Processing plants for food: Experimental grinding within the ERC-project PLANTCULT

  • Maria Bofill LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki
  • Danai Chondrou LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki
  • Antoni Palomo LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki
  • Hara Procopiou Université Paris I – Panthéon-Sorbonne
  • Soultana Maria Valamotti LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki
Keywords: grinding stone tools; experimental archaeology; use-wear analysis; culinary practices; food identities; prehistoric Europe

Abstract


PlantCult Project aims to explore the role of culinary traditions and innovations through their impact on shaping the social landscape in ancient Europe over long time periods (from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age) and large territories. The experimental program is part of an integrated study of food products and associated equipment focusing on whether the introduction of new species or changes in social and economic organisation brought about changes in the food grinding technologies of the area.

The experiments include tools operated by back and forth reciprocal motion and circular motion, and manufactured from different raw materials, with different morphologies and sizes. The tools design and the list of plant ingredients (cereals, legumes, acorns and oil-seeds) ground in the experiments are all based on the archaeological record of the studied area. In this paper we present the experimental protocol, the multi-scale methodology applied to the use-wear analysis of grinding stone tools, and the results of the experimental processing of the main plant ingredients detected in prehistoric European cuisine.

Author Biographies

Maria Bofill, LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki

LIRA Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, School of History and Archaeology
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124
Thessaloniki
Greece
Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI‑AUTH), Balkan Center, Buildings A & B
10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Rd, P.O. Box 8318, 57001
Thessaloniki
Greece

Danai Chondrou, LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki

LIRA Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, School of History and Archaeology
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124
Thessaloniki
Greece
Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI‑AUTH), Balkan Center, Buildings A & B
10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Rd, P.O. Box 8318, 57001
Thessaloniki
Greece

Antoni Palomo, LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki

LIRA Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, School of History and Archaeology
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124
Thessaloniki
Greece
Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI‑AUTH), Balkan Center, Buildings A & B
10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Rd, P.O. Box 8318, 57001
Thessaloniki
Greece
Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya-Barcelona
Spain

Hara Procopiou, Université Paris I – Panthéon-Sorbonne

Université Paris I – Panthéon-Sorbonne, Protohistoire Égéenne (UMR 7041ArScAn)
Paris
France

Soultana Maria Valamotti, LIRA Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki

LIRA Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, School of History and Archaeology
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124
Thessaloniki
Greece
Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI‑AUTH), Balkan Center, Buildings A & B
10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Rd, P.O. Box 8318, 57001
Thessaloniki
Greece

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Published
15-Dec-2020
How to Cite
Bofill, M., Chondrou, D., Palomo, A., Procopiou, H., & Valamotti, S. (2020). Processing plants for food: Experimental grinding within the ERC-project PLANTCULT. Journal of Lithic Studies, 7(3), 26 p. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.3079
Section
Articles from the 2nd Meeting of the Association for Ground Stone Tools Research