Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory ( IF 3.2 ) Pub Date : 2024-12-21 , DOI: 10.1007/s10816-024-09690-5
Chris Baumann, Cynthia Larbey, Martin Ebner, Hervé Bocherens, Karen Hardy
Plants are a crucial part of the human diet, serving as a primary source of micronutrients, fiber, and carbohydrates, providing readily available energy. Beyond the consumption of cooked and raw edible plants, early humans also developed methods for plant processing for delayed consumption, to de-toxify/improve bioavailability, and perhaps for flavor. In later prehistory delayed consumption includes preservation processes for storage. The processing of plants through sprouting, fermentation, cooking, and roasting has not only expanded the variety of consumable plant species but also enhanced their nutritional value. There are few methods for detecting fermented foods in the early prehistoric diet. Based on the hypothesis that the microbes active in fermentation change the nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios of plant foods, our pilot study lays the groundwork for further research, offering a promising direction for understanding the complexities of human-plant interactions throughout history. This study focuses on these four plant treatment methods, which have both contemporary relevance and archaeobotanical evidence of use. We aimed to explore how these treatments might affect stable isotope values, such as carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N), which are crucial for reconstructing ancient diets. Through an experimental approach involving 12 plant species, our findings suggest that while sprouting and roasting had minimal impact on isotopic values, fermentation and cooking showed more variable effects depending on the plant species. These preliminary results provide new insights into the influence of plant processing on isotopic compositions and underscore the importance of considering these factors in dietary reconstructions.
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植物食品处理对稳定同位素的影响及其与考古学研究的相关性:一项方法学试点研究
植物是人类饮食的重要组成部分,是微量营养素、纤维和碳水化合物的主要来源,提供现成的能量。除了食用熟食和生食用植物外,早期人类还开发了植物加工方法,用于延迟食用、解毒/提高生物利用度,也许还可以增加风味。在史前晚期,延迟消费包括存储的保存过程。植物通过发芽、发酵、烹饪和烘烤进行加工,不仅扩大了可消费植物物种的种类,还提高了它们的营养价值。在早期史前饮食中检测发酵食品的方法很少。基于发酵中活跃的微生物会改变植物性食物的氮和碳同位素比率的假设,我们的初步研究为进一步研究奠定了基础,为理解历史上人类与植物相互作用的复杂性提供了一个有希望的方向。本研究侧重于这四种植物处理方法,它们既具有当代意义,又具有考古植物学使用证据。我们旨在探索这些处理如何影响稳定同位素值,例如碳 (δ13C) 和氮 (δ15N),这对于重建古代饮食至关重要。通过涉及 12 种植物物种的实验方法,我们的研究结果表明,虽然发芽和烘烤对同位素值的影响最小,但发酵和烹饪显示出更多可变的影响,具体取决于植物物种。这些初步结果为植物加工对同位素组成的影响提供了新的见解,并强调了在膳食重建中考虑这些因素的重要性。