Why the Bronze Age diet was more varied and sophisticated than we first thought
A new study from the University of York has suggested that, far from simply hunting and gathering raw ingredients, late Stone Age cooks skilfully combined meat, fish, fruit and vegetables in cooked meals that followed local recipes.
Using chemical analysis and sophisticated microscopes, the University of York and the British Museum, examined residues found on 58 pieces of pottery unearthed at 13 sites across northern and eastern Europe dating from the Bronze Age. The residues survive as charred “foodcrusts” left on pots and bowls.
In with meat, freshwater fish and shellfish, scientists found “wild grasses and legumes, fleshy fruits or berries, green vegetables and roots/tubers from plant species”. These plants included barley, wild oats, types grass and berries.”
Late Stone Age people “approached plant foods selectively, consciously choosing certain species over others and combining these with
