Ergebnisse
In northern East Africa, ancient sub-Saharan food traditions were characterised by cuisines centred around the production of porridges made from processed grains cooked in globular ceramic pots. This ‘porridge and pot’ tradition derives its properties from the unique processing characteristics that define domesticated African crops (sorghum, pearl millet, teff), and their wild progenitors. The African cuisines that resulted from these characteristics contrast noticeably with foodways based on Near Eastern crops (emmer wheat, barley).
These differences between Near Eastern and African foodways are particularly evident through comparison of their respective bread traditions. As wheat and barley contain gluten, Near Eastern food traditions were based on bread loaves baked in ovens, whereas indigenous African breads, as a consequence of gluten-free crops, typically take the form of pancakes and flat breads cooked over or directly in the fire. As a consequence, Near Eastern bread technologies were locally adapted in sub-Saharan Africa to suit the performance characteristics of local cereals, resulting in the widespread adoption of ceramic griddle plates for making bread. These griddle plates become common throughout northern East Africa during the early Iron Age, and have great potential for studying household transmission in food technologies.
Moving away from these northern East African contact zones, we further investigate to what degree this ‘porridge and pot’ tradition is also representative of wider sub-Saharan foodways across north Central and West Africa, where sorghum-based foods give way to cuisines utilising other indigenous crops, including pearl millet and other regional plant preferences (yams, etc.). Here our research is centred on specific culinary markers, based around certain technological characteristics, such as globular pots, textured surfaces, and finger-tip impressed bases. These are evaluated in relation to botanical and animal remains as well as food residues.
