An international team of archaeologists analyzed 85 pottery sherds containing significant food shell remains from 13 archaeological sites in Northern and Eastern Europe, dating from the 6th to 3rd millennium BC. They identified various plant tissues such as wildflowers, legumes, fruits, and herbaceous roots, leaves, and stems in 58 of these sherds. The findings reveal that prehistoric hunter-gatherers exhibited a selective preference for specific plant species and parts, often pairing them with certain animal foods.

Prehistoric Europeans demonstrated careful selection of their plant foods, consciously opting for specific species and combining them with targeted animal foods. This practice may have led to the development of unique tastes, flavors, and textures, facilitated by pottery techniques, thereby motivating their invention and adoption.

Foraging wild plants was a crucial aspect of survival for prehistoric communities. However, direct evidence, including the types of plants foraged and their uses, often remains elusive.

Traditionally, scientists analyze fat residues in ancient pottery to interpret ancient diets. Nonetheless, this method primarily sheds light on animal remains, limiting insights into plant consumption.

In a groundbreaking study, researcher Lara González Carretero from the University of York and her colleagues employed advanced techniques, including microscopy and chemical analysis, to uncover evidence of plant consumption by ancient European hunter-gatherers.

The study evaluated organic artifacts from 58 pottery pieces excavated from 13 archaeological sites in Northern and Eastern Europe, dating between the 6th and 3rd millennium BC.

This innovative approach collected tissue samples from various plant species, including grasses, fruits, leaves, and seeds, frequently found alongside remains of animals, particularly fish and other marine life.

The specific combinations of ingredients varied by region, likely reflecting local cultural practices and available resources.

This important discovery underscores the significant role of plants and aquatic foods in early European diets.

The results confirm that these communities regularly utilized pottery techniques for meal preparation, each developing their own intricate culinary traditions.

“Our findings reveal that the selection of plant foods was highly selective, with hunter-gatherers favoring specific plant species and parts, often combining them with particular animal foods,” the researchers stated.

“These results also suggest that our understanding of plant processing in pottery may be drastically underestimated if we rely solely on lipid residue analysis.”

Read their paper published in the online journal PLoS ONE.

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L. González Carretero et al. 2026. Selective culinary uses of plant foods by Northern and Eastern European hunter-gatherer-fishermen. PLoS One 21 (3): e0342740; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0342740