Archaeologists
analyzing food remains on the inside of ancient pottery discovered that 6000
years ago humans seasoned their food with mustard seeds (article). From other
food remains in the pottery shards, they can tell that the mustard was added to
meat from land animals and marine life as well as starchy plants. Mustard is
not a significant source of calories or nutrients, so the seeds were probably a
flavor enhancer. Previously, the earliest known use of seasoning was 4500 years
ago in Northern India where turmeric and ginger were used.
No
actual mustard can be found in the pottery after 6000 years. Scientists studied phytoliths, silica
crystals that remain when plants decay, and determined the phytoliths are
characteristic of mustard plants.
2 comments:
That's cool! It's interesting that we are using spices and seasonings that have been used for thousands of years (including salt, of course).
Salt is very soluble, so its traces may be harder to find.
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