Abstract
The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is still a challenge to archaeological science, as most of the markers known up to now are either not durable or diagnostic enough to be used as secure proof. The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation (by charring) in archaeological contexts and to explore the preservation of microstructural alterations of the cereal grains. The experimentally germinated and charred grains showed clearly degraded (thinned) aleurone cell walls. The histological alterations of the cereal grains were observed and quantified using reflected light and scanning electron microscopy and supported using morphometric and statistical analyses. In order to verify the experimental observations of histological alterations, amorphous charred objects (ACO) containing cereal remains originating from five archaeological sites dating to the 4th millennium BCE were considered: two sites were archaeologically recognisable brewing installations from Predynastic Egypt, while the three broadly contemporary central European lakeshore settlements lack specific contexts for their cereal-based food remains. The aleurone cell wall thinning known from food technological research and observed in our own experimental material was indeed also recorded in the archaeological finds. The Egyptian materials derive from beer production with certainty, supported by ample contextual and artefactual data. The Neolithic lakeshore settlement finds currently represent the oldest traces of malting in central Europe, while a bowl-shaped bread-like object from Hornstaad-Hörnle possibly even points towards early beer production in central Europe. One major further implication of our study is that the cell wall breakdown in the grain's aleurone layer can be used as a general marker for malting processes with relevance to a wide range of charred archaeological finds of cereal products.
Highlights
Understanding the role of alcoholic beverages in the evolution of prehistoric societies is fundamental, yet unravelling their patterns of production and consumption is a challenging task
The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation in archaeological contexts and to explore the preservation of microstructural alterations of the cereal grains
In order to verify the experimental observations of histological alterations, amorphous charred objects (ACO) containing cereal remains originating from five archaeological sites dating to the 4th millennium BCE were considered: two sites were archaeologically recognisable brewing
Summary
Understanding the role of alcoholic beverages in the evolution of prehistoric societies is fundamental, yet unravelling their patterns of production and consumption is a challenging task. This is especially true for one of the supposedly most ancient and widely spread of these drinks–beer. Beer and other alcoholic beverages play complex roles in human societies [1,2,3,4,5] and, as a consequence, their significance for prehistoric communities has been under discussion for decades [5, 6]. Tracking beer in the archaeological record as precisely as possible would result in fundamentally novel insights on human societies in the past. We present here a discussion of possible markers for beer production from a novel approach: histological evidence observed in charred archaeological crusts and lumps of cereal products as an indication for the beer product itself
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