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Analysis of prehistoric pottery is improving our understanding of the changing culinary practices and ceramic usage of people living in central Germany between the Early Neolithic and the Late Bronze Age, c.5500-750 BC.
The area of present-day Saxony-Anhalt was a key region for the development of several famous prehistoric cultures, including the Linear Pottery Culture, Corded Ware Culture, and Bell Beaker Culture, among others. The distinctive ceramics of these peoples have been studied in great detail, but the contents of their pots have received rather less attention.
In a new study – the largest of its kind in Germany to date – researchers compiled a collection of more than 100 vessels from 17 sites, both burials and settlements, dating to between 5450 and 1000 BC. Gas chromatography was then used to analyse the lipids (fat residues) in the pot walls in order to determine what these vessels once held. The results revealed several interesting patterns regarding the development of different traditions and practices over the periods in question.
From the start of the Middle Neolithic, in the 4th millennium BC, pottery associated with the Baalberge people (related to the Funnelbeaker culture) presents the first evidence for the widespread consumption of dairy products in the region. At the same time, we start to see the emergence of small cups, which it is believed were used to scoop milk, yoghurt, or cheese from larger vessels. These appear to be the first known examples of prehistoric cups with a specialised use, reflecting the growing importance of dairy products in this period.
Intensive dairy-use continued into the 3rd millennium BC, especially among the Bell Beaker people. However, among Corded Ware groups – who arrived in central Germany from the Eurasian steppe – the pottery tells a different story. In the Corded Ware Culture, dairy products seem to have been of significantly less importance. The lipids also reflect an increase in the consumption of pork, which is not paralleled in the Bell Beaker Culture. Interestingly, the archaeological record does not reflect an increase in the overall population of pigs, which suggests that this change in dietary preference may instead reflect the social value placed on the animal by the Corded Ware people.
By the start of the Bronze Age, c.2200 BC, the pottery of the Únetice Culture indicates that a greater variety of animal and plant products were being consumed than ever before. An appreciation of pork appears to have persisted, but the practice of drinking milk in small cups had disappeared. The Únetice people were highly specialised craftspeople (famous for the creation of the remarkable Nebra Sky Disc) but their pottery seems to have been more multifunctional than earlier cultures, with the same vessels being used to prepare and consume a wide variety of foods.
The study, which was published in PLOS ONE (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301278), paints a complex picture of shifting practices related to food and pottery during these important periods of cultural transition. It is hoped that future studies will be able to explore the trends observed in more detail.
Text: Amy Brunskill / Images: © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt; Matthias Zirm
