Processing plants for food: Experimental grinding within the ERC-project PLANTCULT

PlantCult Project aims to explore the role of culinary traditions and innovations through their impact on shaping the social landscape in ancient Europe over long time periods (from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age) and large territories. The experimental program is part of an integrated study of food products and associated equipment focusing on whether the introduction of new species or changes in social and economic organisation brought about changes in the food grinding technologies of the area. The experiments include tools operated by back and forth reciprocal motion and circular motion, and manufactured from different raw materials, with different morphologies and sizes. The tools design and the list of plant ingredients (cereals, legumes, acorns and oil-seeds) ground in the experiments are all based on the archaeological record of the studied area. In this paper we present the experimental protocol, the multi-scale methodology applied to the use-wear analysis of grinding stone tools, and the results of the experimental processing of the main plant ingredients detected in prehistoric European cuisine

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

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

Vsakodnevni običaji in posebni dogodki: Raziskava žrmelj na dveh sosednjih naselbinah v Kleitosu v času poznega/končnega neolitika v severni Grčiji

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.V članku predstavljamo podrobno analizo zbira žrmelj iz dveh sosednjih, delno sočasnih in skoraj v celoti izkopanih naselbin v kraju Kleitos na severozahodu Grčije. Podatki osvetljujejo različne možnosti pri organizaciji produkcije in upravljanju teh orodij. Dokazujemo, da žrmlje niso bile le del vsakodnevnih običajev, ampak so bile pogosto uporabljene pri posebnih dogodkih. Omejene količine uporabljenih orodij, izredna fragmentiranost in posebni vzorci odlaganja predmetov kažejo na bolj kompleksno obdelavo žrmelj, ki presegajo njihovo osnovno namembnost

The ground stone tool assemblages from the prehistoric settlements Kleitos I and Kleitos II of the Kitrini Limni basin, Kozani

The present study attempts to approach aspects of the organization of a Neolithic society in the site of Kleitos in the prefecture of Kozani, Northern Greece, through the study of a part of prehistoric technology, the ground stone tools. The site of Kleitos offers an excellent research context, since it is one of the very few cases, in the entire Balkan area, of a fully excavated Neolithic site. The rescue excavations brought to light the remains of two adjacent settlements, less than 100 meters apart, dated to the Late and Final Neolithic period. The two settlements, co-existed for some time, until the earliest Kleitos I was abandoned and Kleitos II continued its course. The main objective of the study was to reconstruct the system of production and management of ground stone technology of Kleitos, to understand how this system is reflected in space and to explore the relationship between the two neighboring sites.Regarding tool manufacture, the data testify to the existence of common technological traditions at a settlement level, with some deviations however that emphasize - among others - the importance of the personal factor, while there are also finds of exogenous origin. The way ground stone tools are maintained and handled presents a complex picture that cannot be interpreted solely in economic terms, but is deeply influenced by powerful cultural practices. Signs of deliberate and selective actions of destruction or deposition/disposal of intact and fully functional tools are often identified, suggesting that these objects may have obtained multiple meanings, beyond their purely functional role.Based on the results of the analysis, the two settlements present substantial, although difficult to detect at first glance, technological deviations: they appear to be basically exploiting different areas of the landscape, to have different access to exchange networks, to present changes in the manufacturing techniques, as well as in the spatial distribution of the activities involving ground stone tools. Finally, an overall examination of the conclusions drawn for the two communities suggests various social, cultural and economic changes through time.Στόχος της παρούσας μελέτης είναι η προσέγγιση όψεων της οργάνωσης μίας νεολιθικής κοινωνίας στη θέση Κλείτος του νομού Κοζάνης μέσα από τη μελέτη ενός τμήματος της προϊστορικής τεχνολογίας, της τριπτής λιθοτεχνίας. Ο Κλείτος προσφέρει ένα εξαιρετικό πλαίσιο εργασίας, καθώς αποτελεί μία από τις λιγοστές, σε ολόκληρο τον Βαλκανικό χώρο, περιπτώσεις πλήρως ανεσκαμμένης νεολιθικής θέσης. Οι σωστικές ανασκαφές έφεραν στο φως τα κατάλοιπα δύο γειτονικών, σε απόσταση μικρότερη των 100 μέτρων, οικισμών της Νεότερης και Τελικής Νεολιθικής περιόδου. Οι δύο οικισμοί, αν και όχι σύγχρονοι, συνυπήρξαν για κάποιο χρονικό διάστημα, μέχρις ότου ο παλαιότερος Κλείτος Ι εγκαταλειφθεί και ο Κλείτος ΙΙ συνεχίσει την πορεία του. Βασικός στόχος της μελέτης υπήρξε η ανασύσταση του συστήματος παραγωγής και διαχείρισης της τριπτής λιθοτεχνίας του Κλείτου, η κατανόηση του τρόπου με τον οποίο το σύστημα αυτό αποτυπώνεται στο χώρο, και η διερεύνηση της σχέσης μεταξύ των δύο γειτονικών θέσεων. Αναφορικά με την κατασκευή των εργαλείων τα δεδομένα μαρτυρούν την ύπαρξη κοινών τεχνολογικών παραδόσεων σε επίπεδο οικισμού, χωρίς να απουσιάζουν αποκλίσεις, οι οποίες τονίζουν -μεταξύ άλλων- τη σημασία του προσωπικού παράγοντα, ενώ υπάρχουν ακόμα ευρήματα εξωγενούς προέλευσης. Ο τρόπος διαχείρισης της τριπτής λιθοτεχνίας παρουσιάζει μία σύνθετη εικόνα που δεν μπορεί να ερμηνευτεί αποκλειστικά υπό οικονομικούς όρους, αλλά επηρεάζεται από τη δράση ισχυρών πολιτισμικών πρακτικών. Οι ενδείξεις συχνά παραπέμπουν σε σκόπιμες και επιλεκτικές δράσεις ηθελημένης απόρριψης ακέραιων και λειτουργικών εργαλείων ή σκόπιμης καταστροφής τους, υποδηλώνοντας μία άλλη διάσταση των αντικειμένων αυτών, πέρα από την καθαρά λειτουργική. Βάσει των αποτελεσμάτων της ανάλυσης οι δύο οικισμοί παρουσιάζουν από τεχνολογικής απόψεως ουσιώδεις, αν και ανεπαίσθητες με την πρώτη ματιά, αποκλίσεις: φαίνεται να εκμεταλλεύονται κατά βάση διαφορετικές ζώνες του περιβάλλοντος τοπίου, να έχουν διαφορετική πρόσβαση σε δίκτυα ανταλλαγών, να αποκλίνουν ως προς τις κατασκευαστικές μεθόδους, αλλά και την χωρική κατανομή των εργασιών στις οποίες εμπλέκεται η τριπτή λιθοτεχνία. Τέλος, μία διαχρονική εξέταση των δύο κοινοτήτων αφήνει να διαφανούν πιθανές μεταβολές κοινωνικής, πολιτισμικής και οικονομικής φύσεως

How do you like your cereal? A qualitative and quantitative use-wear analysis on archaeological grinding tools from prehistoric Greek sites

International audienc

Grütze, Bulgur, Mehl und Griess: Bericht zum internationalen Arbeitstreffen 'Archäobotanische Identifikation von Getreidespeisen' (Basel, 2./3. Uni 2015), mit einem praktischen Leitfaden zu ihrer integrativen Untersuchung

[EN] Although cereals are among the most important staple foods worldwide, we know little about how they were prepared for consumption in prehistoric times. That is wh international experts on macrobotanical remains (seeds, fruits etc.), microfossils (starch granules and phytoliths), and on use-wear analysis morphotechnology of grinding devices were invited to attend a workshop at the IPAS. The article published here summarises the lectures held at the workshop and provides an overview on the state of research and on the great variety of cereal-based foods known from ethnographical sources. It aims to show how such remains should be recovered and what the biggest gaps in the research are. Standard criteria must be established for the study of cereal products and a database must be created which records the contents and structural characteristics of such remains.[FR] Partout dans le monde, les cereales sont essentielles parmi les aliments de base. Malgre cette suprematie, an ne sait pratiquement rien de la forme saus laquelle elles etaient consommees aux epoques pre- et protohistoriques. La reunion de travail organisee a l'IPNA a rassemble des experts internationaux specialises dans le domaine des macrarestes botaniques (graines, fruits, etc.}, des microrestes (particules d'amidon et phytolithes), de meme que dans celui de la traceologie et de la morphotechnologie des outils utilises pour Ia mouture. Le present article propose un resume des communications et fournit une vue d'ensemble de l'etat de la recherche, de meme que de La grande diversite des aliments a base de cereales connus de Sources ethnographiques. Les auteurs ont pour objectifs d'informer sur le maniement correct de ces vestiges et de deceler les principales lacunes dont souffre Ia recherche. Il est prevu de mettre sur pied des criteres homogenes applicables a l'etude des produits a base de cereale, et de creer une banque de donnees rassemblant !es contenus et les proprietes structurales de tels vestiges.[DE] Getreide gehören weltweit zu den wichtigsten Grundnahrungsmitteln. Trotzdem ist wenig darüber bekannt, in welcher Form sie in vorgeschichtlicher Zeit konsumiert wurden. Das am IPNA durchgeführte Arbeitstreffen brachte deshalb internationale Experten und Expertinnen von botanischen Makroresten (Samen, Früchte usw.), Mikroresten ( Stärkekörner und Phytolithen) sowie Gebrauchsspuren und Morphotechnologie von Mahlwerkzeugen zusammen. Der vorliegende Artikel präsentiert eine Zusammen-fassung der gehaltenen Vorträge und gibt einen Überblick über den Forschungsstand sowie über die grosse Vielfalt an Getreidespeisen, welche aus ethnografischen Quellen bekannt ist. Er will vermitteln, wie solche Reste sachgerecht geborgen werden und wo die Forschungslücken am grössten sind. In Zukunft sollten einheitliche Kriterien für die Untersuchung von Getreideprodukten erarbeitet und eine Datenbank der Inhalte und der strukturellen Eigenschaften solcher Reste aufgebaut werden.[IT] A livello mondiale i cereali sono tra gli alimenti di base di maggiore importanza. Ciononostante poco e risaputo sui modi di consumazione nella preistoria. L'incontro di lavoro tenutosi all'IPNA ha riunito esperti ed esperte internazionali di macroresti botanici (semi, frutti, ecc.), di microresti (granuli di amidi, fitoliti), dell'analisi di tracce d'uso e di tecno-morfologia degli attrezzi per La macinatura. L'articolo riassume le presentazioni tenute, fornisce un quadro dello stato della ricerca e sintetizza Ia grande varieta di alimenti a base di ereali conosciuti da fonti etnografiche. lnoltre, vuole informare su come recuperare questi resti in modo appropriato e sulle attuali lacune della ricerca. Per il futuro si auspica l'elaborazione di criteri unanimi per l'analisi dei resti cereali e La creazione di una banca dati per i contenuti e le caratteristiche strulturali di questi resti.Dem Schweizerischen Nationalfonds (IZ32Z0_161668) und der AVUBA (Assistierendenvereinigung der Universität Basel) danken wir für die finanzielle Unterstützung.Peer Reviewe