Speaker: Andrew Lints, PhD
Title: What Was For Dinner 1,000 Years Ago? Recreating Past Plains Recipes via Pottery and Bones
Our understanding of past meals consumed on the northern Great Plains has traditionally centred on animal remains. However, advances in microbotanical analyses (Starch Grains and Phytoliths), particularly carbonized food residues from the interior of pottery vessels, have allowed researchers to reconstruct past meals with greater precision. Recent examination of pottery vessels from Besant, Sonota, and Avonlea sites reveal food-related patterns spanning approximately 1,700 to 900 years ago. Despite their overall infrequency in the archaeological record, early pottery vessels were being used to prepare meals at significant events. Foods boiled together in these vessels often included local berries, chenopodium, and tubers from wetland and Prairie environments. Some meals also included both local and exotic plant items (e.g., maize, beans, and wild rice). Notably, evidence of maize (Zea mays spp. mays) was detected in pottery vessels from two ceremonial important sites within the Besant and Sonota sites but was more commonly found within Avonlea contexts. This finding suggests that pottery use and maize consumption may have been initially reserved for special events before becoming integrated into more routine food practices. Results of this research showcase the diverse number of edible plants that contributed to daily and special meals across much of the northern Great Plains.
Andrew is currently an assistant professor of Anthropology at Brandon University in Manitoba. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Alberta. Born and raised on the Canadian Prairies, Andrew's area of research is connected to the lands that he calls home. Current research involves reconstructing past cuisine on the northern Great Plains and how this changed over time and space. What foods were used for special occasions? What recipes were regional? and How material culture can reflect cuisine? These are just a few of the questions that Andrew is investigating.