A STUDY of DIET in MESOPOTAMIA (C.3000
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A STUDY OF DIET IN MESOPOTAMIA (c.3000 - 600 BC) AND ASSOCIATED AGRICULTURAL TECHNIQUES AND METHODS OF FOOD PREPARATION by Elizabeth Rosemary Ellison Institute of Archaeology Thesis submitted to the University of London in the Faculty of Arts for the Degree of Doctor of.Philosophy May 1978 IBIBiN (LONDIN. UNIV. ABSTRACT This study has been undertaken in order to find out what were the main foodstuffs consumed by the people of Mesopotamia, whether they would have provided an adequate diet containing all the essential nutrients, and whether the foodstuffs could have been supplied locally. Agricultural techniques have been looked at to see how efficiently and in what quantities food crops were produced and the methods of food preparation have been examined in order to see in what form the food- stuffs were consumed. The modern climate and countryside are outlined and the evidence for the ancient climate and changes in the courses of the rivers are set against them. The sources of evidence used can be divided into three main categories. These are: direct evidence of food sources from excava- tions - that is, botanical and zoological remains indicating the existence of specific cereals, vegetables, meat-animals etc, at a given place and at a . given point of time; indirect evidence from excavations such as tools and artefacts which could have been used in the production and preparation of food, representations of plants, animals, food- preparation and consumption on cylinder seals, stone reliefs, pottery, inlay work, jewellery etc; and evidence from cuneiform tablets of the variety of foodstuffs known, and in many cases, of the amounts of foodstuffs eaten. In the main, the cuneiform texts which have been consulted are those which are published with transliterations and the vast body of texts which are either unpublished or published only in copy have not been examined. It was considered that the enormous number of texts already published could be expected to give a representative picture of the main features of food preparation and food stuffs. The main cereal crop cultivated was barley and this was the main crop used for rations and for fodder. Emmer-wheat and bread-wheat were also grown, as were a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, including onions, chickpeas, lentils, dates, figs and pomegranates. The main meat-animals were sheep, goats and cattle whose dairy products were also used. Hunting and fishing were practised to provide food and these activities were probably more important in the third millenkamm. The main types of food were those based on cereals, such as breads, beer, roasted grains, 'semolina' and malt. The wide variety of breads made included sweetened preparations to which dates and ghee had been added. Animal fats and vegetable oils were used and the main vegetable oil was probably linseed. The qualitative nutritional value of the diet was assessed, and it was found that most of the essential nutrients existed in the food stuffs available in Mesopotamia. However, if the rations issued by employers are taken to represent the probable diet of the ordinary people, it is seen that there is a marked deficiency of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Other possible sources for these vitamins were examined. An assessment was made of the energy intakes of the ordinary people, from the ration lists, and it was found that the average intake for the whole of Mesopotamia was higher than that recounended for an adult male by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, although the local average varied from place to place and time to time. No such quantitative nutritional assessment could be made for the diet of other classes. Wt• TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 1 page Title page Abstract Table of contents List of figures Acknowledgements 1 Biographical abbreviations 2 CHAPTER 1: THE ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING 6 1.1 Climate and rainfall 6 1.1.1 Modern climate 6 1.1.2 Modem rainfall 6 1.1.3 Evidence for the ancient climate and rainfall 8 1.2 Geomorphological background 15 1.2.1 The Northern Euphrates and the Northern Tigris 15 1.2.2 Southern Mesopotamian Flood Plain 16 1.2.3 The present course of the southern Euphrates 20 1.2.4 The old course of the Euphrates 21 1.2.5 The present course of the southern Tigris 23 1.2.6 The old course of the Tigris 24 1.2.7 The Marshes 26 1.3 Soil conditions 28 1.3.1 Modern soil conditions 28 1.3.2 Soil salinity 33 1.4 Modern land use (19th-20th centuries AD) 36 CHAPTER 2: AGRICULTURAL TECHNIQUES 40 2.1 Types of crops cultivated 41 2.1.1 Barley 41 2.1.2 Wheat 41 2.1.3 Textual evidence for barley and wheat 42 2.1.4 Millet 43 2.1.5 Rice 43 2.1.6 Crop preferences 44 page 2.2 Agriculture in the alluvial plain 48 2.2.1 Methods of irrigation 48 2.2.2 The extent of irrigation 51 2.2.3 Farming techniques in the alluvial plain 63 2.2.4 Farming in the alluvial plains c.3000-600 BC 65 • 2.3 Agriculture in the northern plains of Assyria 78 2.3.1 Irrigation 79 2.3.2 Farming techniques in Assyria 83 2.4 Yields and seeding rates 84 2.5 The adequacy of the grain crop 89 2.6 Pastoral farming 91 2.6.1 Care of the herds 92 2.6.2 Main types of pastoral animals 95 CHAPTER 3: TYPES OF FOOD AND DRINK AND THEIR PREPARATION 105 3.1 Cereal preparations 105 3.1.1 Whole grain preparations 105 3.1.2 Milled grain preparations 114 3.1.3 Ovens 129 3.1.4 Fermented preparations 135 3.2 Flesh, fish and fowl 148 3.2.1 Meat from domestic animals 151 3.2.2 Bones from sites 156 3.2.3 Game animals 158 3.2.4 Fish 165 3.2.5 Birds 177 3.3 Dairy produce 181 3.3.1 Sour milk 182 3.3.2 Butter 183 3.3.3 Cheese 183 3.3.4 Dairy products in Mesopotamia 183 3.4 'Vegetables' 187 3.4.1 Palaeoethnobotanical evidence 187 3.4.2 Evidence for the use of vegetables 189 3.4.3 Importance of 'vegetables' in the diet 196 3.5 Oils and fats from animal and vegetable sources 198 3.5.1 Animal fats 198 3.5.2 Vegetable oils: 'linseed' and 'sesame' 199 3.5.3 Olive oil 204 page 3.6 Fruits and nuts 204 3.6.1 Fruits 205 3.6.2 Palaeoethnobotanical evidence 210 3.6.3 Evidence for the cultivation and uie of fruit from texts, artistic representations etc 211 3.6.4 Frdit as food 214 3.6.5 Nuts 217 3.7 Spices, salt and sweeteners 218 3.7.1 Spices and herbs 218 3.7.2 Salt 223 3.7.3 Sweetening agents 225 3.8 Wine 227 3.8.1 Wine in Mesopotamia c.3000-600 BC 229 3.8.2 Distillation 234 CHAPTER 4: THE DIET AND ITS NUTRITIONAL VALUE 235 4.1 The nutritional value of the diet: general considerations 235 4.2 The qualitative and quantitative nutritional values of the ancient Mesopotamian diet 243 4.2.1 How many meals a day? 244 4.2.2 Table manners 246 4.2.3 The 'Aristocracy' 253 4.2.4 'To set before the King' 254 4.2.5 People 268 4.2.6 Land tenure 298 4.3 Conclusions 300 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS 315 TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 2 page Appendix I: Capacity Measures 1 References 9 Appendix II: Estimates of population trends 12 References 23 Appendix III: Selected vocabulary 25 Figures 31 References: Chapter 1 61 Chapter 2 67 Chapter 3: 3.1 89 3.2 101 3.3 115 3.4 118 3.5 122 3.6 125 3.7 130 3.8 135 Chapter 4 138 Chapter 5 156 Bibliography 157 List of Figures (Volume Two) nie Fig.l• Nutrition Chart for Mesopotamia. Daily intakes. 31 Excerpts from the FLO Recommended Tables of Intakes, 32 Handbook on Human Nutritional Requirements, No. 28 Table 1. Fig.3. Nutritional value of Barley from Food Composition: 33 Tables for use in the Middle East (P.L. Pellet & S.Shadarevian), Section I, Composition of Foods, 100 grams, edible portion. Fig.4. Comparison of selected prkiessions. 34 Fig.5. Ancient courses of the Euphrates and Tigris. 35 Base map adapted from Gibson M. The City and Area of Kish, Fig. 69 'Reconstruction of watercourses in Mesopotamia to about 1000 BC'. The ancient courses are taken from the text of chapter 1. Fig.6. Soil map of Iraq. Adapted from Flora I, Fig.4. 36 Fig.?. Relief: The royal banquet of Agburbanipal, from 37 Barnett R.D. Assyrian Palace Reliefs, Plate 105. Fig.8. Cylinder seals Shaduf, from Parrot Sumer No. 231. 37 Fig.9. Cylinder seals Plain plough. Parrot Sumer No. 234. 38 Fig.10. Cylinder seal: Seeder ploughs. Cylinder Seals, Plate 38 XIX Nos. E & F. Fig. 11. Grain threshing near Malayar, Hamadan, Iran, in 1970. 39 Winnowing grain near Malayar, Hamadan, Iran, in 1970. 39 Fig.13. Cylinder seals man driving a seeder-plough drawn by 40 oleos. Porada 1 9 Plate XCV No. 653. Fig.14e Relief: Mixed herd of sheep and geats. Barnett R.D. 40 & Faulkner M. Saulptumsof Atturnasirpal... Plate V. Fig.15. Vases Hairy short-tailed sheep (Type 1) from the 41 Warka Vase. Parrot Sumer No. 89. Fig. 16. Relief: Humped cattle being herded along a river.