WHAT’S FOR DINNER? INVESTIGATING FOOD-PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES AT DUST CAVE, ALABAMA

Abstract

Many models of hunter-gatherer subsistence have traditionally focused almost exclusively on what people ate. More recently, researchers have begun to ask how these ancient foods were processed and prepared prior to consumption, questions that are best answered by looking at the context in which food remains are uncovered. At the archaeological site of Dust Cave (1Lu496), excellent preservation conditions have resulted in a plethora of cooking features. Ranging from small charcoal pits to fired clay surfaces and hearths, the features at Dust Cave are in-situ representations of the occupants’ cooking and processing activities. We use a combination of paleoethnobotanical, zooarchaeological, geoarchaeological, and experimental methods to investigate these activities. Experimental studies were conducted in order to develop archaeological correlates for food processing. Experimental results are then compared to botanical and faunal remains from the site as well as chemical analyses of feature fill. Results suggest that the occupants of Dust Cave likely processed fish and plants–primarily nuts–on a large scale. Specifically, fish appear to have been roasted in coals, plants and nuts toasted or parched on flat clay “griddle-like” surfaces, and hickory nuts boiled in pit hearths to extract nut oil.