The secrets in dental plaque
The surprising discovery that the diet of humans living on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean during the Bronze and early Iron Age was not restricted solely to wheat, millets, sesame and dates, but also included exotic spices and foods like curcuma, soya beans and bananas was first published in science journal PNAS on 21 December 2020. In the meantime, numerous other media have reported on the findings. Christina Warinner—the first person to seek traces of bacteria and protein in prehistoric dental plaque—is co-author of the PNAS article “Exotic foods reveal contact between South Asia and the Near East during the second millennium BCE”. Since 2020, Warinner and biotechnologist Pierre Stallforth have been conducting research in the new discipline of palaeobiotechnology in Jena, Germany. Their innovative work is financed by the Werner Siemens Foundation.
Links
> Exotic foods reveal contact between South Asia and the Near East during the second millennium BCE, in: PNAS, 12 January 2021
> Was 3500 Jahre alter Zahnstein über unsere Vorfahren verrät (What 3500-year-old dental plaque reveals about our ancestors), Der Spiegel, 3 February 2021