This dissertation combines two different analytical methods, use wear and ancient starch grain analysis, to investigate the uses of different types of grinding tools. The artefacts were recovered... Show moreThis dissertation combines two different analytical methods, use wear and ancient starch grain analysis, to investigate the uses of different types of grinding tools. The artefacts were recovered from two of the earliest Neolithic farming communities in the central plain of China. The research focuses on addressing four research issues regarding “correlation between tool type and function”, “choices of ancient food processing techniques”, “rice processing in the early rice agricultural societies”, and “foodways in different Neolithic communities”. The findings were published in four peer-reviewed academic articles (Chapter 2 to 5). The data attained regarding Neolithic culinary practices and different uses of grinding tools allows a more nuanced and broader consideration of ancient foodways in the research region. Chapter 6 consolidates the results from the study of archaeological grinding tools and previous research to discuss the foodways of the ancient Jiahu population. In Chapter 7, a comparison of foodways at Jiahu and other Peiligang Culture sites suggests the intangible cultural boundaries and interactions between these Neolithic communities. Overall, this dissertation highlights that Neolithic grinding tools played different roles in early farming societies, especially in food processing practices. Show less
In the central plain of China, grinding tools are a common category of artefacts at sites attributed to the Peiligang Culture (c. 9000-7000 BP). This paper focuses on the grinding tool assemblage... Show moreIn the central plain of China, grinding tools are a common category of artefacts at sites attributed to the Peiligang Culture (c. 9000-7000 BP). This paper focuses on the grinding tool assemblage from the site of Tanghu, the largest Peiligang Culture settlement yet discovered. The results from the microwear and residue analyses both suggest that cereals were the primary plant material processed with the grinding tools. Other plants, including acorns and underground storage organs, were also processed, but probably to a smaller extent. Furthermore, microwear analysis suggests that the dry-grinding technique was adopted for cereal processing, and a piece of hide or animal skin was placed underneath the grinding slabs to gather the processed plant material. Apart from plant food processing, one of the grinding tools was also involved in processing bone. These data put more insights into the Neolithic culinary practices and different uses of grinding tools in this region. Show less
Li, W.; Tsoraki, C.; Yang, Y.; Xin, Y.; Van Gijn, A. 2020
In the central plain of China, grinding tools are a common category of artefacts at sites attributed to the Peiligang Culture (c. 9000-7000 BP). This paper focuses on the grinding tool assemblage... Show moreIn the central plain of China, grinding tools are a common category of artefacts at sites attributed to the Peiligang Culture (c. 9000-7000 BP). This paper focuses on the grinding tool assemblage from the site of Tanghu, the largest Peiligang Culture settlement yet discovered. The results from the microwear and residue analyses both suggest that cereals were the primary plant material processed with the grinding tools. Other plants, including acorns and underground storage organs, were also processed, but probably to a smaller extent. Furthermore, microwear analysis suggests that the dry-grinding technique was adopted for cereal processing, and a piece of hide or animal skin was placed underneath the grinding slabs to gather the processed plant material. Apart from plant food processing, one of the grinding tools was also involved in processing bone. These data put more insights into the Neolithic culinary practices and different uses of grinding tools in this region. Show less
Li, W.; Pagán-Jiménez, J.R.; Tsoraki, C.; Yao, L.; Gijn, A. van 2019
China is a major centre for rice domestication, where starch grain analysis has been widely applied to archaeological grinding tools to gain information about plant use by ancient Chinese societies... Show moreChina is a major centre for rice domestication, where starch grain analysis has been widely applied to archaeological grinding tools to gain information about plant use by ancient Chinese societies. However, few rice starch grains have been identified to date. To understand this apparent scarcity of starch grains from rice, dry- and wet-grinding experiments with stone tools were carried out on four types of cereals: rice (Oryza sativa L.), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The results reveal that dry-grinding produces significant damage to starches to the point where they may be undetected in archaeological samples, while wet-grinding causes only slight morphological changes to the starch grains. Moreover, rice starch grains have the most substantial alterations from dry-grinding, possibly impeding their identification. These findings provide a possible means to explain the relative scarcity of rice starch grains recovered from archaeological grinding tools, which it is suggested was caused by the use of the dry-grinding technique. Therefore, it is suggested that rice starch grains have been likely underrepresented in the archaeological record, and previous interpretations of starch analyses need to be reconsidered. Show less
Studies investigating different food processing techniques have shed light on the dietary habits and subsistence strategies adopted by prehistoric populations. They have shown that grinding cereals... Show moreStudies investigating different food processing techniques have shed light on the dietary habits and subsistence strategies adopted by prehistoric populations. They have shown that grinding cereals into flour has taken place since the Palaeolithic period, yet the grinding method employed has often not been investigated. The analysis presented here identified different types of use-wear traces associated with the dry-grinding and wet-grinding of cereals, which can be used to infer prehistoric grinding techniques. Applying this reference baseline to Jiahu, an early Neolithic site known for the earliest findings of domesticated rice in the central plain of China, reveals that dry-grinding rather than wet-grinding was employed for cereal (including rice) processing 9000 years ago. This grinding method could have been inherited from the earlier hunter-gatherers, but could also result from a broad-spectrum subsistence strategy adopted at Jiahu. By comparing the properties and ethnographic uses of different plant species, it is also suggested that cereals such as rice were a more sensible choice for the dry-grinding process. Show less
he site of Jiahu in the central plain of China is known for its early rice cultivation 9000 years ago. The preliminary starch analysis implies that the Jiahu grinding tools were used for processing... Show morehe site of Jiahu in the central plain of China is known for its early rice cultivation 9000 years ago. The preliminary starch analysis implies that the Jiahu grinding tools were used for processing various plants, including rice. This paper presents the use-wear analysis carried out on a sample of seventeen grinding tools from Jiahu, nine of which were previously analyzed for the presence of starch. Use-wear traces associated with processing cereal and wood-like material were identified. This result confirms important evidence of cereal processing in the early Neolithic period. It also reveals the diversity of functions in the grinding tool assemblage. Furthermore, the use-wear distribution indicates that grinding slabs without feet and cylindrical rollers were mainly associated with the processing of cereals while grinding slabs with feet were mainly related to the processing of wood-like material. Quantitative analysis of the starch data also indicates that grinding slabs without feet possess more starch grains than the grinding slabs with feet. Therefore, it is argued that specific types of grinding tools were used for processing specific kinds of material. This study highlights the different roles grinding tools may have played in early farming societies. Show less
