Ancient bread recipes: Archaeometric data on charred findings

This study examines charred bread-like samples found in several archaeological sites across northern Italy and dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages, some of which are included amongst the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The aim is to investigate differences and homogeneities in bread production processes in different eras and cultures. Bread was a staple food in many ancient societies, but has rarely been found amongst the materials that survive in archaeological sites. When it is found, it is usually because the bread was charred by accidental combustion (falling into the oven during baking) or deliberate combustion (for ritual purposes). The literature on the issue is not abundant, but has been growing over the past decade. There is, therefore, room to propose new study methodologies at this time. We studied eight samples of charred bread-like products and we used optical and scanning electron microscopy to identify plant tissue remains attributable to cereal caryopses, partly modified by bread-making processes. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and, for the first time, infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR) were also used to investigate the composition and preparation methods of the different types of bread-like products. In particular, FTIR-ATR analysis can give indications about the presence of starch, gluten and lignin in the sample under investigation and it can, therefore, be used as a screening to guide subsequent SEM analysis in the search for specific cereal residues in the dough. In some cases, the different techniques used also revealed the presence of minerals such as silicates and carbonates, probably due to grinding residues or poor sample cleaning. During SEM observations, phytoliths, diatoms and framboids were also found in some of the samples

The Botanical Record of Archaeobotany Italian Network - BRAIN: a cooperative network, database and website

Con autorización de la revista para autores CSIC[EN] The BRAIN (Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network) database and network was developed by the cooperation of archaeobotanists working on Italian archaeological sites. Examples of recent research including pollen or other plant remains in analytical and synthetic papers are reported as an exemplar reference list. This paper retraces the main steps of the creation of BRAIN, from the scientific need for the first research cooperation to the website which has a free online access since 2015.Peer reviewe

Results from an anthracological investigation of the Mousterian layer A9 at Grotta di Fumane, Italy.

A large charcoal sample taken from the Mousterian layer A9 at the Fumane cave, Italy, have been analyzed with the aim to identify the wood used for the several hearths discovered, achieve information on the criteria of collecting the wood and broadly draw the ecological context at the cave surroundings. Charcoal analysis is thus aimed to understand the state and the size at which the wood was collected. Once these data have been achieved and the heat producing energy of the predominant species, larch, was determined, a hypothesis was advanced on whether the Neanderthals applied particular criteria in the collection of firewood, taking advantage of a particular species. Compared to the other levels of the Fumane cave, layer A9 records the coldest climate based on anthracological analyses, showing that the tree-line was positioned at an elevation not far from the cave, with denser forests of spruce in the valley bottom

Protohistoire de l'Europe

Kruta Venceslas, Castelletti Lanfredo. Protohistoire de l'Europe. In: École pratique des hautes études. Section des sciences historiques et philologiques. Livret-Annuaire 20. 2004-2005. 2006. pp. 97-102

Protohistoire de l'Europe

Kruta Venceslas, Castelletti Lanfredo. Protohistoire de l'Europe. In: École pratique des hautes études. Section des sciences historiques et philologiques. Livret-Annuaire 20. 2004-2005. 2006. pp. 97-102

Studio silotomico delle sculture di Ercole Ferrata

Studio silotomico delle sculture di Ercole Ferrat

L\u2019alimentazione nell\u2019alto medioevo. Il contributo dell\u2019Archeobotanica

Il contributo dell'archeobotanica nello studio della alimentazione nell\u2019alto medioevo

Indications from the wooden support and from the other organic materials of the Pace di Chiavenna

In the present research Archaeobotany has been applied to the study of some organic materials of Pace di Chiavenna, that are the wooden plate, the wooden cross beneath the central golden cross and the beeswax compound beneath one enamel. The palaeobotanical analyses of the wooden elements could not clarify the geographical origin of the cross, probably black alder wood, while a subalpine or Mediterranean origin seems plausible for the walnut plate. The species found in pollen preserved in the beeswax currently have a very wide altitudinal distribution, extending from the hill to the mountain belt. All the species found were widespread during the Middle Ages in almost all of Western Europe, so it is not possible to identify or completely exclude a specific region in which the wax could have been produced. However, it seems more likely that the area of origin is Northern Italy and in particular a territory near the Pre-Alps. The palynological evidence indicates a strongly anthropized environment, that probably surrounded a city or a large inhabited center

Storia del clima in Brianza

Il contributo della paleoecologia alla ricostruzione del clima della Brianza antic