Prehistoric Porridge Pots?

New evidence suggests that prehistoric people may have cooked wild grains and plants in pots as early as 10,000 years ago.

11:31 22 December 2016

The discovery of pottery fragments found at two sites in the Libyan Sahara suggests that prehistoric people may have cooked “a kind of porridge” in pots when there was no meat from hunting.

 

Dr Julie Dunne, of the University of Bristol, said: "This is the first direct evidence of plant processing globally, and, remarkably, shows that these early North African hunter-gatherers consumed many different types of plants, including grains/seeds, leafy plants and aquatic plants."

 

"The invention of thermally resistant pottery, which allowed plants to be boiled for prolonged periods, considerably broadens the range of plants prehistoric people could eat, including previously unpalatable or even toxic plants," Dr Dunne added.

 

Stones that could be used for grinding were also found near the fragmented pottery, which may suggest the grains were pounded into flour.

 

"Or they may have just boiled the grains for prolonged periods and made a kind of porridge," Dr Dunne said.

 

"Interestingly enough, that is one of the staples in Africa today - it may be that this has a very long history."