Foodways of an agro-pastoral community

Organic residue analysis of pottery and stone vessels at Middle Chalcolithic Tel Tsaf

Journal article (2022)

Authors

R. Chasan University of Haifa
Florian Klimscha Lower Saxony State Museum
Cynthianne Spiteri Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Danny Rosenberg University of Haifa
Affiliation
External organisation
Food Organic residue analysis Chalcolithic GC-c-IRMS GC–MS Southern levant
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Published Date

2022

Language

English

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External organisation

Abstract

Tel Tsaf is a Middle Chalcolithic (ca. 5200–4700 cal BC) site located in the central Jordan Valley, Israel. The site reflects increasing long-distance trade, organized cereal crop cultivation and possibly olive horticulture. Organic residue analysis of lipids recovered from 100 pottery vessels and three stone vessels and comparison to the botanical and faunal remains suggest that the vessels were used to contain or process various combinations of domestic animal and plant products and that these food products were supplemented by local wild plants. This shows direct continuity of dietary traditions from the preceding Neolithic period; however, there were some developments within the suite of domesticated resources, including the earliest direct evidence for milk exploitation in the southern Levant. Culinary traditions incorporated recipes where these food products were cooked and consumed together in various combinations. These dietary patterns were a part of daily life at Tel Tsaf, adding another layer to our understanding of the village and the culinary traditions of the Middle Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant.