Making the invisible visible: tracing the origins of plants in West African cuisine through archaeobotanical and organic residue analysis

Abstract

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Analysis of Early Iron Age (2500 BP) and modern period (150 BP) starch grains in Western Central Africa

“…Other sources indicate the importance of leafy greens in the diet today of West and Central Africa, which include both crop and weedy taxa (e.g., okra, baobab, cowpea, and yam bean 8 , 32 ). The presence of plant waxes reported from Nok ceramics from Nigeria 7 further suggest the importance of leafy greens in the diet of past communities in West and Central African cuisines.…”

“…The presence of other elements besides starch grains, such as vascular tissues, sclereids, and fibers, especially abundant in one vessel (C19 F3 P1) but seen in many others, may however indicate that these ceramics were not only used for culinary purposes, but also to prepare and hold medicinal preparations. As noted by Dunne et al 7 , bark is an important resource in traditional medicine, and we should not discount the multi-purpose function of these vessels.…”

“…Domesticated in southwestern Sahara 25 , it spread to West Africa but also beyond, as far as India. Different lines of evidence such as those in macrobotanical form, lipid signals, and now starch grains, continue to support the idea that pearl millet could indeed be cultivated in rainforest environments 3,7,9,26 . Our data thus provide additional evidence on the presence of this taxon during the EIA.…”

“…With specific regards to pearl millet, questions remain concerning its function (staple vs. minor food), the manner in which it was prepared (food or beer), and what was its status. More recent isotopic and microbotanical studies seem to indicate that the adoption of cereals was not uniform across the region 6 and organic residues suggest the importance of leafy greens in the diet 7 . However, we should underscore that there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic studies in this area that do not allow us to fully address the major archaeological questions pertinent to this time period and region.…”

Diverse dietary practices across the Early Bronze Age ‘Kura-Araxes culture’ in the South Caucasus

“…A high percentage of ruminant carcass fats is evident across various settlements examined, including the mixing of commodities, primarily focused on a high caloric intake of meat consumption, occasional vegetable, and plant-based sources concurrent with secondary products. The use of plant-based sources likely enhanced taste [ 63 ]. Evidence of mixing of commodities ( Fig 2 ) suggests boiling, stewing, and steaming foodstuffs, confirming interpretations made through archaeological [ 16 , 19 ] and ethnoarchaeological contexts of the region [ 82 ]; however, it is imperative to note that lipids can be preserved and mixed over time through multiple cooking events [ 121 ].…”