Ancient and Modern Cultivation of Lathyrus ochrus (L.) DC.

in the Greek Islands

Author(s): Glynis Jones
Source: The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 87 (1992), pp. 211-217
Published by: British School at Athens
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30103506
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 ANCIENT AND MODERN CULTIVATION
OF LATHYR US OCHRUS (L.) DC. IN THE
GREEK ISLANDS'
INTRODUCTION
Archaeological finds of the pulse cf. LathyrusclymenumL. from Akrotiri (Thera) and
Knossos (Crete) were published in 199o.2 The finds from Akrotiri were of stored caches,
but the seeds from Knossos were found contaminating another stored pulse which had
previously been identified as common pea (Pisum sativumL.).3 This paper presents a
reidentification of this latter pulse, as well as evidence for the cultivation of its modern
counterpart for human consumption.
ARCHAEOBOTANICAL EVIDENCE
Further investigation of the charred pulse seeds found in an LM II storage vessel at the
Unexplored Mansion, Knossos, revealed a number of features which were inconsistent
with their identification as peas (FIG. I). First, though the shape of the seed (round to
cylindrical) is superficially similar to Pisum (and the testa, or seed coat, is smooth to the
naked eye), most of the seeds exhibit a bulge above the radicle which cannot be observed
in any of the Pisumpopulations available for comparison. Second, one seed has been found
with an intact hilum (attachment scar), and another with part of the lens region of the
testa (seed coat) intact. These demonstrate that the hilum extends for c.6 of the
circumferenceof the seed (compared with -~i to ' for Pisum)and that the lens is prominent and
close to the hilum (unlike Pisum, where it is more or less flat and some distance from the
hilum). These two features are also reflected in the depressions left by the hilum and lens
on the underlying cotyledons (the testa having burnt away over most of the surface of the
other seeds). The hilar depression is long, with the lens depression close to it. In this
respect (but not in shape) the seeds resemble the cf. L. clymenum seeds which contaminate
them. (Measurementsare given in TABLE I.)
TABLE I Measurements*of LM II cf. L. ochrus (L.) DC. seedsfrom Knossos

Sampleno. N length breadth thickness 1/bratio l/t ratio

(mm) (mm) (mm)
7 50 3.4 3.7 3.9 0.91 0.87
(0.44) (0.42) (0.48) (0.12) (o.I5)
* Means (standard deviation in brackets).

'I should like to thank Ms H. Smith for pointing out
that 'these seeds don't look like peas', and for subsequent
help with SEM photography; Dr E. A. Butler for informa-
tion on the surface patterning and morphology of modern
pulse seeds, and for permission to cite her doctoral thesis;
and Mr E. Moth for drawing the figure. SEM facilities were
provided by the Sorby Centre for Electron Microscopy and
Microanalysis, University of Sheffield, and some of the
modern seed examined was loaned by the International
Legume Database and Information Service, University of
Southampton. I am also grateful to Mr M. Popham for the
opportunity to study the archaeobotanical material from
Knossos, and to Dr P. Halstead for useful comments on an
earlier draft of this paper.
2 A. Sarpaki and G. Jones, 'Ancient and modern culti-
vation of Lathyrusclymenum L. in the Greek islands', BSA 85
(1990), 363-8.
3G. Jones, 'The LM II plant remains' (appendix i), in
M. R. Popham, The Minoan UnexploredMansionat Knossos
(BSA supp. vol. 17; London, 1984), 303-6.

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212 GLYNIS JONES

0 mm 5

FIG. I. Charred seeds of cf. Lathvrusochrus(L.) DC. from Knossos, Crete.

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 CULTIVATION OF LATHYRUS OCHRUS IN THE GREEK ISLANDS 213

Other large-seeded genera of the family Leguminoseae (Cicer,Lupinus,Lens) can easily be

eliminated on the basis of gross morphology, leaving only the large and very diverse
genera of Vicia and Lathyrusto be considered. In order to proceed further with the
identification, it is necessary to eliminate species which do not match the charred
specimens in one or (preferably) more characteristics. Other than the characteristics
mentioned above, the fine primary patterning on the surface of the testa (in the charred
specimens, papillose and similar to that observed on seeds referred to cf. L. clymenum)4and
the shape of the hilar lips (protruding for the one intact hilum) may also be of diagnostic
value.5 The charred seeds were therefore compared to modern populations of Vicia/
Lathyrusspecies with respect to a range of characteristics. All the available species that
grow wild or are cultivated in Greece and European Turkey6 were considered. For the sake
of completeness, the contaminant cf. L. clymenumhas been treated in the same way, to
make clear the justification for its tentative identification.
The results of these comparisons are presented in TABLE2, where a mismatch between
the archaeological and modern populations is indicated as either unambiguous or
probable. For each characteristic, an unambiguous mismatch with the archaeological
specimens is defined as follows:
Size: consistently much smaller even though uncharred, or (in one case) considerably
larger.
Shape:(for main pulse) seeds consistently not round or cylindrical; (for contaminant)
seeds consistently not laterally flattened or elongated.
Testasurface:secondary patterning - rugose; primary patterning - reticulate or other
non-papillose pattern.7
Hilum:length - consistently less than 8 of seed circumference or greater than i of seed
circumference; width - considerably wider; hilar lips - preserved for main pulse
only - consistently completely flat.
Lens:position - distinctly remote from hilum; prominence (main pulse only) - flat
or nearly flat.
Species were eliminated on the basis of these characteristics: first, if at least one
characteristic was unambiguously inconsistent with the archaeological specimens (e.g. far
too small, with a hilum much too long or short, a completely different surface pattern, or
the lens in the wrong position); second, when several characteristics differed to a lesser
degree from the archaeological specimens. On this basis, of the modern species con-
sidered in TABLE 2, Lathyrusochrus(L.) DC. remains the best match for the main pulse' and
L. clymenum L. (including L. articulatusL.)9 the best match for the contaminant.
These identifications are qualified, because only those Vicia and Lathyrusspecies

4 Sarpaki and Jones (n. 2), pl. 36.
E. A. Butler, Legumesin Antiquity:A Micromorphological
Investigationof Seedsof the Vicieae(Ph.D. thesis: University
College London, 1990).
6 After T. G. Tutin, V. H.
Heywood, N. A. Burges, D.
M. Moore, D. H. Valentine, S. M. Walters, and D. A.
Webb, Flora Europaea,ii (Cambridge, 1968); R. Allkin, T.
D. MacFarlane, R. J. White, F. A. Bisby, and M. E. Adey,
'The geographical distribution of Vicia: issue I', Vicieae
DatabaseProjectPublications,5 (Southampton, 1983); iid.,
'The geographical distribution of Lathyrus:issue I', Vicieae
DatabaseProjectPublications,6 (Southampton, I985).
7 N. R. Lersten and C. R. Gunn, TestaCharactersin Tribe
Viciaeae:WithNotesaboutTribesAbreae,Cicereae,and Trifolieae
(Fabaceae) (US Department of Agriculture, Technical
Bulletin 1667; Washington, DC, 1982).
8 Under SEM examination both the charred specimens
of the main pulse and seeds of two modern, cultivated L.
ochruspopulations from Evvia and Karpathos (Greece)
revealed the same papillose surface. On none of these
specimens was the waxy surface noted by Butler (n. 5)
observed.
9 Sarpaki and Jones (n. 2).

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2I4 GLYNIS JONES

TABLE2 Comparison and ModernPulseSeeds

of Archaeological
surfacepatt. hilum lens
size shape sec. prim.* length width lips pos. prom ann/per

V. cracca ab ?? a p
V. tenuifolia x Ab ?? A A p
V. dalmatica ? ab a ? A p
V. cassubica x ab x A x A p
V. onobrychioides x ? A x a p
V. dumetorum aB x a ? a p
V. villosa aB ? ? A x a p
V. benghalensis ab ?? a ? A np
V. cretica x a ? a n
V. monantha aB ?? A ? a n
V. articulata Ab x a a n
V. ervilia x x A x a n
V. hirsuta x B n
V. tenuissima x B A ? a n
V. tetrasperma x B x A n
V. pubescens x B x A x a n
V. sepium x ab x a A p
V. grandiflora x ab x a A n
V. barbazitae ? B ? a n
V. pannonica B A x A n
V. sativa Ab ? a n
V. lathyroides x x x x A ? A n
V. peregrina Ab x A ? a n
V. melanops ab A x a n
V. lutea aB A x a n
V. hybrida B ? a x a n
V. bithynica x A x a n
V. narbonensis x B x A x n
V. faba x x x A x n
L. vernus x Ab ? a A p
L. venetus x Ab ? A p
L. niger x Ab x ? a A p
L. aureus ? AB ? a A p
L. digitatus ? ab x a a p
L. pratensis x B x a A p
L. palustris ? B x A p
L. laxiflorus x Ab x a p
L. neurolobus x B a A p
L. tuberosus ab ? ? ?? A A p
L. grandiflorus AB A A p
L. sylvestris B x x a A p
L. latifolius B x ? a p
L. saxatilis x AB x A ? A n
L. sphaericus x B x A A n
L. angulatus x AB x x a a n
L. inconspicuus x B x x a x a n
L. setifolius B x x A x A n
L. cicera AB x A x n
L. sativus ? AB ? x a x n
L. amphicarpos B x A ? n
L. annuus B x ? x x A A n

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 CULTIVATION OF LATHYRUS OCHRUS IN THE GREEK ISLANDS 215

surfacepatt. hilum lens

size shape sec. prim.* length width lips pos. prom ann/per
L. gorgoni AB x a ? n
L. hierosolymitanus ? AB x x A n
L. hirsutus ? B x ? x A A n
L. clymenum A a n
L. articulatus A a n
L. ochrus B n
L. nissolia x B x x A n
L. aphaca x ab x x A a n

Key
Nomenclature after Flora Europaea (n. 6). See text for explanation of column headings.
* Based on a restricted number of
species described by Lersten and Gunn (n. 7) or E. A. Butler (n. 5).

x = unambiguous mismatch
A = unambiguous mismatch for main pulse
B = unambiguous mismatch for contaminant
? = probable mismatch
a = probable mismatch for main pulse
b = probable mismatch for contaminant
?? = discrepancy between Flora Europaea and available specimens

p = perennial, n = annual

currently growing in Greece and European Turkey have been considered and because
some of these were not available for examination. On the other hand, published
information on several of the unavailable species,10 makes them more or less unlikely
candidates. Some species can probably be excluded on the basis of morphological
descriptions (TABLE3). Others are described as similar to species which can be
unambiguously eliminated. The habitat or geographical distribution of some species
makes them unlikely, as either crops or locally gathered plants, and the perennial habit of
other species makes them unlikely crops. Conversely, L. ochrusand L. clymenum(/articulatus)
closely resemble the archaeological specimens in a number of respects and are the only
modern species examined to do so.
PRESENT-DAY CULTIVATION
On the island of Evvia (Euboea), a pulse is cultivated under the name of lathouri(the usual
name for the fodder crop, grass pea or Lathyrussativus).The yellow-flowered plants of this
species, growing in the fields and gardens around the village of Tharounia, near Aliveri,
have been identified by the author as L. ochrus(L.) DC. Particularly distinctive are the
legume (pod) with two wings on the dorsal suture, and the leaves with 0-2 pairs of leaflets
and a winged rachis and petiole. Identical seeds and legumes have been collected on the

1o Tutin et al. (n. 6); Lerstenand Gunn (n. 7).

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216 GLYNIS JONES

TABLE 3 Comparisonof ArchaeologicalSeeds and Modern Description*

size hilum length sec. surfacepatt. ann/per habitat

V. pinetorum x p
V. incana (in V. cracca group) p m
V. sibthorpii ? p
V. cuspidata x x n
(like V. lathyroides)
L. alpestris ? x p m
L. hallersteinii p N. Greece
L. undulatus x p
(like L. rotundifolius)
Key
* In Flora
Europaea (n. 6).
Nomenclature after Flora Europaea. See text for explanation of column headings.
x = unambiguous mismatch ? = probable mismatch

p = perennial n = annual m = mountains

island of Karpathos, where they are grown under the name of sprika." On both islands the
species is grown for human consumption as well as for animal fodder (as whole plants) on
Evvia. For human consumption, L. ochrusis usually used in the dried split form with the
testas removed (Greek 'fava') and made into a kind of soup or gruel (as is L. clymenum).
Although the cultivation of L. ochrusfor animal fodder is well documented, its cultivation
for human consumption seems previously to have been recorded only for Cyprus.'12
CONCLUSION
It is unclear from the available archaeobotanical evidence whether the store of cf. L. ochrus
from LM Knossos represents a cultivated crop or gathered wild plant. Some of the cereals
and pulses exploited in prehistoric Greece are not native to Europe, and so must initially
have been introduced by human agency, but this is not the case with L. ochrus,or for that
matter with L. clymenum or Viciaervilia.'3At Akrotiri, cf. L. clymenum is as yet the only stored
pulse to have been found and fills a number of vessels'4 and so seems unlikely to represent
the gathering of scattered wild plants. Cf. L. ochrus,on the other hand, is so far represented
archaeobotanically by only one find, although this may not be significant given the paucity
of charred pulse finds and the possibility that unfamiliar species have been misiden-
tified.'5 If the contents of the storage vessel at Knossos had been a better known, native
" P. Halstead and G.
Jones, 'Agrarian ecology in the 14A. Sarpaki, The Palaeoethnobotany of the West House,
Greek islands: time stress, scale and risk', JHS Io9 (1989), Akrotiri,Thera(Ph.D. diss.: Sheffield, 1987).
41-55. L. ochrusis also grown (for human consumption) in 15 e.g. cf. L. ochrusat Knossos, first identified by the
Cyprus, under the name of louvana;see J. Photiades and G. author as common pea (n. 3); also a pulse from Middle
Alexandrou, 'Food legume research and production in Bronze Age Argissa, originally identified as pea but with
Cyprus', in G. C. Hawtin and G. J. Chancellor (eds.), Food published drawings of what appears to be V. ervilia;see M.
LegumeImprovement and Development(Ottawa, 1979), 75-9. Hopf, 'Berichtuber die Untersuchungenvon Samen und
Seeds of louvanafrom Paphos (Cyprus), provided by Dr P. Holzkohlenresten von der Argissa-Magula aus den
Chrysostomou, are identical to those from Evvia and prdikeramischen bis mittlerebronzezeitlichen Schichten',
Karpathos referred here to L. ochrus. in V. Miloj'id, J. Boessneck, and M. Hopf, Argissa-Magula,
12 e.g. O. Polunin, The Flowersof Europe(London, 1969); i: Das prdkeramischeNeolithikumsowiedie Tier-undPflanzenreste
cf. Photiades and Alexandrou (n. I I). (Bonn, 1962), 101-19, esp. og09and pl. i6. 8.
13 Tutin et al. (n. 6); Allkin et al. (n. 6 bis).

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 CULTIVATION OF LATHYRUS OCHRUS IN THE GREEK ISLANDS 217

European pulse such as V. ervilia, most archaeobotanists would have classified them as a
'crop'.
Whether cf. L. ochrusat Knossos represents a cultivated crop or gathered wild plant, this
paper documents further diversity in Bronze Age use of pulses. This is of interest because
diversification involves less risk of complete subsistence failure than a policy of special-
ization16 and so may represent a deliberate attempt to minimize risk in food
procurement.17At Knossos, cf. L. ochruswas clearly stored for human consumption, and
presumably by 'high-status' individuals,'8 but its flexible use as food or fodder (as at
present on Evvia) is clearly possible. L. clymenumis also cultivated today for both
purposes."9 It is difficult to identify fodder archaeologically since it may be stored
alongside food, and also because the distinction between food and fodder may have been
more flexible than we tend to suppose. For classical antiquity, literary sources also
indicate cultivation of a range of pulse crops (including 4XQog, presumed to be L. ochrus)20
and some flexibility in the use of pulses for food or fodder.21
of Sheffield
University GLYNIS
JONES

16 H. A.
Forbes, '"We have a little of everything": the
ecological basis of some agricultural practices in Methana,
Trizinia', Annals of the New YorkAcademyof Sciences,268
(1976), 236-50.
17 P. Halstead and J. O'Shea, 'Introduction: cultural
responses to risk and uncertainty', in P. Halstead and J.
O'Shea (eds.), Bad YearEconomics(Cambridge, 1989), 1-7.
'8Jones (n. 3).
19Sarpaki and Jones (n. 2); L. clymenum is also grown for
animal fodder on the peninsula of Methana (P. Halstead,
pers. comm.).
20S. Hodkinson, 'Animal husbandry in the Greek polis',
in C. R. Whittaker (ed.), Pastoral Economiesin Classical
Antiquity (Cambridge, PCPS supp. vol. 14; Cambridge,
1988), 35-74, esp. 70 n. 4-
21 e.g. Lathyrussativusand Viciaervilia;Hodkinson (n. 20),
43. For recent comparanda see P. Halstead, 'Waste not, want
not: traditional responses to crop failure in Greece', Rural
History: Economy, Society, Culture, I (1990), 147-64.

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