caa a22 4500 445358939 CHVBK 20180317142909.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20111101xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00334-011-0303-5 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00334-011-0303-5 Flax seed production: evidence from the early Iron Age site of Tel Beth-Shean, Israel and from written sources [Elektronische Daten] [Mordechai Kislev, Orit Simchoni, Yoel Melamed, Lior Maroz] For thousands of years, flax was a winter crop of major importance in the ancient Levant, second only to wheat and barley. It was cultivated from the beginning of the early Neolithic period through to Roman times and it is still grown there today. Flax seeds (linseed) contain high concentrations of two essential polyunsaturated fatty acids—linoleic acid (ω-6) and α-linolenic acid (ω-3), which cannot be produced by the human body. Their oxidation occurs rapidly in the air. So, long term storage of linseed needed airtight containers, and tightly stoppered bottles could be used to keep its oil as a remedy. However, were flax seeds consumed as a food, oil or medicament in ancient periods? How commonly were flax seeds eaten? From archaeobotanical finds of flax seed, it is difficult to determine whether the flax was cultivated for fibres alone or for its seeds that can be cold-pressed to release the valuable oil. We have therefore studied ancient written documents describing various uses of flax seeds, including their consumption as a food supplement and uses in medical applications. We conclude that until recently flax was grown primarily for textile fibres, and only smaller quantities of flax seeds were consumed. So, the flax seed finds from the early Iron Age site of Tel Beth-Shean also represent seed consumption or oil extraction. Springer-Verlag, 2011 Linseed oil nationallicence DHA nationallicence EPA nationallicence ω-3 nationallicence Israel nationallicence Iron Age nationallicence Kislev Mordechai Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut Simchoni Orit Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut Melamed Yoel Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut Maroz Lior Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut Vegetation History and Archaeobotany Springer-Verlag 20/6(2011-11-01), 579-584 0939-6314 20:6<579 2011 20 334 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-011-0303-5 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 review-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-011-0303-5 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kislev Mordechai Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Simchoni Orit Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Melamed Yoel Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Maroz Lior Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Vegetation History and Archaeobotany Springer-Verlag 20/6(2011-11-01), 579-584 0939-6314 20:6<579 2011 20 334 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence SWISSBIB 122315162 BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer