Willem van Zeist (March 12, 1924 – October 7, 2016) was a Dutch

archaeobotanist Paleoethnobotany (also spelled palaeoethnobotany), or archaeobotany, is the study of past human-plant interactions through the recovery and analysis of ancient plant remains. Both terms are synonymous, though paleoethnobotany (from the Greek words ...

and palynologist. He was the director of the ''Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut'' at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

Education

Van Zeist studied biology at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, completing his PhD dissertation in 1955 on pollen analysis investigation in the Netherlands, with special reference to archaeology (''Acta Botanica Neerlandica 4'', 1955). From 1951 to 1989 he was linked to the ''Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut'' at the

. He became lecturer there in 1967 and a professor in 1973.

Research

Europe

Van Zeist conducted research in Europe on the oldest recovered

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

in the world, the

Pesse canoe The Pesse canoe is believed to be the world's oldest known boat and certainly the oldest known canoe. Carbon dating indicates that the boat was constructed during the early mesolithic period between 8040 BC and 7510 BC. It is now in the Drents M ...

found in the Netherlands. According to C14 dating analysis it was found to be constructed somewhere between 8200 and 7600 BC. This canoe is exhibited in the

Drents Museum The Drents Museum () is an art and history museum in Assen, Drenthe, in the Netherlands. The museum was opened in 1854. It has a collection of prehistorical artifacts, applied art, and visual art. The museum also has temporary exhibitions. In 2 ...

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

, Netherlands. Van Zeist studied the vegetational history and peat bogs of southeastern Drenthe and concluded that Neolithic settlements had begun there around 5000 BC. He also concluded that the prehistoric disc wheels found in the Netherlands dated to at least the Neolithic period. Van Zeist also conducted analytical studies of pollen cores and charred seeds and fruits from archaeological excavations at Gasselte, Noordbarge, Odoorn, Peelo and

Wijster Wijster is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 11 km north of Hoogeveen. History The village was first mentioned in 1206 as in Wisnare. The etymology is unknown. Wi ...

. In 1983 he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Near East

In 1975, van Zeist began work on establishing the climatological record for the Near East with pollen analyses from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Along with other studies he concluded that there had only been relatively minor fluctuations in the climate of this area since 5500 BC. He conducted paleobotanical studies and dating analyses at various Near Eastern archaeological sites such as

Tell Ramad Tell Ramad ( ar, تل رماد) is a prehistoric, Neolithic tell at the foot of Mount Hermon, about southwest of Damascus in Syria. The tell was the site of a small village of , which was first settled in the late 8th millennium BC. The tell ...

Tell Ghoraife Tell may refer to: *Tell (archaeology), a type of archaeological site *Tell (name), a name used as a given name and a surname * Tell (poker), a subconscious behavior that can betray information to an observant opponent Arts, entertainment, and ...

El Kowm El Kowm or Al Kawm is a circular, gap in the Syrian mountains that houses a series of archaeological sites. The El Kowm oasis is located northeast of Palmyra in Syria, near Al-Sukhnah. It shows some of the longest and most important cultural s ...

Ras Shamra ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...

, Cayonu,

Ganj Dareh Ganj Dareh ( Persian: تپه گنج دره; "Treasure Valley" in Persian,Smith, Philip E.LArchitectural Innovation and Experimentation at Ganj Dareh, Iran '' World Archaeology'', Vol. 21, No. 3 (February, 1990), pp. 323-335 or "Treasure Valle ...

Mureybet Mureybet ( ar, مريبط, muribit, lit=covered) is a tell, or ancient settlement mound, located on the west bank of the Euphrates in Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria. The site was excavated between 1964 and 1974 and has since disappeared und ...

and Tell Aswad. At the latter site near Mount Hermon in Syria, he made a find of the earliest cultivated

Emmer Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid (4''n'' = 4''x'' = 28 chromosomes). The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''Triticum turgidum ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is ...

Wheat yet found anywhere on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

to date, along with what he considered to be domesticated peas and

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...

s along with other grains such as

einkorn Einkorn wheat (from German ''Einkorn'', literally "single grain") can refer either to a wild species of wheat (''Triticum'') or to its domesticated form. The wild form is '' T. boeoticum'' (syn. ''T. m.'' ssp. ''boeoticum''), the domesticated ...

and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

at later stages.Miller, Naomi F.
The Origins of Plant Cultivation in the Near East
', in ''The Origins of Agriculture: An international perspective'', edited by C. Wesley Cowan, Patty Jo Watson, Nancy L. Benco. University of Alabama Press, 2006. P. 48.

Selected bibliography

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeist, Willem van 1924 births 2016 deaths Archaeobotanists Archaeologists of the Near East Dutch archaeologists Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Apeldoorn University of Groningen faculty Utrecht University alumni