The changing role of hazelnuts (Corylus avellana) in the Mesolithic diet : the Scheldt basin (W Belgium) as a case-study

Hazelnuts were an important foodstuff for Early to Mid-Holocene (Mesolithic) hunter-gatherers all over North-western and Central Europe, mainly thanks to their high fat content, the fact that they are easy to collect and process and produce high areal yields. Based on an extensive and well-dated dataset of charred hazelnut shells, collected on Mesolithic camp-sites from the western Scheldt basin (W Belgium), in this paper the availability of this food resource is studied. Unlike other North(west) European regions, the decline in the exploitation and consumption of hazelnuts in the Scheldt basi... Mehr ...