Neolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs

Simon Hammann; Rosie R. Bishop; Mike Copper; Duncan Garrow; Caitlin Greenwood; Lanah Hewson; Alison Sheridan; Fraser Sturt; Helen L. Whelton; Lucy J. E. Cramp

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-32286-0

Neolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs

Simon Hammann^*, Rosie R. Bishop, Mike Copper, Duncan Garrow^*, Caitlin Greenwood, Lanah Hewson, Alison Sheridan, Fraser Sturt^*, Helen L. Whelton, Lucy J. E. Cramp^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

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Abstract

Cereal cultivation in Britain dates back to ca. 4000 BCE, probably introduced by migrant farmers from continental Europe. Widespread evidence for livestock appears in the archaeozoological record, also reflected by ubiquitous dairy lipids in pottery organic residues. However, despite archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated plants (such as cereals), organic residue evidence has been near-absent. Our approach, targeting low-abundance cereal-specific markers, has now revealed evidence for cereals (indicating wheat) in Neolithic pottery from Scottish ‘crannogs’, dating to ca. 3600 – 3300 BCE. Their association with dairy products suggests cereals may have been regularly prepared together as a milk-based gruel. We also observed a strong association between the occurrence of dairy products and smaller-mouthed vessels. Here, we demonstrate that cereal-specific markers can survive in cooking pots for millennia, revealing the consumption of specific cereals (wheat) that are virtually absent from the archaeobotanical record for this region and illuminating culinary traditions among early farming communities.

Original language	English
Article number	5045
Number of pages	10
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	13
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32286-0
Publication status	Published - 6 Sept 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are all extremely grateful to Chris Murray and Mark Elliott through whose vision and hard work these sites were identified (and much of the material we have analysed recovered) in the first place. This study was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, NE/N011317/1, S.H. and L.J.E.C.) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/S010157/1, D.G and F.S). The survey and excavation work of D.G. and F.S. on these sites (2015-17) was generously funded by the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Honor Frost Foundation and the Society of Antiquaries of London. The authors wish to thank NERC for partial funding of the National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF, contract number NE/V003917/1) as well as NERC and the University of Bristol for supporting its GC-MS (2014 Strategic Environmental Science Capital Call award no. CC010) and GC-IRMS capabilities.

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© 2022, The Author(s).

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title = "Neolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs",

abstract = "Cereal cultivation in Britain dates back to ca. 4000 BCE, probably introduced by migrant farmers from continental Europe. Widespread evidence for livestock appears in the archaeozoological record, also reflected by ubiquitous dairy lipids in pottery organic residues. However, despite archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated plants (such as cereals), organic residue evidence has been near-absent. Our approach, targeting low-abundance cereal-specific markers, has now revealed evidence for cereals (indicating wheat) in Neolithic pottery from Scottish {\textquoteleft}crannogs{\textquoteright}, dating to ca. 3600 – 3300 BCE. Their association with dairy products suggests cereals may have been regularly prepared together as a milk-based gruel. We also observed a strong association between the occurrence of dairy products and smaller-mouthed vessels. Here, we demonstrate that cereal-specific markers can survive in cooking pots for millennia, revealing the consumption of specific cereals (wheat) that are virtually absent from the archaeobotanical record for this region and illuminating culinary traditions among early farming communities.",

author = "Simon Hammann and Bishop, {Rosie R.} and Mike Copper and Duncan Garrow and Caitlin Greenwood and Lanah Hewson and Alison Sheridan and Fraser Sturt and Whelton, {Helen L.} and Cramp, {Lucy J. E.}",

note = "Funding Information: We are all extremely grateful to Chris Murray and Mark Elliott through whose vision and hard work these sites were identified (and much of the material we have analysed recovered) in the first place. This study was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, NE/N011317/1, S.H. and L.J.E.C.) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/S010157/1, D.G and F.S). The survey and excavation work of D.G. and F.S. on these sites (2015-17) was generously funded by the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Honor Frost Foundation and the Society of Antiquaries of London. The authors wish to thank NERC for partial funding of the National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF, contract number NE/V003917/1) as well as NERC and the University of Bristol for supporting its GC-MS (2014 Strategic Environmental Science Capital Call award no. CC010) and GC-IRMS capabilities. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s).",

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AU - Garrow, Duncan

AU - Greenwood, Caitlin

AU - Hewson, Lanah

AU - Sheridan, Alison

AU - Sturt, Fraser

AU - Whelton, Helen L.

AU - Cramp, Lucy J. E.

N1 - Funding Information: We are all extremely grateful to Chris Murray and Mark Elliott through whose vision and hard work these sites were identified (and much of the material we have analysed recovered) in the first place. This study was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, NE/N011317/1, S.H. and L.J.E.C.) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/S010157/1, D.G and F.S). The survey and excavation work of D.G. and F.S. on these sites (2015-17) was generously funded by the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Honor Frost Foundation and the Society of Antiquaries of London. The authors wish to thank NERC for partial funding of the National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF, contract number NE/V003917/1) as well as NERC and the University of Bristol for supporting its GC-MS (2014 Strategic Environmental Science Capital Call award no. CC010) and GC-IRMS capabilities. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

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N2 - Cereal cultivation in Britain dates back to ca. 4000 BCE, probably introduced by migrant farmers from continental Europe. Widespread evidence for livestock appears in the archaeozoological record, also reflected by ubiquitous dairy lipids in pottery organic residues. However, despite archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated plants (such as cereals), organic residue evidence has been near-absent. Our approach, targeting low-abundance cereal-specific markers, has now revealed evidence for cereals (indicating wheat) in Neolithic pottery from Scottish ‘crannogs’, dating to ca. 3600 – 3300 BCE. Their association with dairy products suggests cereals may have been regularly prepared together as a milk-based gruel. We also observed a strong association between the occurrence of dairy products and smaller-mouthed vessels. Here, we demonstrate that cereal-specific markers can survive in cooking pots for millennia, revealing the consumption of specific cereals (wheat) that are virtually absent from the archaeobotanical record for this region and illuminating culinary traditions among early farming communities.

AB - Cereal cultivation in Britain dates back to ca. 4000 BCE, probably introduced by migrant farmers from continental Europe. Widespread evidence for livestock appears in the archaeozoological record, also reflected by ubiquitous dairy lipids in pottery organic residues. However, despite archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated plants (such as cereals), organic residue evidence has been near-absent. Our approach, targeting low-abundance cereal-specific markers, has now revealed evidence for cereals (indicating wheat) in Neolithic pottery from Scottish ‘crannogs’, dating to ca. 3600 – 3300 BCE. Their association with dairy products suggests cereals may have been regularly prepared together as a milk-based gruel. We also observed a strong association between the occurrence of dairy products and smaller-mouthed vessels. Here, we demonstrate that cereal-specific markers can survive in cooking pots for millennia, revealing the consumption of specific cereals (wheat) that are virtually absent from the archaeobotanical record for this region and illuminating culinary traditions among early farming communities.

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DO - 10.1038/s41467-022-32286-0

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JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

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ER -

Neolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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GC-QTOF MS data from Hebridean crannogs

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Neolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Other files and links

Fingerprint

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GC-QTOF MS data from Hebridean crannogs

Cite this