Archaeobotanical research at the medieval fortified site of Îgîlîz (Anti-Atlas, Morocco) with particular reference to the exploitation of the argan tree

摘要

The analysis of botanical macro-remains (seeds, fruits and wood) from the fortress site of Îgîlîz, situated in the Anti-Atlas mountain range of southern Morocco, provides a first glimpse of the plant economy of a medieval rural community in this part of North Africa. Considered as the original stronghold of the religious community led by Ibn Tûmart, the founder of the Almohad dynasty, the site was occupied from the 10th to the 13th century a.d. The crop assemblage identified from ashy contexts in a central grouping of buildings (the qasba) comprises barley (Hordeum vulgare), sorghum (Sorghum sp., earliest occurrence known so far from Morocco), wheat (Triticum sp.) and a pulse (Lathyrus sativus/cicera). Several arboreal fruit species are also identified: fig (Ficus carica), almond (Prunus dulcis), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and argan (Argania spinosa). The latter, predominant in the archaeobotanical record in the form of both fruit and wood remains, is of particular interest as it is the first time that this species, endemic to south-western Morocco and of prime economic interest regionally, has been identified from an archaeological context. In the past, as today, the argan tree seems to have played a major role in village economies as a source of wood for fuel and construction, fodder for livestock and food in the form of an edible oil, extracted from the oleaginous seeds. This article focuses on present and past uses of Argania spinosa as well as on the ecology and morpho-anatomy of this emblematic species.