Maize and Bone: Residues of Grinding in Northwestern Argentina*

Babot, María del Pilar; Apella, María C.

doi:10.1111/1475-4754.00099

Cited by 40 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…For instance, by extracting the preserved plant residues on grinding tools, starch grain analysis has been used to identify the types of plant foods processed (e.g. Babot & Apella, 2003;Fullagar et al, 2008;Liu et al, 2014a;Piperno et al, 2000). Microwear analysis provides further insight in the type of materials processed on these tools, and can also be used to infer how the grinding processes were conducted (Dubreuil & Savage, 2014;Van Gijn, 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Foods and Different Uses of Grinding Tools at the Neolithic Site of Tanghu in Central China

Tsoraki

Yang

et al. 2020

Lithic Technology

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In the central plain of China, grinding tools are a common category of artefacts at sites attributed to the Peiligang Culture (c. 9000-7000 BP). This paper focuses on the grinding tool assemblage from the site of Tanghu, the largest Peiligang Culture settlement yet discovered. The results from the microwear and residue analyses both suggest that cereals were the primary plant material processed with the grinding tools. Other plants, including acorns and underground storage organs, were also processed, but probably to a smaller extent. Furthermore, microwear analysis suggests that the dry-grinding technique was adopted for cereal processing, and a piece of hide or animal skin was placed underneath the grinding slabs to gather the processed plant material. Apart from plant food processing, one of the grinding tools was also involved in processing bone. These data put more insights into the Neolithic culinary practices and different uses of grinding tools in this region.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Foods and Different Uses of Grinding Tools at the Neolithic Site of Tanghu in Central China

Tsoraki

Yang

et al. 2020

Lithic Technology

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“…Also, contrary to established perceptions of the past that have associated these tools exclusively with the processing of plants, it is now widely accepted that grinding and pounding stone tools were used for treating a wide range of substances, organic and inorganic (Adams 1999;Del Pilar Babot & Apella 2003;Gould 1968;Kraybill 1977;Schroth 1996;Wright 1994).…”

Section: General Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant foods, stone tools and food preparation in prehistoric Europe: An integrative approach in the context of ERC funded project PLANTCULT

Valamoti¹,

Chondrou²,

Bekiaris³

et al. 2020

JLS

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The transformation of food ingredients into meals corresponds to complex choices resulting from the interplay of environmental and cultural factors: available ingredients, technologies of transformation, cultural perceptions of food, as well as taste and food taboos. Project PLANTCULT (ERC Consolidator Grant, GA 682529) aims to investigate prehistoric culinary cultures from the Aegean to Central Europe by focusing on plant foods and associated food preparation technologies spanning the Neolithic through to the Iron Age. Our paper offers an overview of the lines of investigation pursued within the project to address plant food preparation and related stone tool technologies. The wide range of plant foods from the area under investigation (ground cereals, breads, beer, pressed grapes, split pulses, etc.) suggests great variability of culinary preparations. Yet, little is known of the transformation technologies involved (e.g., pounding, grinding, and boiling). Changes in size and shape of grinding stones over time have been associated with efficiency of grinding, specific culinary practices and socioeconomic organisation. Informed by ethnography and experimental data, as well as ancient texts, PLANTCULT integrates archaeobotanical food remains and associated equipment to address these issues. We utilize a multifaceted approach including the study of both published archaeological data and original assemblages from key sites. We aim to develop methods for understanding the interaction of tool type, use-wear formation and associated plant micro- and macro- remains in the archaeological record. Our experimental program aims to generate (a) reference material for the identification of plant processing in the archaeological record and (b) ingredients for the preparation of experimental plant foods, which hold a key role to unlocking the recipes of prehistory. Plant processing technologies are thus investigated across space and through time, in an attempt to explore the dynamic role of culinary transformation of plant ingredients into shaping social and cultural identities in prehistoric Europe.

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“…Regarding the materials processed, grinding tools have been traditionally associated with the processing of cereals and other edible plant species. Recent functional studies, including use-wear and residue analyses (e.g., Adams 1988;Albert, Portillo 2005;Bofill et al 2014;Delgado-Raack 2008;Del Pilar Babot, Apella 2003;Dubreuil 2002;2004;Hamon 2008a;Liu et al 2010;Procopiou et al 1998;2002;Veth et al 1997), combined with a variety of ethnographic data (e.g., Arthur 2014;Gould 1968;Horsfall 1987.336;Roux 1985), shed new light into the functional dynamics of these tools. Grinding implements could in fact be actively involved in a wide range of activities, besides cereal grinding, such as the processing of legumes, tubers, roots and bulbs, nuts, fresh and dried fruits, herbs and spices, acorns, meat, bones, wood, tobacco, minerals, clay, pigments, salt, etc.…”

Section: Aspects Of Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Daily Practices and Special Events

Chondrou

2020

Doc. praeh.

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The article offers a detailed analysis of the grinding tool assemblage from the two neighbouring, partially contemporary and almost entirely excavated Late/Final Neolithic settlements of Kleitos, northwestern Greece. The data shed light on various choices regarding the organisation of the production and management of these implements. According to the evidence, grinding tools were not only used as part of the daily routine, but were also often used in special events. The limited rates of exhausted implements, the extreme fragmentation, and special patterns of deposition indicate the complex manipulation of grinding implements beyond their primary functions.

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Maize and Bone: Residues of Grinding in Northwestern Argentina*

Cited by 40 publications

References 14 publications

Plant Foods and Different Uses of Grinding Tools at the Neolithic Site of Tanghu in Central China

Plant Foods and Different Uses of Grinding Tools at the Neolithic Site of Tanghu in Central China

Plant foods, stone tools and food preparation in prehistoric Europe: An integrative approach in the context of ERC funded project PLANTCULT

Daily Practices and Special Events

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