Image analysis technique for the identification of archaeological Prunus fruit-stones of Sardinia

Fruit remains from the genus Prunus L. are frequently recovered during excavations in archaeological waterlogged contexts since prehistoric times. The identification of Prunus based on traditional methods is difficult due to the morphological range variation within the different taxa, mainly due to hybridization problems (Woldring 2000). Despite this, some research shows that Prunus fruit-stones would be the most stable of the all diagnostic characters used for their identification (Depypere et al. 2007). In the last two decades, to properly identify the remains found in archaeological contexts and to overcome the manual procedure for the classification of seeds, a morphometric approach based on the image analysis, was performed. Thanks to this technique it is possible to distinguish wild species from cultivated ones using automated system, replacing human visual assessments in a more accurate, reliable and repeatable way also in archaeobotany (e.g. Bouby et al. 2013; Orrù et al. 2013, 2015; Pagnoux et al. 2015; Ucchesu et al. 2014, 2016, 2017).With this in mind, the main goal of this research is to compare Sardinia archaeological fruit- stones with modern one by image analysis system. The results obtained allow to increase knowledge about the origin and use of wild and cultivated Prunus fruits in the diet of human communities of the past and to investigate the relationships with traditional varieties still cultivated in Sardinia.