My teacher says that archaeologists found traces of nuts and berries in Catalhöyük. How could they find out about this after so many years?
Vivian, Web Post
Dr. dig responds:
Yes, your teacher is quite right. Archaeologists working at the Turkish site of Catalhöyük (70005000 B.C.) have used a variety of modern archaeological methods, including slow excavation, detailed recording, soil sieving, and microscope analysis, to recover and identify plant remains, including domesticated cereals, tubers, and a range of wild fruits (wild pear) and nuts (acorns, wild almonds and pistachios). These parts of the plant survive quite well in dry conditions. The problem is that these remains are very small, and the archaeologists don't always spot them! Analysis of the surviving teeth has also helped archaeologists to understand the ancient diet. It seems that the people of Catalhöyük ate a lot of raw food, with the use of domesticated plant foods increasing over thousands of years.
