The first farmers' cooking revealed by protein analysis in Çatalhöyük pottery

An international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, the Freie Universität Berlin and the University of York, unveiled details on the diet of the first farmers of the Central Anatolian colony of Çatalhöyük. By analyzing the proteins contained in the old jars and jars recovered from the site, the researchers found evidence of the presence of food eaten on the spot. Although previous studies have examined pot residue from the site, it was the first to use proteins, which can be used to more specifically identify plants and animals. Using this new approach, the team determined that the vessels at this first breeding site in Central Central Anatolia, now Turkey, contained cereals, legumes, dairy products and meat. In some cases, researchers may limit food products to specific species.

Çatalhöyük was a large inhabited colony between 7100 BC. J. – C. and 5600 av. BC by the first farmers, and is located in what is now the center of Turkey. The site presents a fascinating route in which houses were built directly next to each other in all directions, and stands out for its excellent conservation of discoveries. After more than 25 years of excavation and analysis, it is considered one of the best-documented early farming sites in the Old World.

For this study, researchers analyzed ship shards from the Çatalhöyük Western Mound, dating from 5900 to 5 800 BC. BC, towards the end of the occupation of the site. The vessel fragments came from open cuvettes and jars, as shown by the reconstruction, and contained calcified residues on the internal surfaces. In this region, limestone residues inside the pots are very common. Researchers used advanced protein analyzes on ceramic samples, including tailings deposits, to determine the contents of the vessels.

The analysis revealed that the vessels contained grains, legumes, meat and dairy products. It has been shown that dairy products came mainly from sheep and goats, as well as from cattle. Although the bones of these animals are present throughout the site and previous lipid analyzes have identified the milk fat in the vessels, this is the first time that researchers identify the animals actually used to their milk. In accordance with found plant remains, cereals included barley and wheat, and legumes, peas and vetches. Non-dairy animal products, which could include meat and blood, came mainly from goats and sheep and, in some cases, from cattle and deer. It is interesting to note that many jars contain evidence of the presence of several types of food in the same container, suggesting that residents were mixing food in their kitchen, potentially in the form of porridge or soup, or that some vessels were used sequentially for different foods, or both.

However, one particular container, a jar, contained only evidence of dairy products in the form of proteins present in the whey portion of the milk. "This is particularly interesting because it suggests that residents may have been using milk production methods that separated fresh milk into curds and whey after separation from the curd," says lead author Jessica Hendy of the Ministry of Health. Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. These results show that milk production has been going on in this region since at least the sixth millennium BC and that people used the milk of many species, including cows, sheep and goats.

However, the researchers point out that, according to archeological records, a wider variety of foods, especially foods of plant origin, were probably eaten at Çatalhöyük. These were not contained in the vessels studied or were not included in the databases used to identify the proteins. The "rifle" proteomic approaches used by researchers depend heavily on reference sequence databases, and many plant species are unrepresented or have limited representation. "For example, there are only six protein sequences for vetch in databases, and for wheat there are almost 145,000," says Hendy. "An important aspect of future work will be to expand these databases with more reference sequences."

Other molecular techniques applied to ancient pottery can reveal large categories of foods, such as the presence of milk fat or animal fat, but a protein analysis helps to paint a much more detailed picture of the past cooking. The results of this study show the power of protein analyzes, which can identify food in situ up to the species level in 8,000 year old samples. In particular, the residues in the interior of the ceramics were exceptionally well preserved and contained a mine of information. The elimination of these residues is a common practice among archaeologists as part of the preservation and cleansing process. "These results show how valuable these deposits can be and we encourage their colleagues to keep them during the treatment and cleaning after the excavations," says Eva Rosenstock of the Freie Universität Berlin and lead author of the study.

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More information:
Jessica Hendy et al., Çatalhöyük West's Old Ceramic Container Proteins reveal the hidden cooking of early farmers Nature Communications (2018). DOI: 10.1038 / s41467-018-06335-6