On the origins of bread cultures in the Near East: a new archaeobotanical study of charred meals and cooking practices from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey) and Jarmo (Iraqi Kurdistan)

This PhD study integrates unstudied plant evidence from the Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk East (Turkey) and Jarmo (Iraqi Kurdistan), such as charred residues and amorphous charred organic material which were originally identified as “food” and “bread,” combined with the study of artefact assemblages (clay balls, pots and grinding stones), ethnographical studies and experimental food preparation and charring experiments. The main aim of this thesis is to assess the extent to which these early sites can be characterised as a bread culture (e.g. Fuller & Rowlands 2011) and how much diversity of cereal preparation techniques were employed in the past and how these diversified over time. The methods developed in this research project have provided a new means of characterising archaeobotanical assemblages with charred food fragments as representative of Neolithic “recipes” the chaine operatoire, which links harvested cereals to cooked products for consumption. The intention of this study is to characterise how these recipes changed over time and might have varied across the Neolithic Catalhoyuk and Jarmo communities, shedding light on socio-economical differences.