What’s for Dinner? Investigating Food-Processing Technologies at Dust Cave, Alabama

Homsey, Lara K.; Walker, Renee B.; Hollenbach, Kandace D.

doi:10.1179/sea.2010.29.1.012

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Six cooking methods that represent a range of commonly used traditional cooking practices (see Berndt et al 1993;Homsey et al 2010;Yankowski et al 2015) were investigated to document changes in morphology, and elemental and isotope chemistry.…”

Section: Description Of Cooking Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do fish remains provide reliable palaeoenvironmental records? An examination of the effects of cooking on the morphology and chemistry of fish otoliths, vertebrae and scales

Disspain

Ulm

Izzo

et al. 2016

Journal of Archaeological Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

M. (2016) Do fish remains provide reliable palaeoenvironmental records? An examination of the effects of cooking on the morphology and chemistry of fish otoliths, vertebrae and scales. M. (2016) Do fish remains provide reliable palaeoenvironmental records? An examination of the effects of cooking on the morphology and chemistry of fish otoliths, vertebrae and scales. AbstractThe morphological and chemical properties of fish calcified structures provide excellent environmental and anthropogenic proxies; however, pre-depositional handling may alter these properties, confounding interpretations. This study examines the effects of some traditional processing and cooking methods on the morphological and chemical properties of modern fish otoliths (ear bones), vertebrae, and scales using an experimental approach. Whole mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) were treated using a range of techniques, including boiled in freshwater and saltwater; roasted directly on a fire and wrapped in clay; salted; and completely burnt. Samples were also obtained from untreated fish as controls for comparison. Otoliths, vertebrae and scales from the samples were subjected to morphological, trace element ( 7 Li, 23 Na, 24 Mg, 55 Mn, 86 Sr, 138 Ba, 208 Pb, and 65 Zn all ratioed to 43 Ca) and stable isotope analyses (otoliths and vertebrae-inorganic δ 13 C and δ 18 O; scales-organic δ 13 C and δ 15 N). Results reveal disparities in the chemistry and morphology of otoliths and vertebrae processed in different ways. The otolith and vertebrae carbonate δ 18 O values were lower in samples that experienced heating; burnt samples differed significantly from the control samples. Otolith and vertebrae trace elements were largely unaffected by the treatments relative to the controls; however, some individual elements within the burning and salting groups varied significantly. The impacts observed in the fish scales were less substantial. Results provide a basis for evaluating the suitability of archaeological samples for analysis. We recommend avoiding the use of heated samples. Findings highlight the need to conduct palaeoenvironmental reconstructions based on chemistry and stable isotope data of archaeological remains with caution.

show abstract

Section: Description Of Cooking Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do fish remains provide reliable palaeoenvironmental records? An examination of the effects of cooking on the morphology and chemistry of fish otoliths, vertebrae and scales

Disspain

Ulm

Izzo

et al. 2016

Journal of Archaeological Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Work by Rouse et al [107] reminds us of the importance of re-examining preconceived notions of vessels functionespecially among what has been perceived as pastoral nomadic groups. Experiments with food processing and cooking techniques are becoming more important in recent years as a way to gain insight into ancient cuisines and cooking techniques [88,[108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115]. Controlled experimentation in the NYU culinary school kitchens showed that the use-wear patterns observed on the ma'an jars could be created via the two aforementioned cooking methods, i.e.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

What do “barbarians” eat? Integrating ceramic use-wear and residue analysis in the study of food and society at the margins of Bronze Age China

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Siwa archaeological culture (ca. 3350 and 2650 cal yr BP) has often been associated with the tribes referenced in textual sources as Qiang and Rong: prized captives commonly sacrificed by the Shang and marauding hordes who toppled the Western Zhou dynasty. In early Chinese writings, food plays a key role in accentuating the ‘sino-barbarian’ dichotomy believed to have taken root over 3000 years ago, with the Qiang and Rong described as nomadic pastoralists who consumed more meat than grain and knew little of proper dining etiquette. To date, however, little direct archaeological evidence has allowed us to reconstruct the diet and foodways of the groups who occupied the Loess Plateau during this pivotal period. Here we present the results of the first ceramic use-wear study performed on the Siwa ma’an jars from the site of Zhanqi, combined with the molecular and isotopic characterization of lipid residues from foodcrusts, and evidence from experimental cooking. We report molecular data indicating the preparation of meals composed of millet and ruminant dairy among the Siwa community of Zhanqi. Use-wear analysis shows that Zhanqi community members were sophisticated creators of ceramic equipment, the ma’an cooking pot, which allowed them to prepare a wide number of dishes with limited fuel. These findings support recent isotope studies at Zhanqi as well as nuance the centrality of meat in the Siwa period diet.

show abstract

“…Travel and transport costs were demonstrably long-standing constraints on hickory nut storage strategies. Prehistoric foragers began intensively storing and bulk processing hickory nuts for oil by the Middle Archaic (Homsey et al 2010; Moore and Dekle 2010; Munson 1986; Stafford 1991). With rare exceptions thereafter, hickory is the dominant nutshell in Archaic macrofossil assemblages (Scarry 2003; Simon 2009; Yarnell and Black 1985), consistent with the prey choice model prediction that high-return resources should always be taken (Carmody 2010).…”

Section: Implications For Anthropogenic Niche Construction and Small mentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging Models, Niche Construction, and the Eastern Agricultural Complex

Zeanah¹

2017

Am. Antiq.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Some proponents of niche construction challenge the validity of optimality models for investigating agricultural origins, but offer no alternative strategy for understanding the economic context of human foraging decisions. They refer to the Eastern Agricultural Complex as an example of how seed cultivation can result from resource enhancement rather than population-induced resource depression, contradicting a prediction inferred from the prey choice model. Low-return seed cultigens were harvested in environments offering more highly ranked hickory nuts in abundance, apparently supporting their interpretation. A marginal value model demonstrates that in years of low mast yield, foragers could more profitably fill food stores from nearby seed plots than from distant hickory trees. Cultivating seeds would have been economically worthwhile when population circumscription constrained mobility, consistent with trends indicating regional population growth. Surges in walnut shell relative to small seeds are also consistent with the model, suggesting that foragers intensified their use of local, anthropogenic vegetation communities as populations grew, stimulating development of horticultural economies. This illustrates the value of foraging models used in conjunction with niche construction for investigating agricultural origins, particularly when model predictions initially fail to accord with archaeological evidence.Algunos defensores del modelo de construcción de nicho disputan la validez de los modelos de estado óptimo en la investigación de los orígenes de la agricultura; sin embargo, no ofrecen una estrategia alternativa para comprender el contexto económico de las decisiones de forrajeo humanas. Estos investigadores utilizan el Complejo Agrícola Oriental como ejemplo de la posibilidad de que el cultivo de semillas pudo haber resultado de la mejora de recursos en lugar de la depresión de recursos inducida por el crecimiento poblacional, lo cual contradice una predicción inferida del modelo de elección de presas. Las semillas de bajo retorno fueron cosechadas en ambientes que ofrecían fuentes de nutrición preferenciales tales como las nueces de nogal en abundancia, aparentemente apoyando estas interpretaciones. Un modelo de valor marginal demuestra que en años de bajo rendimiento de nueces, los recolectores pudieron haber llenado sus depósitos de los semilleros cercanos con más facilidad que si hubieran aprovechado los nogales lejanos. En consistencia con tendencias que indican un crecimiento demográfico regional, el cultivo de semillas habría adquirido valor económico cuando la circunscripción limitaba la movilidad. Los aumentos repentinos de cáscaras de nuez en relación a las semillas pequeñas también son consistentes con este modelo, el cual indica que los recolectores intensificaron la utilización de comunidades vegetales antropogénicas mientras crecía la población, estimulando así el desarrollo de economías hortícolas. Esto ilustra el valor de los modelos de forrajeo utilizados en combinación con la construcci...

show abstract

What’s for Dinner? Investigating Food-Processing Technologies at Dust Cave, Alabama

Cited by 16 publications

References 11 publications

Do fish remains provide reliable palaeoenvironmental records? An examination of the effects of cooking on the morphology and chemistry of fish otoliths, vertebrae and scales

Do fish remains provide reliable palaeoenvironmental records? An examination of the effects of cooking on the morphology and chemistry of fish otoliths, vertebrae and scales

What do “barbarians” eat? Integrating ceramic use-wear and residue analysis in the study of food and society at the margins of Bronze Age China

Foraging Models, Niche Construction, and the Eastern Agricultural Complex

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About