>Hordeum vulgare</i> (barley) and <i>Panicum miliaceum</i> (broomcorn millet) were dominant, but <i>Hordeum vulgare</i> var. <i>nudum</i> (naked barley) was particularly prevalent—an unusual pattern for the southeast Baltic. The crop package also contains some of the earliest regional evidence for <i>Lens culinaris</i> (lentil), <i>Pisum sativum</i> (pea), <i>Camelina sativa</i> (false flax), and directly dated <i>Linum usitatissumum</i> (flax) seeds. δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N values indicate that cereals were grown under favourable conditions, reflecting effective management of a challenging sandy coastal environment. However, archaeological and stratigraphic evidence shows that intensive agriculture gradually destabilised the landscape, ultimately rendering the settlement increasingly untenable.</p>

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Paradise lost: the rise and fall of the Late Bronze Age coastal farmers at Kukuliškiai, NW Lithuania

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月8日

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  • Karolis Minkevičius,
  • Giedrė Piličiauskienė,
  • Miglė Urbonaitė-Ubė,
  • Welmoed A. Out,
  • Peter Hambro Mikkelsen,
  • Peter Mose Jensen,
  • Elena Pranckėnaitė

摘要

This study examines subsistence strategies in a coastal landscape of the Late Bronze Age Baltic and the associated landscape changes resulting from agricultural activity. It focuses on Kukuliškiai (ca. 800–400 cal bc), an archaeological site in western Lithuania with exceptional organic preservation. The site has yielded evidence of bronze casting, amber collection, and Scandinavian-style ceramics, highlighting its participation in circum-Baltic exchange networks. Crucially, Kukuliškiai also produced an exceptionally rich archaeobotanical assemblage, which, together with zooarchaeological data and stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analyses, allows detailed reconstruction of agricultural practices and landscape transformation in a dynamic coastal setting. The results reveal that the local population cultivated a diverse crop repertoire, including cereals, pulses, and oil/fibre plants. Hordeum vulgare (barley) and Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet) were dominant, but Hordeum vulgare var. nudum (naked barley) was particularly prevalent—an unusual pattern for the southeast Baltic. The crop package also contains some of the earliest regional evidence for Lens culinaris (lentil), Pisum sativum (pea), Camelina sativa (false flax), and directly dated Linum usitatissumum (flax) seeds. δ13C and δ15N values indicate that cereals were grown under favourable conditions, reflecting effective management of a challenging sandy coastal environment. However, archaeological and stratigraphic evidence shows that intensive agriculture gradually destabilised the landscape, ultimately rendering the settlement increasingly untenable.