Invisible food: the detection of organic products in Early Bronze Age pottery from the Indus Civilisation and south-east Arabia

Tue 30 January

Wolfson College

Overview:
My research extracts lipids (fats, waxes and oils) from ancient pottery to understand what people in the Indus Civilisation, South Asia’s first urban civilization, and those in the Oman Peninsula cooked and consumed as part of daily subsistence activities during the Early Bronze Age (c. 3000-1900 BC). Populations in these two regions also engaged in long-distance maritime exchange, and were part of networks that moved raw materials and finished products, including animals, textiles, copper, tin, semi-precious stones, as well as softstone and ceramic vessels along the Persian Gulf. I have also analysed lipids from imported vessels to understand what products were moved from afar.

The results of my research highlight the importance of pastoral products, such as meat and milk, but also suggest the presence of plant oils and other plant products in pottery vessels, indicative of diverse culinary and vessel-use practices. The use of sensitive chemical techniques enables the direct identification of foodstuffs and characterisation of archaeologically ‘invisible’ products that were contained or processed in ceramic vessels for the first time in this region. The results provide a new means to interrogate the relationship between people and their environment in ancient SE Arabia and South Asia.

Speaker:
Dr Akshyeta Suryanarayan is an archaeologist with a core interest in ancient foodways and the relationship between people, pottery and their natural environment over periods of transition in South Asia and south-east Arabia during the Early Bronze Age. As a Gerald Averay Wainwright postdoctoral fellow (2023-26), she is working on examining connections and networks of exchange in the Arabian Gulf during this period.

Details:
This is a hybrid event, which will take place in-person and on Zoom.
If you would like to attend online, please register for the Zoom link: https://wolfson-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwocuuhqjgsGdQSF_hSP3ilMbk476MsSEpV#/registration
Refreshments will be available for the in-person audience.

Access:
This event will take place in Gatsby Room on the first floor of the Chancellor's Centre. It has step-free access with a lift and there is an accessible toilet located each floor of the building.
For more details please view our AccessAble guide: https://www.accessable.co.uk/wolfson-college/access-guides/chancellor-s-centre

Cost: Free