Histoire et utilisation des mûriers blanc et noir en France. Apport de l'archéobotanique, des textes et de l'iconographie

National audienceThe interweaving of diverse sources (written documents, archaeobotanical data, iconographic sources)confrontation sources) suggests that the introduction of the Mulberry (Morus sp.) in France would be recent and would be placed during the Roman period. Indeed, in the current state of the data and the works, there is no bioarchaeological record of Mulberry before the end of the 1st century and only the black mulberry has been identified ; for the moment, the white mulberry would be at the very end of the medieval period. The primitive phase of charaterisation of archaeobotanical remains seems to be a phase of fruit consumption only, documented throughout Gaul, without a privileged geographical area. The Mulberry culture is effective only during the 4th century in southern Gaul as the anthracology and the textsboth attest. This culture remains confined to the threshold of the Modern era to the Mediterranean France and particularly in the Cevennes where it is connected since the 13th century to the breeding of silkworms