Credit: State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-AnhaltResearch evaluating pottery fat residues from Central Europe shows dietary shifts over 4,000 years, connecting modifications in pottery designs and utilizes with developing culinary preferences from dairy to pork and vice versa.The first societies that produced agriculture and pottery emerged in Central Europe around 7,500 years back, marked by the spread of the Early Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture. While archaeologists have generally focused on studying these pottery types and decorations to differentiate between ancient cultures, the examination into the contents and functions of these pottery items has been relatively limited.In a groundbreaking research study recently published in PLOS ONE, researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt explored the culinary customs of main Germany in between the Early Neolithic and the Late Bronze Age (dating back 3,500 to 7,500 years), and cultural relations with changes in pottery designs and decorations. The samples analyzed in this study make up the most significant historical information series for Germany so far.Results expose a variety of modifications in the use of pottery and food preparation throughout this duration, as well as complex relations these prehistoric populations developed with food resources and the primary means to cook, shop, and consume them.
Credit: State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-AnhaltResearch evaluating pottery fat residues from Central Europe shows dietary shifts over 4,000 years, linking changes in pottery styles and uses with developing cooking preferences from dairy to pork and vice versa.The very first societies that produced agriculture and pottery emerged in Central Europe around 7,500 years back, marked by the spread of the Early Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture. While archaeologists have traditionally focused on studying these pottery types and decors to distinguish between prehistoric cultures, the examination into the contents and functions of these pottery items has actually been fairly limited.In a groundbreaking study recently published in PLOS ONE, researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt checked out the cooking customs of central Germany in between the Early Neolithic and the Late Bronze Age (dating back 3,500 to 7,500 years), and cultural relations with modifications in pottery styles and decors. The samples evaluated in this research study make up the biggest historical information series for Germany so far.Results reveal a variety of changes in the use of pottery and food preparation throughout this period, as well as intricate relations these ancient populations developed with food resources and the primary means to prepare, shop, and eat them. “This has allowed us to see how particular cooking practices and tastes for various methods of cooking with pottery were established, a variety that would be really tough to detect using other historical signs,” mentions Adrià Breu, a scientist at the UAB Department of Prehistory and very first author of the short article.
