Stone Age families enjoyed ‘surprisingly complex’ meals

The study, led by a University of York researcher, revealed an “unprecedented” variety of plants in human diets thousands of years ago.

People living in Britain and Europe as long ago as the sixth millennium BC used a wide range of plant, animal and seafood products to create “elaborate” meals, the researchers said.

The study was led by Dr Lara González Carretero, from the University of York, and also involved researchers from Ireland, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Poland, Russia and Spain.

Researchers examined organic remains found in 58 pieces of pottery uncovered at 13 archaeological sites across northern and eastern Europe dating between the sixth and third millennium BC.

Experimental cooking with modern replica pottery vessels to recreate prehistoric recipes. Experts have found Stone Age families enjoyed a ‘surprisingly complex’ range of cuisine (Image: Lara González Carretero/SWNS)

They recovered tissue samples of a wide variety of plants – including grasses, berries, leaves, and seeds.

A common technique for interpreting the diets of ancient cultures involves analysing fatty residues in ancient pottery.

But Dr Carretero said that method is limited as it mostly provides insights only into animal remains.

For the new study, published in the journal PLOS One, the research team instead combined multiple techniques, including microscopic examination and chemical analysis, to identify the remains of plants that were eaten by ancient European hunter-gatherers.

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Dr Carretero said: “In many cases, plant remains were found alongside those of animals, most often fish and other seafood.

“The exact mixtures and ingredients varied from region to region, most likely reflecting which resources were locally available as well as local cultural practices.

“These findings emphasise the important role of plants and aquatic foods in the diets of early Europeans.

“These results also support the idea that these communities regularly used pottery technology for food preparation and that each culture had their own complex culinary traditions.

“This study also demonstrates that combining multiple analytical techniques can yield detailed insights that are overlooked by traditional methods, particularly when it comes to the plants that ancient peoples were eating.”

Dr Carretero added: “While conventional chemical analysis tends to highlight the animal-based components of ancient meals, our combined microscopic approach has brought these prehistoric recipes back into focus.

“We found that hunter-gatherer-fishers were not living on fish alone. They were actively processing and consuming a wide variety of plants.

“This research underscores that to truly understand ancient diets, we need to take a closer look at these food crusts, quite literally.”