Prehistoric cooking may have been more complex than we thought, according to a study published last week in the journal Antiquity.
Researchers analyzed charred food remains at two locations—the Shanidar Cave in Iraq’s Zagros Mountains and the Franchthi Cave in Greece—to gain insight into how Neanderthals and early modern humans prepared food. They found evidence of cooking involving a variety of ingredients, processes and deliberate decisions.
“Our findings are the first real indication of complex cooking—and thus of food culture—among Neanderthals,” Chris Hunt, an expert in cultural paleoecology at Liverpool John Moores University and coordinator of the excavation, tells the Guardian’s Linda Geddes.
At the Shanidar Cave, the researchers analyzed food remains from approximately 70,000 years ago, when Neanderthals lived at the site. They also analyzed remains from around 40,000 years ago, when early modern humans lived there. At the Franchthi Cave, they analyzed food remnants that early modern humans who were hunter-gatherers consumed some 12,000 years ago.
At both archaeological sites, researchers identified similar plants and culinary practices, which may point to a shared food culture, says lead study author Ceren Kabukcu, an archaeobotanical scientist at the University of Liverpool, to CNN’s Katie Hunt.
The researchers’ analysis suggests that early modern humans and Neanderthals weren’t just consuming protein from animals; they had complex diets that consisted of a wide selection of plants and varied depending on location. They also used “a range of tricks to make their food more palatable” such as soaking and pounding, per a statement from the University of Liverpool.
Neanderthals Cooked Surprisingly Complex Meals
Cooking in caves: Palaeolithic carbonised plant food remains from Franchthi and Shanidar
The Southern Greek Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic Sequence at Franchthi
https://sites.dartmouth.edu/aegean-prehistory/lessons/lesson-1/
The Skeletons of Shanidar Cave
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-skeletons-of-shanidar-cave-7028477/
Passage Through the Zagros
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/passage-through-zagros-180977689/
Oldest cooked leftovers ever found suggest Neanderthals were foodies
Neanderthals cooked meals with pulses 70,000 years ago
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/world/prehistoric-diets-plants-neanderthals-scn/index.html