ARCHEOLOGY OF FOOD

ARCHEOLOGY OF FOOD

Introduction

Technological advancements and innovations have provided facilities that are helping in advanced studies of the archaeology of food. It is concerned with the study and analysis of various roles food consumed by humans performs in the social environment and its contributions towards civilization. The archaeology of food is classified in two general segments which include prehistory and historical archaeology periods. The prehistory study is concerned with food before human started keeping records and historical archaeology era entails written records such as publications, poetry, government and educational records plus others.

Summary

Food archaeology helps in the identification of sources of various foodstuffs, how food influenced civilization and how they contributed to the development of various societies. Analysis of excavated food remains has assisted in determining periods that various foods were domesticated and how they influenced various cultures(Metheny, K. B., & Beaudry, M. C 2015). Pieces of bread that was obtained during the excavation process in Jordan indicated that the human race has been baking bread earlier than initially anticipated and it influenced people to set down and indulge in farming.

Water that passes through the ground normally sweeps over rocks plus soil elements and once people consume the water, some of the chemicals present enter the human body. These elements also gain entry to the human body through feeding on animals and plants which depend on the same water (Twiss, K., 2015).  Evidence from genetic analysis of evidence assists individuals to identify locations where various plants were domesticated and also animal species that was used as food. Presence of various foodstuffs in various locations assist in identifying how far individuals traded. Analysis techniques assist in identification of meal maps which are used in the construction of importation and exportation networks and linkages in various cultures. In China, individuals were buried in double coffins and various items which were included in the burial indicated status in the society. There was the presence of several bones belonging to animals and drinks.

Evaluation

Comparison of various excavated food remains to support and contradict historical records, however food extracts which have been found buried underground, preserved animals meat, dried plants, and study of human bones, fossilized human waste and undigested food in stomach assist in providing insights to the subject. Evidence which has been collected is analyzed mostly from animal remains since plants are considered to be futile due to high decay rates. There are cases where preserved plant remains have been excavated, but they burned and their matter is under natural preservation indefinitely (Hastorf, C. A., 2016). The process of isolating floral particles which have been collected entails placing them into floatation tank where water is passed under high pressure.

The water that is forced through the sediments forces seeds, pollen grains, and other plant particles to float on the surface. After which they are collected and then get dated using radiocarbon to determine for how long they have existed. There have been recoveries of yams particles, arrowroots and other grains which have been collected from ancient settlements which existed in Central America and have dated back to 7 thousand years ago. Microscopic analysis of burned plant residues has assisted to determine whether they were planted or they grew from wild sources. Such information has also enabled anthropologists and archaeologists to determine whether the society in various settlements was farmers or they were hunters plus gathers  (Hastorf, C. A., 2016). The epidermal cells that exist in the remains of silica ghosts that are analyzed under electron scanners produce results which are used to classify domesticated plants from wild ones. Investigations under such setting of husks and grains from China have assisted to roll back the date of rice domestication from eight thousand years to eleven thousand years and have identified the specific location as Yangtze River. The methodology of fingerprinting of DNA provides an approach for identifying domestication which was applied in wheat and indicated that the early cases of domestication took place in Karacadaq in Turkey.

Human remains such as bones also provide information about the nature of diet ancient individuals might have been accustomed to. Analysis of isotopes related to collagen assist in distinguishing the chemical composition and structures of food they individuals were taking. It is also possible to identify the ration of land food products and seafood which were present in the diet. Such information is used to determine associations between various nutritional structures and social status of the individuals (Metheny, K. B., & Beaudry, M. C 2015). Human bones which were excavated from the Mayan state in Mexico revealed that the high social class people occupied urban areas and had the best diets while the worst was found in the slum areas which provide evidence between the connection of economic status and feeding patterns.

Examination of food remains, the setting that the evidence was gathered also reveals substantial information about diet and the type of food consumed by the society. Environmental items such as pottery that indicate grain impressions, eating plus drinking utensils and storage items with food particles identify where specific foodstuffs existed. Analysis of chemicals in the food remains from eating utensils through advanced technology reveal information about dish ingredients (Twiss, K., 2015). Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania applied infra-red technology, chromatography to analyze the excavated utensils from an old tomb in Turkey belonging to King Midas. Evaluation of Proteins plus fats assisted the scientists to draw conclusions that diet for the feasts included meat, alcoholic drinks, honey, and other food items.

Analysis of gravesites has assisted to gain vital information because starting from Neolithic period human beings have been buried with some amount of food to utilize in their afterlife presumably. In the ancient Iron Age between 500 BCE to CE burial locations in Thailand contained large deposits of rice that are carbonized utilized as burial beds. In this era, individuals were laid on deposits of rice and covered with some also. Such burial beds were blazed in efforts to purify the burial graves (Hastorf, C. A., 2016). The graves that contained rice also had other special jewelry that indicated that the individual who was in the grave had special rank in the society. It is also possible that the society produced surplus rice in large volumes and was placed in controlled distribution through the chieftain who had power over the producers.

In some cases, the items which were used for storage of food and their shipment were mostly clay jars which were used to pack fish sauce, wine, various fruits, and olive oil. Archaeological evidence which was extracted from fortress Masada which is located in Israel has indicated Roma amphora’s that contained wine residues which contained an inscription of King Herod which indicate they were samples from Italian Vineyards (Hawkes, G., 2017). Culinary archaeology is another aspect of food archaeology which is concerned with the research of food preparation plus various utensils. Steamers for rice were excavated from Thailand and other various ancient locations. Technological advancements and innovations support archaeologists and anthropologists to identify the heat level which was utilized in cooking ancient meals.

The analysis of stomach contents from Lindow man remains which was in British bog was analyzed under electron resonance with a capacity of identifying the highest heat which was used to prepare the food indicated that the cake was prepared in a flat surface which was heated up to 200 degrees Celsius for almost half an hour. During the archaeological studies, experts have also come across charred foodstuffs especially at Herculaneum and Pompeii which was salvaged after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. The inhabitants of the region left behind prepared meals on tables, foodstuffs in various vending shops and bakeries in ovens (Hastorf, C. A., 2016). During the incidence of the eruption the Egyptian priest who was situated at the temple of Isis located in Pompeii was feeding on fish plus eggs. Researchers who were evaluating the scene at Pompeii was able to evaluate methodologies which were implemented by Romans pertaining to storage of food, urban planning, distribution of food items, processing with regards to the city structure. Calculations and measuring distances from living places to hotels help in identifying the distance people had to travel to get food.

Excavation of various items and analyzing them using laboratory equipment’s provide results which are processes to determine when humans started indulging in agriculture in various locations. Food plays a vital obligation in the development of various cultural aspects and agriculture since the challenges of subsistence farming was always eradicated initially before surplus production was started, expansion of population and initialization of ranked community with elite leaders indulging in  gaining power to rule, conduct military activities, control religion and production of crafts (Hawkes, G., 2017). Food is a key factor in catalyzing of development of various cultural activities. Anthropology of food history and archaeology provides research studies and peer reviews which are concentrated in regions such as Ancient Mexico, Mesopotamia, Central America, ancient Greece, and Pre-Columbian. The connection of various foodstuffs with their origins and our ancestors assist the current generation to develop food systems that are sustainable with lesser issues connected to allergies and intolerance of foodstuffs.

Conclusion

The essay above discusses the archaeology of food, various findings and its importance in understanding civilization and various cultural aspects. Archaeologists nowadays use technologically advanced techniques to obtain accurate results which have defied earlier conclusions. Presence of various food in various locations assist in identifying the time that various communities started indulging in farming and domestication of animals. There is also foodstuff which has been found in graves which symbolizes various cultural practices among various communities. Food is historically considered to be one of driving forces for civilization and development of practices such as business and other aspects. The archaeology of food provides information that assists the society towards the development of food sustainability through practices that are adopted from the past.

Reference

Twiss, K. (2015). Food and Identity. In, M. Beaudry and K. Metheny (eds.), The Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia.

Metheny, K. B., & Beaudry, M. C. (Eds.). (2015). Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia (Vol. 2). Rowman & Littlefield.

Hawkes, G. (2017, June). An archaeology of food: a case study from Roman Britain. In TRAC 2000: Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Theoretical Archaeology Conference. London 2000 (p. 94). Oxbow Books.

Hastorf, C. A. (2016). The social archaeology of food: thinking about eating from prehistory to the present. Cambridge University Press.