A methodological approach to the study of archaeological cereal meals: a case study at Çatalhöyük East (Turkey)

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated methodology for the analysis of archaeological remains of cereal meals, based on scanning electronic microscopic analyses of microstructures of charred food fragments from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey). The remains of cereal foods as ‘bread-like’ or ‘porridge-like’ small charred lumps of various amalgamated plant materials are frequently recovered from Neolithic and later archaeological sites in southwest Asia and Europe. Cereal food remains have recently attracted interest because the identification of their plant contents, the forms of food that they represent and the methods used in their creation can provide unique information about ancient culinary traditions and routine food processing, preparation and cooking techniques. Here, we focus on three methodological aspects: (1) the analysis of their composition; (2) the analysis of their microstructure to determine preparation and cooking processes; (3) the comparison with experimental reference materials. Preliminary results are presented on the botanical composition and cooking processes represented by the charred cereal preparations found at Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey), for example cereals processed into bread, dough and/or porridge.

Agricultural innovation and resilience in a long-lived early farming community: the 1,500-year sequence at Neolithic to early Chalcolithic Çatalhöyük, central Anatolia

“…7) -fostered different tastes and identities. Study of charred amorphous fragments of foodstuffs indicates the preparation of batters and breads throughout the East Mound sequence but with increasing preparations of cereal-based porridges in the latest (TP/TPC) levels (Gonzalez Carretero et al 2017). Diachronic trends also imply changing priorities in the organisation of daily tasks, with less time devoted to frequent, labour-intensive processing activities such as soaking the toxins from bitter vetch seeds or dehusking glume wheats.…”

“…The tubers (and nutlets) of sedges, especially Bolboschoenus glaucus, are ubiquitous throughout the sequence. The nutlets are at least partly derived from the burning of animal dung as fuel (Bogaard et al 2013), while the tubers may have been collected as food, as a few examples have been found embedded in cereal-based, bread-like food remains (Gonzalez Carretero et al 2017), and were probably consumed fresh, given their absence from 'storage' deposits (Fairbairn et al 2005;. Figure 13 summarises proportions of fruit/nut taxa through time, revealing continuity in use of hackberry (preserved in the absence of charring due to its silica-rich shell) and pistachio.…”

Archaeological Studies of Cooking and Food Preparation

“…They compared macroscopic techniques to physicochemical techniques and specifically demonstrated that different methods of cooking change the structure of bones. Examining the microstructures of charred food remains using SEM (scanning electron microscopy), especially in conjunction with experimental archaeology (Carretero et al 2017) or chemical analysis (Kubiak-Martens et al 2015), helps identify particular foods and how they were cooked. Without charring, starch grains can be difficult to see.…”

“…Many archaeologists interested in the different actions, ingredients, and tools involved in preparing food use experimental archaeology to learn more about different choices and steps in processes that may no longer be visible. Some researchers use experiments with food and tools to look for identifiable ways that certain food preparation techniques might be visible archaeologically (Carretero et al 2017;Capparelli et al 2015;Dezendorf 2013;Disspain et al 2016;Fernandes et al 2014;Graesch et al 2014;Gur-Arieh et al 2012;Hart et al 2007;Henry et al 2009;Müller et al 2013;Pecci et al 2013;Raviele 2011;Simms et al 2013;Thoms 2008;Warinner and Tuross 2009). For example, Morrison et al (2015) combined experimental archaeology with ceramic analysis and archaeological, zooarchaeological, ecological, and ethnographic data.…”

“…Although palynology is commonly used to identify wild and cultivated plants, pollen washes of archaeological tools such as manos and metates also are used to identify plant processing (Geib and Smith 2008). Examining both the composition and the microstructure of charred food yields information on food preferences, processing techniques, and cooking practices (Carretero et al 2017;Heiss et al 2015).…”