State of the (t)art. Analytical approaches in the investigation of components and production traits of archaeological bread-like objects, applied to two finds from the Neolithic lakeshore settlement Parkhaus Opéra (Zürich, Switzerland)

PLoS One. 2017 Aug 3;12(8):e0182401. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182401. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The site of Parkhaus Opéra is located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Zürich (Switzerland) and was documented during a rescue excavation in 2010 and 2011 by the Office for Urbanism, City of Zürich. Two charred bread-like objects were found in late Neolithic Layer 13 of the pile-dwelling, and are investigated using a novel set of analyses for cereal-based foodstuffs. Tissue remains of barley and wheat were identified, as well as a schizocarp of celery (cf. Apium graveolens), providing the first evidence for the use of bread condiments in the Neolithic. Cereal particle sizes were recorded and used to draw conclusions regarding milling and sieving of the raw material. Gas bubbles in the charred objects were measured in order to evaluate possible leavening of the dough. The outcomes of this research significantly advance the understanding of the production traits of cereal-based food during the Neolithic. The analytical techniques proposed by this study open up new possibilities for systematic and consistent investigations of cereal-based archaeological foodstuffs.

MeSH terms

  • Archaeology*
  • Bread / analysis*
  • Edible Grain / chemistry*
  • Edible Grain / metabolism*
  • Food-Processing Industry
  • Humans
  • Switzerland
  • Triticum / chemistry*
  • Triticum / metabolism*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Cantonal Archaeology of Zürich (http://www.are.zh.ch/internet/baudirektion/are/de/service/international.html) to CH, NB, FA, MK, and AGH. Data evaluation and manuscript production was funded by the H2020 European Research Council in the project PLANTCULT (ERC-2015-CoG 682529, http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/202606_en.html) to SMV, AGH, FA, SJ, and HPS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.