Banquet of elites: Hallstatt Period hoard with vessels and iron cauldron hanger of Kralice na Hané in Moravia (CZ)

Curated cauldrons: Preserved proteins from early copper-alloy vessels illuminate feasting practices in the Caucasian steppe

“…Copper is well known to preserve organic materials (e.g., leather and textiles) in close contact with it due to its naturally antimicrobial properties 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 and it would be reasonable to expect that the same preservation would extend to other organic materials. Organic residues (fats and waxes) from cauldrons from the Late Bronze Age and subsequent periods (after 1500 BCE) have been successfully studied by looking at preserved fatty acid chains through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry which have reportedly identified materials such as, but not limited to: beeswax and tree resins, 38 , 39 wine and/or vinegar, 40 animal fats, 41 and plant foods or beverages. 42 These lipid-based methods are helpful in narrowing down elements within the residues, but do not generally provide the taxonomic resolution of DNA or protein analyses, which can potentially offer species and tissue-specific identifications.…”