Taphonomy in the kitchen: culinary practices and processing residues of native tuberous plants of the South-Central Andes

BABOT, MARÍA DEL PILAR; LUND. JULIA; OLMOS, ADRIANA VALERIA

INTERSECCIONES EN ANTROPOLOGíA

Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales

Lugar: Olavarría; Año: 2014 vol. Esp p. 35 - 53

We present comparative material for the identification of culinary residues of cooked tubers of Solanum sp., Oxalis tuberosa and Ullucus tuberosus. We use a broad concept of taphonomy that includes a review of plant modifications resulting from the preparation of food; in this case, the boiling and cooking al rescoldo of fresh tubers. We undertake a number of controlled cooking experiments and compare the results with fresh samples. We discuss tissue fragments and intracellular particles and their morphological and optical modifications resulting from our cooking experiments. Finally, we discuss the possibility of recognizing cooking techniques from microscopic analysis of tuber remains.