The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe

Alexandre Jules Andre Lucquin; Harry Kenneth Robson; Ester Oras; Jasmine Lundy; Giulia Moretti; Lara Gonzalez Carretero; Joannes Dekker; Özge Demirci; Ekaterina Dolbunova; T. Rowan McLaughlin; Henny Piezonka; Helen M. Talbot; Kamil Adamczak; Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny; Daniel Groß; Witold  Gumiński; Sönke Hartz; Jacek Kabaciński; Satu Koivisto; Trond Eilev  Linge; Ann-Katrin  Meyer; Teemu  Mökkönen; Bente  Philippsen; Gytis  Piličiauskas; Vanda  Visocka; Aivar Kriiska; Daan C.M.  Raemaekers; John Meadows; Carl Heron; Oliver Edward Craig

doi:10.1073/pnas.2310138120

The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe

Alexandre Jules Andre Lucquin, Harry Kenneth Robson, Ester Oras, Jasmine Lundy, Giulia Moretti, Lara Gonzalez Carretero, Joannes Dekker, Özge Demirci, Ekaterina Dolbunova, T. Rowan McLaughlin, Henny Piezonka, Helen M. Talbot, Kamil Adamczak, Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny, Daniel Groß, Witold Gumiński, Sönke Hartz, Jacek Kabaciński, Satu Koivisto, Trond Eilev LingeAnn-Katrin Meyer, Teemu Mökkönen , Bente Philippsen, Gytis Piličiauskas, Vanda Visocka, Aivar Kriiska, Daan C.M. Raemaekers, John Meadows, Carl Heron, Oliver Edward Craig

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the introduction of domesticated animals and plants. Overall, there was surprising continuity in the way that hunter-gatherer-fishers and farmers used pottery. Both aquatic products and wild plants remained prevalent, a pattern repeated consistently across the study area. We argue that the rapid adaptation of farming communities to exploit coastal and lagoonal resources facilitated their northerly expansion, and in some cases, hunting, gathering, and fishing became the most dominant subsistence strategy. Nevertheless, dairy products frequently appear in pottery associated with the earliest farming groups often mixed with wild plants and fish. Interestingly, we also find compelling evidence of dairy products in hunter-gatherer-fisher Ertebølle pottery, which predates the arrival of domesticated animals. We propose that Ertebølle hunter-gatherer-fishers frequently acquired dairy products through exchange with adjacent farming communities prior to the transition. The continuity observed in pottery use across the transition to farming contrasts with the analysis of human remains which shows substantial demographic change through ancient DNA and, in some cases, a reduction in marine consumption through stable isotope analysis. We postulate that farmers acquired the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed from local hunter-gatherer-fishers but without substantial admixture.

Original language	English
Article number	e2310138120
Number of pages	7
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	120
Issue number	43
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2310138120
Publication status	Published - 16 Oct 2023

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Lucquin, A. J. A., Robson, H. K., Oras, E., Lundy, J., Moretti, G., Gonzalez Carretero, L., Dekker, J., Demirci, Ö., Dolbunova, E., McLaughlin, T. R., Piezonka, H., Talbot, H. M., Adamczak, K., Czekaj-Zastawny, A., Groß, D., Gumiński, W., Hartz, S., Kabaciński, J., Koivisto, S., ... Craig, O. E. (2023). The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(43), Article e2310138120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2310138120

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title = "The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe",

abstract = "To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the introduction of domesticated animals and plants. Overall, there was surprising continuity in the way that hunter-gatherer-fishers and farmers used pottery. Both aquatic products and wild plants remained prevalent, a pattern repeated consistently across the study area. We argue that the rapid adaptation of farming communities to exploit coastal and lagoonal resources facilitated their northerly expansion, and in some cases, hunting, gathering, and fishing became the most dominant subsistence strategy. Nevertheless, dairy products frequently appear in pottery associated with the earliest farming groups often mixed with wild plants and fish. Interestingly, we also find compelling evidence of dairy products in hunter-gatherer-fisher Erteb{\o}lle pottery, which predates the arrival of domesticated animals. We propose that Erteb{\o}lle hunter-gatherer-fishers frequently acquired dairy products through exchange with adjacent farming communities prior to the transition. The continuity observed in pottery use across the transition to farming contrasts with the analysis of human remains which shows substantial demographic change through ancient DNA and, in some cases, a reduction in marine consumption through stable isotope analysis. We postulate that farmers acquired the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed from local hunter-gatherer-fishers but without substantial admixture.",

author = "Lucquin, {Alexandre Jules Andre} and Robson, {Harry Kenneth} and Ester Oras and Jasmine Lundy and Giulia Moretti and {Gonzalez Carretero}, Lara and Joannes Dekker and {\"O}zge Demirci and Ekaterina Dolbunova and McLaughlin, {T. Rowan} and Henny Piezonka and Talbot, {Helen M.} and Kamil Adamczak and Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny and Daniel Gro{\ss} and Witold Gumi{\'n}ski and S{\"o}nke Hartz and Jacek Kabaci{\'n}ski and Satu Koivisto and Linge, {Trond Eilev} and Ann-Katrin Meyer and Teemu M{\"o}kk{\"o}nen and Bente Philippsen and Gytis Pili{\v c}iauskas and Vanda Visocka and Aivar Kriiska and Raemaekers, {Daan C.M.} and John Meadows and Carl Heron and Craig, {Oliver Edward}",

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doi = "10.1073/pnas.2310138120",

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journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

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Lucquin, AJA , Robson, HK, Oras, E, Lundy, J, Moretti, G, Gonzalez Carretero, L , Dekker, J, Demirci, Ö, Dolbunova, E, McLaughlin, TR, Piezonka, H, Talbot, HM, Adamczak, K, Czekaj-Zastawny, A, Groß, D, Gumiński, W, Hartz, S, Kabaciński, J, Koivisto, S, Linge, TE, Meyer, A-K, Mökkönen , T, Philippsen, B, Piličiauskas, G, Visocka, V, Kriiska, A, Raemaekers, DCM, Meadows, J, Heron, C & Craig, OE 2023, 'The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 120, no. 43, e2310138120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2310138120

TY - JOUR

T1 - The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe

AU - Lucquin, Alexandre Jules Andre

AU - Robson, Harry Kenneth

AU - Oras, Ester

AU - Lundy, Jasmine

AU - Moretti, Giulia

AU - Gonzalez Carretero, Lara

AU - Dekker, Joannes

AU - Demirci, Özge

AU - Dolbunova, Ekaterina

AU - McLaughlin, T. Rowan

AU - Piezonka, Henny

AU - Talbot, Helen M.

AU - Adamczak, Kamil

AU - Czekaj-Zastawny, Agnieszka

AU - Groß, Daniel

AU - Gumiński, Witold

AU - Hartz, Sönke

AU - Kabaciński, Jacek

AU - Koivisto, Satu

AU - Linge, Trond Eilev

AU - Meyer, Ann-Katrin

AU - Mökkönen , Teemu

AU - Philippsen, Bente

AU - Piličiauskas, Gytis

AU - Visocka, Vanda

AU - Kriiska, Aivar

AU - Raemaekers, Daan C.M.

AU - Meadows, John

AU - Heron, Carl

AU - Craig, Oliver Edward

PY - 2023/10/16

Y1 - 2023/10/16

N2 - To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the introduction of domesticated animals and plants. Overall, there was surprising continuity in the way that hunter-gatherer-fishers and farmers used pottery. Both aquatic products and wild plants remained prevalent, a pattern repeated consistently across the study area. We argue that the rapid adaptation of farming communities to exploit coastal and lagoonal resources facilitated their northerly expansion, and in some cases, hunting, gathering, and fishing became the most dominant subsistence strategy. Nevertheless, dairy products frequently appear in pottery associated with the earliest farming groups often mixed with wild plants and fish. Interestingly, we also find compelling evidence of dairy products in hunter-gatherer-fisher Ertebølle pottery, which predates the arrival of domesticated animals. We propose that Ertebølle hunter-gatherer-fishers frequently acquired dairy products through exchange with adjacent farming communities prior to the transition. The continuity observed in pottery use across the transition to farming contrasts with the analysis of human remains which shows substantial demographic change through ancient DNA and, in some cases, a reduction in marine consumption through stable isotope analysis. We postulate that farmers acquired the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed from local hunter-gatherer-fishers but without substantial admixture.

AB - To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the introduction of domesticated animals and plants. Overall, there was surprising continuity in the way that hunter-gatherer-fishers and farmers used pottery. Both aquatic products and wild plants remained prevalent, a pattern repeated consistently across the study area. We argue that the rapid adaptation of farming communities to exploit coastal and lagoonal resources facilitated their northerly expansion, and in some cases, hunting, gathering, and fishing became the most dominant subsistence strategy. Nevertheless, dairy products frequently appear in pottery associated with the earliest farming groups often mixed with wild plants and fish. Interestingly, we also find compelling evidence of dairy products in hunter-gatherer-fisher Ertebølle pottery, which predates the arrival of domesticated animals. We propose that Ertebølle hunter-gatherer-fishers frequently acquired dairy products through exchange with adjacent farming communities prior to the transition. The continuity observed in pottery use across the transition to farming contrasts with the analysis of human remains which shows substantial demographic change through ancient DNA and, in some cases, a reduction in marine consumption through stable isotope analysis. We postulate that farmers acquired the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed from local hunter-gatherer-fishers but without substantial admixture.

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2310138120

DO - 10.1073/pnas.2310138120

M3 - Article

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 120

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 43

M1 - e2310138120

ER -