Iron Age acorns from Boezinge (Belgium) : the role of acorn consumption in prehistory

Iron Age acorns from Boezinge (Belgium): the role of acorn consumption in prehistory In 2005, an Iron Age pit containing an exceptionally large amount of charred acorns (i.e. an estimated total of approximately 69,000 acorns) was excavated in Boezinge (Belgium). The discovery of such a large number of acorns raises questions about the role of acorns in prehistoric subsistence. Although acorns are nowadays no longer considered suitable for human consumption, the growing number of archaeobotanical finds of acorns and especially this recent find from Belgium reveal their importance in prehistoric subsistence. Taking into account the factors influencing the preservation, recovery and identification of acorns from archaeological sites, it is very probable that the role of acorns in prehistoric food economy has not fully been recognized