FIBS in Archaeobotany: Functional Interpretation of Weed Floras in Relation to Husbandry Practices

The application of “FIBS” (Functional Interpretation of Botanical Surveys) to the interpretation of archaeobotanical weed floras, as evidence of past husbandry practices, is explored. To illustrate the potential of the approach, present-day cereal fields in N. Spain are analysed in terms of the functional attributes of the weed species represented in dry-farmed and irrigated fields. Functional attributes are identified which relate in predictable ways to the quality of plant growth and the severity of drought. These attributes are successful in discriminating dry-farmed and irrigated fields. This investigation opens up the way for more general application of the method in the archaeobotanical study of crop husbandry. FIBS (a) permits the “translation” of ecological information from one group of species to another, via functional attributes, and (b) through an understanding of the ecological processes involved, provides a potential mechanism for reconstructing extinct agricultural regimes for which modern analogues do not exist. This presents an alternative to the traditional use of ecological indices (which are open to circularity of interpretation) or phytosociological groupings (for which there may not have been exact parallels in the past). The relevance of particular functional attributes to husbandry methods other than irrigation now needs to be explored in order to develop the methodology for general application to archaeobotanical weed assemblages.