Bronze Age Forum: new paper on agriculture

I was delighted to present at paper at the Bronze Age Forum, which took place at University College Cork, Ireland from 10 to 12 November 2017. The Bronze Age Forum is held every two years, and it provides an excellent opportunity to hear about recent discoveries by scholars on all aspects of Bronze Age life (and death) in Europe. The event in Cork was very enjoyable. More than 40 papers were presented, as well as posters, providing a great overview of what’s new in research and an opportunity to catch up with European colleagues.

The last time I spoke at a Bronze Age Forum event was back in 2006, so it was good to get involved again. My paper was entitled "Farming in Late Bronze Age Ireland: a landscape approach". The paper was co-authored with international and inter-sectoral colleagues from our major research project, “Settlement and Landscape in Later Prehistoric Ireland – Seeing beyond the site”.

Agriculture in Bronze Age Europe is often considered to have provided a basis for economic growth and emerging social power. Extensive scientific data from Bronze Age excavations – particularly archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological evidence – have become available over the past two decades. Despite this availability of data and the recognised importance of farming, detailed analysis of what was being farmed, and how farming was undertaken, is often absent from narratives on the Bronze Age. To address this issue, a major INSTAR-funded research project was established, “Settlement and Landscape in Later Prehistoric Ireland – Seeing beyond the site”, which aimed to contextualise the archaeology of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Ireland within its contemporary prehistoric landscape, focusing on farming strategies and broader landscape interactions.

The paper revealed results from collation and analysis of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data, focusing on south-east Ireland during the Late Bronze Age. The project team is currently writing up results for publication, so watch this space for more information on our findings.

Tree fruits: a different type of crop

I was delighted to spend last week participating in an excellent workshop in the La Rioja region of northern Spain. The workshop was organised by Guillem Pérez Jordà and Leonor Peña-Chocarro, both of whom work at the Instituto de Historia, CCHS/CSIC, Madrid. Pérez Jordà and Peña-Chocarro are running a fascinating research project to explore the origins and spread of tree-fruit cultivation.

When exploring origins of agriculture, the focus has often been on cereals and legumes, but this project is focusing its attention on tree fruits. We were treated to fascinating presentations from some of the leading archaeobotanists in Europe, showing how tree-fruit cultivation emerged in their regions and the types of fruits being cultivated through time.

My presentation was entitled “Arboriculture at the northern margins of Europe: insights from Ireland”. I drew upon archaeological, historical and ethnographic data to explore when and where tree-fruit cultivation took place in Ireland. We have very little evidence in Ireland for tree-fruit cultivation during the prehistoric period, but it does seem that apples, plums and perhaps other fruits were cultivated in early medieval Ireland.

In the case of apple, charred and waterlogged apple pips and endocarp fragments have been found at several early medieval excavations in Ireland, including the Viking towns of Waterford and Dublin. It can be difficult to distinguish between wild and cultivated apples simply by looking at the gross morphology (appearance) of the preserved seeds and endocarp fragments. Studies of the early law texts have revealed, however, that there was a generally recognised distinction between the sour wild apple and sweeter cultivated types (Kelly 1997, 259-260). Kelly notes that the ninth-century text Bethu Brigte refers to an abundant crop of sweet apples, ubla cumra, in a churchyard, while an eighth-century law text refers to a wild apple, fiaduball. It appears, therefore, that apple cultivation had arrived into Ireland. At the La Rioja workshop, I learned that apple cultivation was widespread in Europe by this period, so the Irish evidence fits well into this wider picture.

The workshop participants are planning to write up their findings in the coming year, so watch this space for a more detailed review of the Irish evidence.

Swords Castle: re-imagining ancient foods

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to participate in a public event at Swords Castle. The event formed part of a collaborative project that I developed with Fingal Community Archaeologist Christine Baker, Fingal Public Art Coordinator Caroline Cowley, and an invited curator and artists.

The project, ‘All Bread is Made of Wood’, is curated by Anne Mullee, who invited artists Fiona Hallinan and Sabina Mac Mahon to contemplate bread and its elements as a vehicle for the transference of knowledge and memory as embodied in its production. The project is composed of a series of private and public interactions, including recipe salons with local African women’s group and the area’s older population, and public events where hypotheses of bread and its elements are anatomised and considered.

As part of the Swords Castle - Digging History community excavation project, I am undertaking archaeobotanical analysis of the excavated deposits, and I have discovered a large quantity of early medieval and medieval food remains, particularly cereals. Inspired by these results, ‘This Dirt’ took place on 29th August, and brought together methods of baking and food production from North County Dublin’s past and present. Utilising Swords Castle as a catalyst for exploration, ‘bread’ acted as the threshold for investigations into contemporary and ancient local food culture, somatic learning and haptic processes of making.

"Seed Carriers" was a pair of activities devised by Fiona Hallinan. Plant macro-remains found in archaeological deposits at Swords Castle were made visible in two ways: in one instance, figuratively, as illustrations on nail transfers applied to the hands of participants, and in another, constitutively, as ingredients used in the menu of an on-site food truck (see image above). It was really exciting for me to see the tiny seeds re-imagined as nail transfers, while the food from the food truck showed how 'basic' ingredients from early medieval and medieval Ireland can provide a creative and delicious meal.

Sabina Mac Mahon presented a pop-up exhibition – the first part of Anti-anti-pasta, a project exploring the life and work of little-known (imaginary) Italian Futurist Ermenegildo Cervi (1897-1966) who settled in north county Dublin following the publication of his fellow Futurists’ Manifesto of Futurist Cooking in late 1930. The manifesto called on Italians to turn their backs on pasta, a staple foodstuff believed to induce lethargy, pessimism and nostalgia, and therefore contrary to the Futurists’ belief in technology and speed. Cervi became disillusioned with the Futurists’ anti-pasta stance and, assured of Irish people’s enthusiasm for starchy foods like bread and potatoes by relatives who ran a fish and chip shop in Dublin, decided to move to Ireland and attempt to establish a new nation of pasta-eaters here. This was a beautifully presented and wonderfully creative exhibition that really got me thinking about cultural attitudes to certain foods.

Our event was featured on the RTE Radio 1 arts show, Arena on 28 August. I'm looking forward to working with the team again. Watch this space for further events.

Participating in the EAA conference, Maastricht

I am delighted to be in Maastricht, where I am participating in the 2017 EAA conference. The EAA (European Association of Archaeologists) is the Association for all professional archaeologists of Europe and beyond. There are thousands of archaeologists in Maastricht for the conference, and I am looking forward to the start of lectures tomorrow.

I am delivering one lecture and co-authoring another. The paper that I will deliver is entitled "Fibre plants in prehistoric Ireland: insights from archaeobotany and other sources". The paper will provide a review of fibre plants from prehistoric Ireland, based primarily upon archaeobotanical evidence. The potential use of fibres from wild plants during the Mesolithic period (8000-4000 BC) will be explored. Cultivated plants arrived into Ireland at the beginning of the Neolithic period (4000-2500 BC), including flax, but there is also extensive evidence for continued use of wild plants in various activities, possibly including fibre production. It is during the Bronze Age (2500 - 700 BC) and Iron Age (700 BC-AD 400) in Ireland that we start to find actual textile fragments, as well as further archaeobotanical evidence for plants possibly used in fibres. The paper will focus on archaeobotanical evidence for fibre production in prehistoric Ireland, but will also explore archaeological evidence for tools utilised during the various stages of fibre and textile production, as well as related archaeological features. The paper will also draw upon documentary and folkloric evidence from the historic period to provide an integrated approach to understanding the role of plants as resource fibres.

The co-authored paper is entitled "Exploring the 'somewhere' and 'someone' else: an integrated approach to Ireland's earliest farming practice". The paper will be delivered by my colleague at UCD School of Archaeology, Dr Jessica Smyth, and our colleague Associate Professor Graeme Warren is another co-author. We have had fun putting the paper together, bringing our individual perspectives on the nature of early farming in Ireland, and learning from each other. As an island on the westernmost edge of Europe, with few native wild predecessors of the main domesticated animal and crop species, the idea that farming arrived in Ireland from somewhere and someone else has rarely been contested. Only recently have archaeologists begun to amass significant amounts of data on the specifics of the earliest crop and animal husbandry on the island. This has resulted in narratives that sometimes complement, and sometimes conflict with, existing models on the arrival of farming drawn from observations of the material culture record. In this paper, we review multiple strands of evidence for what the earliest farming in Ireland looked like, combining results from the organic residue analysis of pottery, programmes of radiocarbon dating, and analysis of plant macro-remains, lithics and settlement remains. Together, these data provide greatly increased resolution on where these somewheres, and who these someones, may have been.

The EAA conference will also be a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues from around the world and hear the results of lots of good research! I'm looking forward to it.

Building our lab resources: a comparative collection

Spelt wheat, ready for harvest

These are busy times for members of the Bioarch Laboratory at UCD School of Archaeology, where we are building up a reference collection of modern plant specimens. The Bioarch Lab was established in 2016 at UCD, and it is where staff and students undertake analysis of archaeobotanical (non-wood plant macro-remains) and anthracological (charcoal) remains.

A modern collection of plant specimens is required to enable secure identification of ancient plant specimens. Botanical illustrations are certainly helpful for narrowing down identifications. But the most important requirement for identification is a regional comparative collection of modern specimens. This comparative collection enables the placing of ancient and modern material side-by-side to confirm identification of the ancient material.

Members of the Bioarch Lab are now working with botanic gardens and growers around Ireland to secure these modern specimens. Earlier this week, we visited a farmer in Co. Meath, Mr Dominic Gryson, who very kindly allowed us to take samples from his crops. Mr Gryson is growing a fantastic array of heritage crops, such as the spelt wheat pictured. It was a wonderful opportunity for us in the Bioarch Lab to see these plants growing and to learn about their growing preferences and challenges. 

Building up a modern comparative collection really is time consuming, but we are finding it worthwhile. I am particularly enjoying the opportunity to discuss and learn about the plants with our students, postdocs and professionals beyond UCD. The samples we collected this week are now back in the lab, and we are preparing them for long-term storage and hopefully many years of use by UCD staff and students.

Food ‘facts’: new findings and emerging challenges in the investigation of ancient foodways

A few weeks ago, I presented the keynote lecture at the annual conference of the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland. My lecture was entitled "Food ‘facts’: new findings and emerging challenges in the investigation of ancient foodways". It was a very enjoyable conference, and I received good feedback on my lecture. 

My aim was to showcase the fantastic new techniques that we use in archaeology to investigate food and some of our recent discoveries. I also wanted to highlight the growing public interest in learning from the past to develop healthier eating habits in a modern context. Archaeologists can engage in myth-busting, explaining how there is good archaeological evidence for carbohydrate-rich foods in hunter-gatherer societies, even though the modern “Paleo diet” might suggest otherwise. Ancient DNA analyses have revealed a remarkably high incidence of lactose tolerance in Ireland – we have a very long history of humans producing the lactase enzyme during adulthood, which enables us to drink milk – and lipid analyses highlight the production of dairy products over thousands of years.

We are on trickier ground, however, if we attempt to advise modern societies how they should eat now. Best practice in public health and community nutrition is developed by teams comprising professionals in dietetics, epidemiology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and other specialities. We as archaeologists can provide valuable insights into the ‘deep history’ of ancient foodways. But if we want to draw upon this evidence to help develop future nutrition strategies, we should do so as part of a team-based approach, including established professionals in public health and community nutrition. Archaeologists can play an important role here – and indeed we should be more explicit in the public arena about our expertise and fascinating findings – but as professionals, we must develop a careful, considered and, most importantly, collaborative approach if we want to tackle modern health issues.

Oats: new and old

I'm writing a paper about ancient cereals at the moment, focusing on the emergence of oat as an important crop in Iron Age and early medieval Europe. I took a break from writing a few days ago to visit the Rosemount Environmental Research Station at University College Dublin. It's just a short stroll from my office, but it feels like another world.

At Rosemount, staff and students have developed wonderful outdoor plots where many different plants are growing, as well as glasshouses and laboratories, where a fascinating variety of experimental plant trials are being undertaken. I was particularly interested in the oat trials (pictured above)! It was my first visit to Rosemount, and I plan to return. Watch this space for further updates.

New publication: early dates for a Neolithic passage tomb in Ireland

My latest paper with the Cultivating Societies research team has just been published in a leading journal, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2017.1; also see news item on UCD School of Archaeology webpages). 

The team has written several ground-breaking papers in recent years on early farming in Ireland, funded by the Heritage Council under the INSTAR programme. We have published in a variety of high-impact journals, including Journal of Archaeological Science, Journal of World Prehistory and Antiquity, placing the archaeology of Ireland firmly on the world stage.

Our latest paper is entitled “Radiocarbon dating of a multi-phase passage tomb on Baltinglass Hill, Co. Wicklow, Ireland”, and it provides new evidence for Neolithic activity spanning at least six centuries at this funerary monument. The paper presents the results of a radiocarbon dating programme on charred wheat grains and hazelnut shell found underlying the cairn, and on cremated human bone found within and near two of the monument’s five chambers. The results are surprising, in that three of the six determinations on calcined bone pre-date by one or two centuries the charred cereals and hazelnut shells sealed under the cairn, dating to c. 3600–3400 cal BC. Of the remaining three bone results, one is coeval with the charred plant remains, while the final two can be placed in the period 3300/3200–2900 cal BC, which is more traditionally associated with developed passage tombs.

A suggested sequence of construction is presented, beginning with a simple tomb lacking a cairn, followed by a burning event – perhaps a ritual preparation of the ground – involving the deposition of cereal grains and other materials, very rapidly and intentionally sealed under a layer of clay, in turn followed by at least two phases involving the construction of more substantial chambers and associated cairns. What was already regarded as a complex funerary monument has proven to be even more complex.

Schulting, R., McClatchie, M., Sheridan, A., McLaughlin, R., Barratt, P. and Whitehouse, N. (2017) Radiocarbon Dating of a Multi-phase Passage Tomb on Baltinglass Hill, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society.

Archaeology conference in Ireland

The first half of 2017 is proving to be a busy time for me! I am speaking at another conference at the end of this month -- the annual conference of the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland. I am a long-standing member of the Institute, and I was delighted to be asked to deliver the keynote lecture for the conference.

My lecture will be entitled "Food ‘facts’: new findings and emerging challenges in the investigation of ancient foodways". I will examine ancient foodways – the customs or habits of a group of people concerning food and eating – which are increasingly a focus of research in archaeology. This paper will highlight some of the exciting new findings from Ireland and beyond, as well as some of the challenges facing archaeologists who are undertaking research in this area.

The structure of the paper will follow the four themes of the IAI conference: prehistory, environmental archaeology, community archaeology and historic archaeology. The prehistory and environmental archaeology themes will be explored through consideration of evidence from Ireland’s first farmers, highlighting research from the “Cultivating Societies” project. The community archaeology and historic archaeology themes will focus on the “Swords Castle: Digging History – Fingal Community Excavation Project”. These two projects have made important new discoveries on ancient foodways, and they have highlighted issues relating to professional practice in Ireland. The paper will also include an analysis of the role that archaeologists can play in informing debates relating to modern food trends, such as the Paleo diet and lactose-avoidance, as well as potential problems that may arise when archaeologists advise on healthy-eating practices for modern societies.

For more information on the conference, visit the IAI website. Tickets are available here.

Conference -- Innovation in Irish Food and Drink: Past, Present and Future

I am looking forward to speaking at a upcoming conference about food in Cork, Ireland. The conference, "Innovation in Irish Food and Drink: Past, Present and Future" will take place at University College Cork, 10-12 March 2017. I started my studies in archaeology at UCC -- and this is where I first became interested in ancient foods -- so it is a great pleasure for me to return to Cork and speak about my latest research on archaeological evidence for foods in the past.

The conference will explore food production and consumption, both old and new. The conference is being organised by food historians Dr Chad Ludington (Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow, UCC School of History) and Regina Sexton (UCC Adult Continuing Education, UCC School of History), and will feature food historians, food geographers, food scientists, business leaders, food producers, restaurateurs, and food writers. It promises to be an exciting weekend, bringing together researchers and practitioners from varied backgrounds to talk and think about the many roles of food in our lives.

The title of my presentation will be "Early innovators: Ireland's first farmers", and I will present results from my investigations into foodways in Neolithic Ireland. The Neolithic period in Ireland (4000–2500 BC) witnessed enormous changes in the types of foods being produced and the work involved in their production. Several new crops were introduced into Ireland soon after 4000BC. Archaeobotanical studies indicate that emmer wheat became the dominant crop, with evidence also for barley (hulled and naked) and flax. Analysis of arable weeds suggests that farming was intensive, rather than extensive. Gathered resources (which provided staple foods for hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic) were not abandoned when farming arrived into Ireland. On the contrary, there is substantial archaeobotanical evidence for a variety of nuts, fruits and greens. Establishing the types of foods being made from these plants has proved rather challenging, but new research is being undertaken to address this issue. This paper will provide an overview of the latest research in archaeological science and highlight new pathways to further develop our understanding of the foods produced and eaten by Ireland’s first farmers.

The conference is open to the general public and registration is free. Hope to see you there!

Popular magazine focuses on early farming

My research features in the current edition (Winter 2016) of the popular RTE magazine, Ear to The Ground. The television show of the same name has been broadcast in Ireland for many years, exploring issues of interest to Irish farmers and their families. The magazine delves further into some of the issues raised during the television broadcasts, as well as highlighting farming news stories.

A researcher from the magazine was interested in finding out how and when farming arrived and spread across Ireland, eventually becoming a new way of life. Much of the article, entitled "Ireland's first farmers" (pages 120-122), is based upon an interview with me, where I explained my research findings.

An extract from the article:
The earliest farmers practised mixed farming. They cleared forests to graze their animals, chose sheltered locations and lived in isolated settlements, for the most part. We know this because these early farmers’ remains are occasionally discovered and excavated by archaeologists. Meriel McClatchie is an assistant professor at the UCD School of Archaeology and also the director of the Ancient Foods Research Group, which explores the foods eaten by our ancestors from as early as the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers; she explains how various excavations have helped to create a pretty good picture of the early farmers’ lifestyle.

"What we find on a lot of excavations of the early farmers is actual food remains, such as animal bones, which tell us the types of animals these people were eating; we’re finding bones that suggest they were raising cattle, sheep and pigs,” she says. “Then we find little tiny burnt seeds, which are the crops – what happens is if the crops come into contact with fire and become charred then they can survive in the ground for thousands of years – and we can reconstruct what the first farmers were eating: wheat, particularly, and barley, but it was an older type of wheat, emmer wheat, the earliest wheat. Oat and rye are much later introductions to Ireland – they only came in roughly 2,000 years ago. They were producing crops on a sustainable level for themselves.”

Another extract:

“What we see in Ireland from the very beginning of farming is that they were growing wheat and barley, they were raising animals but not just for meat; we know that they were producing dairy products as well. They were also making pottery vessels for the first time too. So we have built up a very nice picture of what people were eating and how they were farming,” says Meriel.

For more, you will have to buy the magazine! You can also read more about this topic in my recent collaborative paper in the academic journal, Antiquity.

McClatchie Meriel, Bogaard Amy, Colledge Sue, Whitehouse Nicki J., Schulting Rick J., Barratt Philip, McLaughlin T. Rowan (2016) Farming and foraging in Neolithic Ireland: an archaeobotanical perspective. Antiquity 90(350), 302–318.