Especially in areas of what is now north America, Europe, and parts of northern Asia. Wild blueberries have been present in the northern hemisphere a very long time

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Blueberries may have been eaten fresh or dried for winter use. Dating back thousands of years

The most common wild blueberries likely encountered were Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry) in Europe; and, Vaccinium angustifolium; or, Vaccinium corymbosum (wild lowbush and highbush) in north America

Wild blueberries likely played a significant nutritional and seasonal role in diets of cooler forested regions
Like in northern Europe, Siberia, and North America.

All known interactions with blueberries during the Neolithic were through foraging, especially in forested or tundra regions.

Blueberries have specific soil and climate needs. Like an acidic, moist, and cool soil
It made them hard to transplant, or cultivate without agricultural knowledge.

Did you know? blueberries were not fully domesticated in the neolithic. Domestication of blueberries began in the early 20th century in North America.

Ancient blueberries were smaller, more tart, and likely less juicy than the large, sweet cultivated varieties available today
Blueberries as part of a broader foraging lifestyle, especially in forested or tundra areas.

Remains of wild vaccinium berries have been found in:

Scandinavia; and, the British Isles, where they were foraged from upland and heathland environments;

Northern Europe; and, the Baltic region, where wild berries formed part of seasonal diets; and,

Boreal forests and tundra regions.

Charred seeds or reminants in pottery or pit features suggest preservation techniques
Like drying or stewing with other fruits.

Berry seeds and phytoliths (microscopic silica structures) have been recovered from bogs, cave sites, and coprolites (fossilized feces) too.

They are high in antioxidants and vitamins, and would have been a valuable seasonal source of nutrition
When fresh in season, they could be dried or mixed into stews, porridges, or cakes made from wild grains and seeds.

Wild blueberries were a useful and nutritious addition to neolithic diets. High in vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants, they would have helped immune support and nutrition. Kinda like today.

Bibliography: “Vaccinium myrtillus” (https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/fe
is/plants/shrub/vacmyr/all.html). http://www.fs.usda.gov.

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) (https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VACO)

NRCS. “Vaccinium angustifolium” (https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plant-profile/VAAN). PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Tirmenstein, D. A. (1991). “Vaccinium angustifolium” (https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/vacang/all.html). Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture
(USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory”Make Traditional Dyes – Bilberry Dye” (https://web.archive.org/web/20120421235953/http://www.barleyhall.org.uk/MakeTraditionalDyes.asp). Barley Hall. York Archaeological Trust, Arts Council
England and VisitEngland. Archived from the original (http://www.barleyhall.org.uk/MakeTraditionalDyes.asp)

Nestby, Rolf; Percival, D.; Martinussen, Inger S.; Opstad, Nina; Rohloff, Jens (January 2011). “The European Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L .) and the Potential for Cultivation. A Review” (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220005144). The European Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology. S2CID 52997599 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:52997599).

Ehrlén, Johan; Eriksson, Ove (1991). “Phenological variation in fruit characteristics in vertebrate-dispersed plants”. Oecologia. 86 (4): 463–470. Bibcode:1991Oecol..86..463E (https://ui.adsabs.ha
rvard.edu/abs/1991Oecol..86..463E). doi:10.1007/BF00318311 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF003
18311). ISSN 0029-8549 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0029-8549). PMID 28313326 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28313326)

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