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Masterclass: What's Cooking? Lipid Analysis of Pottery
🕑 Added 2022-01-26 16:40:40 +0000 UTCIt's amazing what can be learnt from a small pottery sherd. The type of pot, the fabric it was made from and even where and when it was made.
But thanks to the wonders of lipid analysis, we can often tell whether it was used to cook foods, the type of foods cooked – and even if it was boiled or fried!
How does it work? Dani Wootton caught up recently with Dr Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol to find out.
As Julie explains in this fascinating interview, she was intrigued by the idea of applying scientific processes to archaeological questions. Chemical analysis can reveal a huge amount about our humanity and social interaction.
In fact, lipid analysis is not just insightful on pottery and cooking – it has even been used to shed light on organic materials recovered from shipwrecks.
Julie's work recently made the news. Find out more here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49813039
Comments
Ross G. Kreamer
Dr Julie Dunne is a treasure! Please bring her back. A wonderful TT episode to this complete novice. Cheers!
Laura Soto-Barra
Lipid analysis in archaeology! Fascinating, thanks for the mini master class.
Time Team
Hi Mark, great question. We put it to Dr Dunne, who replied: 'We have analysed medieval glazed pottery and have actually found lipids within the pots. Looking at these pots microscopically we generally find that glazes in the past were imperfect and often leave holes or gaps. The lipids must thus be migrating in through these gaps'.
Kieran Gane
Awesome. Thank you both.
Time Team
Link to the Stilton episode report below - seemingly no mention of lipid analysis. From memory, the Roman cheese press had been discovered previously and was whole. Purely conjecture, but due to the destructive process of grinding a sherd in order to extract the lipids, the local museum perhaps didn't take too kindly to the idea of smashing their pot! Is this form of analysis being used on the current digs? We'll just have to wait and see! https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/our-work/stilton
Time Team
Hi Robert, this may not answer your questions fully but a range of original post-excavation reports from Time Team digs are available on the Wessex Archaeology website here: https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/our-work/time-team
Robert Wise
Thank you both for these insights! I don’t remember this subject coming up in any Time Team dig? Has lipid analysis been applied to Time Team samples … ever? There was one Time Team dig (Stilton…) on an old Roman site where they found a cheese press … was lipid analysis used on that? Is this a hint that this form of analysis is being used on either of the current-ish digs? Does this analysis work on Samian ware as well?
John Matthew IV
Fascinating that so much can be learned from a piece of pot from long ago.
Conan Mills
Thank you!! I will absolutely give it a read.
Eggs Ackley
Enjoyed this very much so keep this sort of content coming!
Jeff Lanam
Here's a paper about lipid analysis in Alaska. https://core.tdar.org/document/431914/animal-fats-and-ancient-pyro-technologies-in-the-north-american-arctic-contextualized-analysis-of-lipids-in-archaeological-sediments-combustion-features-and-ceramics
Mark Lund
I'm only 5 mins in, so this may be answered later, but I would assume that if the inside of the pot had a glaze of some sort, the lipids would not be 'absorbed' into the pot(?) So maybe not possible to analyse in later pottery samples?
Conan Mills
I'm curious if this type of analysis can be done on less fatty samples, such as deer or rabbit. Here in the states we didn't have cow or pigs until the European settlers arrived.
Diane Johnston
Really interesting - Thank you.
