On the origins of bread cultures in the Near East: a new archaeobotanical study of charred meals and cooking practices from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey) and Jarmo (Iraqi Kurdistan)

This PhD study integrates unstudied plant evidence from the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük East (Turkey) and Jarmo (Iraqi Kurdistan), such as charred residues and amorphous charred organic material which were originally identified as “food” and “bread,” combined with the study of artefact assemblages (clay balls, pots and grinding stones), ethnographical studies and experimental food preparation and charring experiments. The main aim of this thesis is to assess the extent to which these early sites can be characterised as a bread culture (e.g. Fuller & Rowlands 2011) and how much diversity of cereal preparation techniques were employed in the past and how these diversified over time. The methods developed in this research project have provided a new means of characterising archaeobotanical assemblages with charred food fragments as representative of Neolithic “recipes” the chaîne opératoire, which links harvested cereals to cooked products for consumption. The intention of this study is to characterise how these recipes changed over time and might have varied across the Neolithic Çatalhöyük and Jarmo communities, shedding light on socio-economical differences

Soil Improving Cropping Systems for Sustainable and Profitable Farming in Europe

A major challenge for the future is combining both the profitability and sustainability of agriculture. The European H2020 project SoilCare aims to identify, test, and evaluate soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) which contribute to the implementation of agricultural solutions across Europe (See: https://soilcare-project.eu/en/ for the project website). The project includes 16 study sites distributed across Europe. Each study site implemented short-term experiments during the duration of the project, and most also ran long-term experiments comparing soil quality as a function of different treatments, such as soil amendments, tillage, cover crops, nutrients, and organic matter inputs. In addition, eight work-packages assess different aspects encompassing reviewing the soil-improving cropping systems, the participatory analysis of implementation and selection, methodology and analysis, upscaling at the European level, policy analysis and support, and dissemination and communication. In this way, SoilCare works on a providing a holistic approach to soil quality, spanning from biophysical to human interactions at different scales. In this Special Issue, we aim to compile scientific findings on soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) based on field experiments, including the study of policy, upscaling, and dissemination