Bronze Age Period Research Articles

Household and Family Religion in Persian-Period Judah: An Archaeological Approach by José E. Balcells Gallarreta

Reviewed by: Household and Family Religion in Persian-Period Judah: An Archaeological Approach by José E. Balcells Gallarreta Michael S. Moore josé e. balcells gallarreta, Household and Family Religion in Persian-Period Judah: An Archaeological Approach (Ancient Near East Monographs 18; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017). Pp. xiv + 193. $48.95. This book is a measured response to two perceived problems: (a) Previous attempts to reconstruct the religious history of Persian-period Judah tend to focus only on official/state interests; plus (b) these attempts focus on textual to the practical exclusion of artifactual evidence. Inspired by Jeffrey Zorn's dissertational attempt to hammer out an updated site report for the long-established dig at Tell en-Naṣbeh ("Tell en-Naṣbeh: A Re-evaluation of the Architecture and Stratigraphy of the Early Bronze Age, Iron Age and Later Periods" [Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1993]), G. here examines several pieces of evidence from this site (ancient Mizpah, 1 Sam 7:5) alongside biblical texts from the Persian period in order to argue that information from both sources is essential for developing a holistic understanding of "the religious ideas and practices of households in Persian period Judah" (p. 3). Aware of the fractious anthropological debate over what exactly constitutes a "ritual," G. reads the biblical evidence through lenses generated by the typological categories of Catherine Bell (Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009] 94-129), breaking "ritual" down into (a) rites of passage, (b) calendrical rites, (c) rites of exchange and communion, (d) rites of affliction, (e) feasting, fasting, and festivals, and (f) political rites (pp. 16-18). Keenly aware of the difficulties involved in conceptualizing "archaeology-of-ritual-and-religion" as a separate, self-contained discipline (pp. 11-15), G. justifiably wonders how many students will dare to engage this interdisciplinary world. Having laid out this theoretical framework, G. reads Ezra from a perspective piloted by Bell's ritual typologies, viewing Ezra 1:2-4 (Cyrus's decree) as an example of a "political rite"; 1:4-6 and 2:68-70—נדבות ("freewill offerings") and 3:2-6—עולות ("whole burnt offerings") as "rites of exchange and communion"; 3:4—חג סכות ("feast of booths") as a ritual of "feast, fasting and festivals"; 3:5—חדשים ("new moon feasts") as "calendrical festivals"; 3:10-11— ("great shouting" at the dedication of the temple) as both a "political rite" and a ritual of "feast, fasting and festivals"; 6:17—חנכת בית אלהים ("dedication of God's house") as a "political rite"; 6:17 and 8:35—חטאה, "purification offering") as a "rite of affliction"; 8:21—צום ("fast") at the River Ahava as a ritual of "feast, fasting, and festivals." Boundaries begin to blur, however, when these typologies are stretched too far, designating, for example, the reading of a letter as a "political rite" (4:23; 7:11) or the spontaneous tearing of clothes as a "rite of affliction" (9:3). Particularly problematic is the reading of the returnees' one-time "separation from the peoples of the land and its foreign women" (10:11) as a ritual of "feast, fasting and festivals." The rest of the book examines the site report of C. McCown et al. (Tell en-Naṣbeh Excavated under the Direction of the Late William Frederic Badè [Berkeley: Palestine Institute of Pacific School of Religion and the American Schools of Oriental Research, 1947]), Zorn's interpretation of it ("Tell en-Naṣbeh: A Re-evaluation"), and selected artifacts from the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology in Berkeley (see the black-and-white photos on pp. 170-76). For textual/biblical scholars this is where interest flags because (a) the criteria for associating Tell en-Naṣbeh Stratum 2 with the Persian period are admittedly ambiguous; (b) that which constitutes "household" activity is admittedly unclear; [End Page 304] (c) archaeologists cannot agree on what constitutes a "religious" artifact; nor (d) can they agree on what constitutes a "religious" context. G. himself struggles with these hurdles because right after citing Rosemary Joyce's appeal to "stylization of action" as a way to determine religious vs. nonreligious activity ("What Should an Archaeology of Religion Look Like to a Blind Archaeologist?," in International Encyclopedia of the...

Depozitul de bronzuri de la Gherla, județul Cluj / The Bronze Hoard from Gherla, Cluj County

A bronze deposit preserved in the collections of the Gherla History Museum was discovered a few years ago in a wooded area situated in the southwestern parts of the Municipality of Gherla. !e entire deposit consists of 17 bronze objects: a winged axe, a bronze celt, bronze sickles, two bracelets, a funnel-shaped bronze pendant with oval base, two fragments of bronze swords, a spearhead, a fragment of a bronze bar (or ingot) and two plano-convex ingots (bronze/copper). !e discovery is one of medium size, weighing 2, 222 kg and consists of an association of the type weapons – tools – ornaments – raw material. !e bronze deposit discovered at Gherla can be attributed to the Suseni-type deposits, relatively well represented by findings on the territory of Transylvania, characterized by the association of a small number of manufactured objects with a few pieces of raw material. From a chronological point of view this discovery can be placed in the Ha A1 period. Undoubtedly the most interesting piece in the bronze deposit from Gherla is the Dražice-type funnel-shaped pendant. To the best of our knowledge this artefact is the only object of this type found on the territory of Transylvania. Moreover, it is probably the easternmost discovery of a pendant of this type in comparison to its production centres located in the area of the Piliny culture. !e presence of this object among our discoveries can give us important clues regarding the relations and mobility that existed between the Transylvanian space and the northern parts of Hungary, respectively the southern area of Slovakia where the discoveries of the Piliny culture are documented during the Late Bronze Age period. Most probably these connections can be related to the exploitation and distribution of salt from Transylvanian sources to the western plain areas, densely populated, but lacking this vital resource. !e deposition of bronze objects in the vicinity of salt sources is rather indicative in this regard.

A horn-shaped clay vessel from the Lusatian Culture cemetery in Kryspinów, commune Liszki, site no. 2

Site no. 2 in Kryspinów, located north-west of Cracow, is situated on the right bank of the Sanka River, namely in the area where the Sanka Valley joins the floodplain of the Vistula River. In 2015 and 2016, archaeological investigations preceding the construction of a housing estate were carried out at this site, taking up an area of approx. 18 ares. As a result of the research the northern zone of the cemetery, dated to the turn of the Bronze and Iron Ages, was identified and explored. During the excavations, 48 archaeological features were uncovered, including 33 cremation graves of the Lusatian ulture. The excavations delivered mostly ceramic artefacts and few bronze objects (chains and wire rings). The cemetery was used at the turn of Period V and HaC, namely within the Prokocim-Skotniki phase according to the chronological system developed for this region by M. Gedl. Among the most interesting finds one should mention a horn-shaped vessel discovered in a cremation burial in pit no. 9. According to the division proposed by B. Gediga for specimens of that type, the artefact in question should be included into type I, subtype 1. Chronological frames for the clay horn from Kryspinów can be determined only in general, based on the dating of other materials obtained from the cemetery, i.e. to Bronze Age Period V–HaC.

Projectile, blunt, or sharp force trauma? A facial lesion on a Bronze Age skull from Uglemose, Denmark.

This study presents and discusses the differential diagnosis of a unique case of facial trauma. The adult male skull was excavated in 1948 from Uglemose (Owl Bog) outside of Birket, on the island of Lolland (Denmark). Carbon-14 samples from an adult tibia excavated with the skull dates to the end of the Danish Bronze Age and transition period into the pre-Roman Iron Age. The skull shows a traumatic ante-mortem lesion to the left maxilla, directly below the orbit, that opens into the maxillary sinus. The left margin of the injury is slightly rounded and angled into the lesion while the right margin is pulled out from the lesion and has a much sharper border, suggesting a directional force from left to right. A previous assessment of the lesion suggested that projectile trauma caused the injury, but the lesion does not conclusively demonstrate features of projectile trauma. CT scans and 3D visualization of the skull show no evidence of structural changes to the maxillary sinus to support a conclusion of projectile trauma. Differential diagnosis through macroscopic and microscopic analysis of the lesion would suggest rapid blunt force or slow sharp force trauma as a potential etiology. The aim of this case study is to discuss the potential mechanisms of injury, including type of trauma as well as accidental versus intentional etiologies.

The multiple maternal legacy of the Late Iron Age group of Urville-Nacqueville (France, Normandy) documents a long-standing genetic contact zone in northwestern France

The compilation of archaeological and genetic data for ancient European human groups has provided persuasive evidence for a complex series of migrations, population replacements and admixture until the Bronze Age. If the Bronze-to-Iron Age transition has been well documented archaeologically, ancient DNA (aDNA) remains rare for the latter period and does not precisely reflect the genetic diversity of European Celtic groups. In order to document the evolution of European communities, we analysed 45 individuals from the Late Iron Age (La Tène) Urville-Nacqueville necropolis in northwestern France, a region recognized as a major cultural contact zone between groups from both sides of the Channel. The characterization of 37 HVS-I mitochondrial sequences and 40 haplogroups provided the largest maternal gene pool yet recovered for the European Iron Age. First, descriptive analyses allowed us to demonstrate the presence of substantial amounts of steppe-related mitochondrial ancestry in the community, which is consistent with the expansion of Bell Beaker groups bearing an important steppe legacy in northwestern Europe at approximately 2500 BC. Second, maternal genetic affinities highlighted with Bronze Age groups from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula regions tends to support the idea that the continuous cultural exchanges documented archaeologically across the Channel and along the Atlantic coast (during and after the Bronze Age period) were accompanied by significant gene flow. Lastly, our results suggest a maternal genetic continuity between Bronze Age and Iron Age groups that would argue in favour of a cultural transition linked to progressive local economic changes rather than to a massive influx of allochthone groups. The palaeogenetic data gathered for the Urville-Nacqueville group constitute an important step in the biological characterization of European Iron age groups. Clearly, more numerous and diachronic aDNA data are needed to fully understand the complex relationship between the cultural and biological evolution of groups from the period.

Failing arguments for the presence of iron in Denmark during the Bronze Age Period IV.

The dark squiggly lines of the razors from Kjeldbymagle and Arnitlund are often mentioned, along with the knife from Grødby, as the earliest examples of iron in Denmark. The razors can be dated to the early Late Bronze Age (Period IV) – around 1000 BC – due to their form and ornamentation, while the iron knife from Grødby is reported to have been found in a slightly earlier urn burial.
 Recent metallurgical analyses have, however, shown that the squiggly lines are not in fact iron, but rather copper covered by a layer of iron-bearing corrosion, and that the knife’s context with the other grave objects must be considered uncertain. This means that there is no evidence for the presence of iron in Denmark until the very end of the Bronze Age – around 700–500 BC.

The origins of millet cultivation in the Caucasus: archaeological and archaeometric approaches

This paper aims to present the context, the methodological approaches and the results of a research project, called ORIMIL and funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). An integrative multi-proxy analysis, in collaboration with the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, has been designed to identify whether the region of the South Caucasus was also a hotbed of millet domestication and expansion, like China. The results from the fields of anthropology, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, geomorphology and isotopic biogeochemistry for the territories of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia did not reveal the presence of an early Neolithic or Early Bronze Age hub of millet domestication. Isotopic data associated with direct radiocarbon dating on bones showed that millet was consumed by animals and humans at the earliest towards the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1621-1450 cal BC) in Georgia. These results are in keeping with (1) the numerous direct radiocarbon dates on charred millet seeds and (2) the geomorphological studies showing an increase of better soil quality and cultivable areas during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in the Kura valley.

Failing arguments for the presence of iron in Denmark during the Bronze Age Period IV. Regarding the razors from Kjeldbymagle and Arnitlund and a knife from Grødby

The dark squiggly lines of the razors from Kjeldbymagle and Arnitlund are often mentioned, along with the knife from Grodby, as the earliest examples of iron in Denmark. The razors can be dated to ...

Analysis of 3800-year-old Yersinia pestis genomes suggests Bronze Age origin for bubonic plague

The origin of Yersinia pestis and the early stages of its evolution are fundamental subjects of investigation given its high virulence and mortality that resulted from past pandemics. Although the earliest evidence of Y. pestis infections in humans has been identified in Late Neolithic/Bronze Age Eurasia (LNBA 5000–3500y BP), these strains lack key genetic components required for flea adaptation, thus making their mode of transmission and disease presentation in humans unclear. Here, we reconstruct ancient Y. pestis genomes from individuals associated with the Late Bronze Age period (~3800 BP) in the Samara region of modern-day Russia. We show clear distinctions between our new strains and the LNBA lineage, and suggest that the full ability for flea-mediated transmission causing bubonic plague evolved more than 1000 years earlier than previously suggested. Finally, we propose that several Y. pestis lineages were established during the Bronze Age, some of which persist to the present day.

5000 years of dietary variations of prehistoric farmers in the Great Hungarian Plain.

The development of farming was a catalyst for the evolution of the human diet from the varied subsistence practices of hunter-gatherers to the more globalised food economy we depend upon today. Although there has been considerable research into the dietary changes associated with the initial spread of farming, less attention has been given to how dietary choices continued to develop during subsequent millennia. A paleogenomic time transect for 5 millennia of human occupation in the Great Hungarian Plain spanning from the advent of the Neolithic to the Iron Age, showed major genomic turnovers. Here we assess where these genetic turnovers are associated with corresponding dietary shifts, by examining the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of 52 individuals. Results provide evidence that early Neolithic individuals, which were genetically characterised as Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, relied on wild resources to a greater extent than those whose genomic attributes were of typical Neolithic European farmers. Other Neolithic individuals and those from the Copper Age to Bronze Age periods relied mostly on terrestrial C3 plant resources. We also report a carbon isotopic ratio typical of C4 plants, which may indicate millet consumption in the Late Bronze Age, despite suggestions of the crop’s earlier arrival in Europe during the Neolithic.

Diet and mobility of fauna from Late Neolithic–Chalcolithic site of Perdigões, Portugal

Perdigões is located in the Alentejo region of south-eastern Portugal, with occupational phases dating from the Late Middle Neolithic to Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age (middle 4th and 3rd millennium BCE) periods. It is a complex site that can be considered as a centre of social aggregation and a part of a larger settlement network. In this study, the nature of animal subsistence patterns as well as husbandry management practices and mobility are examined using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic values from bone collagen of 35 archaeological faunal samples (Canis familiaris, Bos taurus, Bos primigenius, Sus sp., Ovis/Capra, Cervus elaphus, O. cuniculus, Equus sp.) and strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of 23 enamel samples. To provide necessary biological 87Sr/86Sr baseline data, the strontium isotopic composition of 14 modern plant samples were measured. The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data shows that animals subsisted on a selection of C3 terrestrial resources, with subtle differences in animal husbandry practices in domesticated animals, while strontium isotope analysis shows that <5% of analysed fauna is consistent with the local bioavailable strontium isotopic range. Other animals can be divided into two clusters – those having strontium isotope values either lower or higher than the bioavailable range, showing that most of the fauna browsed and grazed within 10 km of the site's surrounding landscape, which is not such an unusual practice during prehistoric times.

How much is known about glassy materials in Bronze and Iron Age Italy? New data and general overview

Knowledge of glass trading in protohistoric Southern Italy has been limited by a lack of archeometrical data available to date, preventing comparison with the well-known Northern Italian context. The aim of the present work is to help fill the data gap for Southern Bronze-Iron Age vitreous items and enable a general overview of protohistoric Italian glass supply routes. The paper presents physical-chemical data for 61 vitreous items from 11 Southern Italian sites, dated from the beginning of the Bronze Age up to the Archaic period (22nd–6th century BC), ensuring a complete diachronic analysis. SEM-EDS, EMPA, LA-ICPMS, and XRD analyses permitted definition of the raw materials and manufacturing techniques employed, as well as determination of item provenance. The sample set exhibits great variability of glass chemical types, including plant ash glass, mixed alkali, and natron samples. A complex picture emerges, mostly as regards the different natron glass typologies (High-Zr, Low-Zr, Black, etc.) and their rapid technological evolution in the early 1st millennium BC. Taking into account the data reported in this study and those available in literature for both Northern and Southern Italian Bronze-Iron Ages items, this work demonstrates the existence of different trade routes for the first time. This is especially true for the Early/Middle Bronze Age periods, with Northern Italy involved in trade with Central Europe, and South already involved in Mediterranean trade circuits.

Report on the pottery from Tell Sufan in Nablus, Palestine

ABSTRACTThis research report aims to give detailed information on the pottery from the 1999 and 2013-16 excavation campaigns taking place at the Tell Sufan site in Nablus, Palestine. These were conducted by the Department of Antiquities at An-Najah National University (ANU) in Nablus. It is of note that this ancient pottery has never previously been the subject of research nor has any literature been published on it. Our methodology consists in: analysing the pottery by identifying it, typifying it, and giving it a function; providing chronological information on the site; comparison of the pottery with that from other sites in Palestine, using archaeological information from the site; and contextualising our findings with other historical and archaeological studies. Examination of the functional use of the pottery allows us to demonstrate human activity at the Tell Sufan site, giving information on the most prosperous phases of occupation in regard to economic aspects, through the late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Byzantine-Early Islamic periods.

Early farmers, megalithic builders and the shaping of the cultural landscapes during the Holocene in Northern Iberian mountains. A palaeoenvironmental perspective

The study of anthropogenic activities in prehistoric landscapes has increased greatly in recent decades in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, particularly through pollen records from low altitude areas where settlement was more frequent throughout Prehistory. However, little is known about the evolution of landscapes in highlands, particularly in the Basque-Cantabrian mountains (Northern Iberia). In this paper, we analyze human dynamics in mountain landscapes through the multiproxy analysis of Arbarrain mire from c. 8200 cal BP. Obtained main results show the predominance of deciduous forests in the whole sequence, with presence of pinewoods at a regional scale. The first evidence of anthropization of mountain environments is dated c. 6800 cal BP, in relation with the early Neolithic. During the Mid-late Neolithic evidences of human impact on the landscape increases in parallel to the development of the megalithic structures. The Chalcolithic shows a decrease in the anthropogenic activities in mountains. Finally, during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Historical Period, from c. 4000 cal BP, mountain ecosystems reflect the expansion of Fagus, clearly linked with a further increase in human activity, origin of current landscape configuration.

Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation at Meadowend Farm, Clackmannanshire

The excavations at Meadowend Farm, Clackmannanshire (NGR: NS 9280 9040) produced evidence for occupation at various times between the Early Neolithic and the Middle to Late Bronze Age. Significantly, it yielded the largest and best-dated assemblage of Middle Neolithic Impressed Ware yet encountered in Scotland, comprising at least 206 vessels. Episodes of Early to (pre-Impressed Ware) Middle Neolithic activity were represented by pits and post holes scattered across the excavated areas, some containing pottery of the Carinated Bowl tradition and some with charred plant remains; three blades of pitchstone and one of non-local flint were also found. The phase of activity associated with the Middle Neolithic Impressed Ware pottery (c 3350‒3000 cal BC) is represented mostly by clusters of pits, some containing hearth waste and/or charcoal, charred cereal grain and burnt hazelnut shell fragments. A stone axehead and a broken roughout for an axe- or adze-head were associated with this phase of occupation. There then appears to have been a hiatus of activity of around a millennium before occupation resumed. One Early Bronze Age structure and pits dating to around 2000 cal BC (plus undated pits containing possible Beaker pottery) were succeeded by four Early to Middle Bronze Age roundhouses dating to c 1750‒1300 cal BC and a large pit containing parts of at least 37 pots, and subsequently by two large double-ring roundhouses, an oval building, and ancillary structures and features dating to the Middle to Late Bronze Age, c 1300‒900 cal BC. There is also evidence suggesting low level activity during the Iron Age, plus two medieval corn-drying kilns. Environmental evidence indicates cereal growing from the earliest period, and local woodland management. This publication focuses on the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods and discusses the significance of this site for our understanding of these periods, and particularly for the Middle Neolithic, in Scotland.

A possible new Bronze Age period at Troy

AbstractStatistical analysis of Carl Blegen's pottery sequence using Correspondence Analysis (CA) suggests a gap of 100–200 years between his Troy III and IV periods. From the Manfred Korfmann excavations three stratigraphic sequences hitherto assigned to Troy IV and V appear to bridge it. This allocation is based on stratigraphic/architectural grounds and on the observable development in ceramic shapes and wares. Heinrich Schliemann's pottery sequence from 1870–1873 is also analysed by CA and found to compare well with Blegen's (with limited exceptions probably due to the larger scope of his excavations), but it does not exhibit the same gap. This suggests that during the ‘bridge’ period occupation shrank to the summit on the western end of the citadel mound. This ‘bridge’ period of seven or more building phases has a distinctive ceramic assemblage and may be called the Proto-IV period. It is broadly contemporary with Middle Helladic I, Beycesultan VIII–VI, Küllüoba II and the Tarsus Early Bronze to Middle Bronze transitional period. Careful re-evaluation of the radiocarbon evidence dates it to ca 2150–1990 cal. BC. Botanical and faunal evidence from the strata in question attests significantly drier climatic conditions which, together with the smaller size of the settlement, probably reflect the 4.2ka cal. BP climatic deterioration.

Поховальні пам’ятки Донеччини фіналу середньої бронзи.

The proposed study examines the funeral monuments of the Donetsk region of the period of the middle bronze age on the territory of Ukraine, which corresponds to the residence time on this territory of the population of the Dnipro-Don Babin culture. The purpose of the study is to identify the main general indicators, which include the number of graves (male and female together and separately), the presence and variation of the dowry, and establish their further informativity for historical research. Task – to analyze the source base and available literature on the proposed issues. The period of the study is about XXII–XVIII centuries B. C. During the study statistical methods of information processing, method of structural analysis, quantitative methods have being used. The main method is the correlation method. During the research, materials that were discovered during the archaeological research of the burial mounds of the Donetsk region were examined and statistical samples were drawn on various indicators, among them: the number of main and inlets in the burial mounds, the gender-age differentiation of the buried, the orientation of the deceased in the world and diversity funeral dowry. The results obtained can be used in further historical studies.

Demography and burial exclusion in Mycenaean Achaia, Greece

The Late Bronze Age period in Greece, known as the Mycenaean period (Figure 1), has been an influential research topic in Greek archaeology since the excavations at Mycenae (Figure 2) by Heinrich Schliemann in the late 19th century. The mortuary record in particular, with exceptional contexts such as the Shaft Graves filled with golden funerary masks, and the elaborately constructed beehive stone-built tholos tombs (pl. tholoi), have encouraged discussions of conspicuous consumption and shifts of power in early Mycenaean (MH III-LH I) Greece.

Food between the country and the city: The politics of food production at Shimao and Zhaimaoliang in the Ordos Region, northern China

The archaeology of early China has commonly been critically explored through the study of specialization, particularly in regards to craft production and secondary product exploitation in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age periods. It is argued that if we are to gain a clearer understanding of the important changes which characterize the development of urbanization in early China, we must also study and compare food remains in order to understand early food production systems. Here, we use faunal remains to compare food production and animal exploitation strategies between the late Neolithic to early Bronze Age urban site of Shimao, and a contemporaneous small rural village, Zhaimaoliang. A detailed quantitative analysis of taxonomic compositions, mortality profiles, and body part distributions are used to suggest that residents at both sites equally produced animals at the household level. Results demonstrate that residents at both sites exploited a limited range of domestic species. Furthermore, survivorship data indicate that at both sites the main domestic animals (pigs, caprine, and cattle) were primarily exploited for primary products such as meat, and a wide diversity of age groups were represented including juvenile and animals that survived into full adulthood.

New Data on Archaeobotany of the Lake Sevan Basin

Recent archaeobotanical investigations (2013-2015) at three sites situated in the southeastern part of the Lake Sevan basin (Sotk-2, Norabak-1 and Sotk-1 settlements, and Sotk-10 cemetery) revealed important data on plant economy, agriculture, diet, and environment of the region during the Early Bronze Age, Middle-Late Bronze Age and Mediaeval periods. These materials show that agriculture was the main direction of plant economy to gain vegetal food staple, but it was likely accompanied also by gathering of wild plants. The principal direction of agriculture at the studied region was the cultivation of cereals for all the above-mentioned periods. Correspondingly, the main source of vegetal food were cereal-based products (presumably bread, porridges, etc).