Californian Researchers found Pot Residues Reveal Secrets of Ancient Cuisine

A team of archaeologists from the University of California, Berkeley, have published a new research paper in the journal Scientific Reports, which presents evidence that unglazed ancient ceramics sometimes retain microscopic food residues which, after chemical analysis, can reveal not only what had last been cooked in a pot, but also what was cooked over a pot’s lifetime. The co-lead author, Melanie Miller, a researcher at Berkeley’s Archaeological Research Facility and a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Otago in New Zealand, explains that the new data enables better reconstructions of the specific ingredients that people consumed in the past, which sheds light on social, political, and environmental relationships within ancient communities. Over the course of a year Miller joined forces with Berkeley archaeologist Christine Hastorf, to observe a team of seven chefs preparing fifty meals with different combinations of venison, corn, and wheat flour.

The meals were all cooked in original black clay La Chamba ceramic pots from pre-Columbian South America. According to the paper, in addition to cooking with donated deer road kill, they used large quantities of whole grains which they milled and developed into six ancient recipes. Unfortunately, the mushy meals were bland, explains Miller, and so the researchers did not eat them.

The chemical residues of the meals cooked in each pot were analyzed to ascertain whether the samples found on ancient cooking vessels reflected only the last foods cooked within any given pot, or also from previous meals. Hastorf, a Berkeley professor of anthropology and food archaeology, says these particular foods were chosen not only because they were available across the ancient world, but specifically to assist the scientists in identifying their chemicals traces within the pots. The researchers monitored how the pots reacted to the isotopic and chemical values of the different food combinations.

At Berkeley’s Center for Stable Isotope Biogeochemisty the pots were tested in different cooking environments and every eighth test meal was charred in order to recreate the types of carbonized residues that are so often sampled by archaeologists inside ancient pots.

Adding to the real-life variables present at ancient hunters campsites, the pots were cleaned with water and branches from an apple tree. The researchers noted that they were surprised that none of these ancient scrubbing tools broke during their experimentation. An analysis of the fatty lipids that were absorbed into the clay cookware was performed at the University of Bristol in England.

This showed that different meal time scales were represented in different residues. For example, charred food samples taken from the bottom of pots was loaded with particles from the last meal cooked in the pot, while in the upper-patina, and in the lipid residue that was absorbed into the pottery itself, the remnants of prior meals were also discovered. The paper argues that this new method of observation not only reveals hitherto inaccessible data pertaining to ancient diets, but it also provides information relating to food production, supply, and distribution chains of past eras.

The reason the pottery samples were sent from California to England is because it was a team of scientists from the University of Bristol that announced a breakthrough in food detection on ancient pottery. At the time, this was the Holy Grail of dating techniques in an Ancient Origins news article. According to the paper which was published in the journal Nature, the new archaeological dating technique was applied to shards of pottery uncovered from a dig in East London’s Shoreditch which contained traces of meat and dairy products, made and consumed by descendants of Europe’s first farmers around 3,600 BC.

This groundbreaking new dating technique, known as Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Analysis, analyzes samples of fatty acids, rather than traditional radiocarbon testing methods which only examine the radiocarbon found in all organic matter.

The effectivity of this system was tested and approved when it correctly dated pottery samples from archaeological sites of known ages. When married with the new observation methods coming out of California, there is no question that the transatlantic collaboration, between the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and the University of California in Berkeley, is leading the charge when it comes to exploring our ancestor’s ancient diets and the methods used to prepare and cook them. In August 2020, the fast-moving Sonoma–Lake–Napa Unit (LNU) Lightning Complex fire raced toward Vacaville in California from the northwest, prompting frantic evacuations as flames swallowed homes and other structures.

Officials in Vacaville ordered evacuations for all residents of Pleasants Valley Road and all connecting streets and English Hills Road as walls of fire surged across roadways. The Solano County Sheriff’s Department ordered evacuations for residents west of Blue Ridge Road to I-505 in Vacaville and north of Cherry Glen Road to Highway 128. Emergency radio dispatches suggested firefighters were rescuing victims, including some with burns.

The LNU Complex is a cluster of lightning-sparked blazes burning in Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties that firefighters are struggling to contain. An update from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) showed 0% containment for seven separate fires. Many evacuees fled with only their nightclothes, forced to rush from their homes with only minutes to spare.

A full accounting of the damage done so far in the region was not immediately available.

Police officers and firefighters were racing door to door in the outskirts of Vacaville to alert people of the fire racing toward them. It was extremely warm in Vacaville after the National Weather Service (NWS) had predicted overnight temperatures would barely dip below 80. The forecast called for highs in the 90s in the area, nearing 100 every day. More than 32,000 acres of Northern California was on fire.

The LNU Lightning Complex burned one structure and two outbuildings and was threatening 1,900 homes in Sonoma, Napa, and Lake counties. Among those threatened were an estimated 400 residents of Berryessa Estates in Napa County, and communities along Highway 128 below Lake Berryessa. Many of the wildfires were caused by the extreme heat wave accompanied by unusual thunderstorms, leading to lightning touching down hundreds of times in the North Bay, all while the ongoing pandemic has complicated efforts to shelter displaced residents.

A fire that started near Guerneville, dubbed the 13-4 Fire, forced evacuations along a 50-mile stretch of coastal land, ranging from Bodega Bay to north of Sea Ranch and well inland. Mandatory evacuations were also put in place for parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Napa counties. In Marin County, a fire started at Point Reyes National Seashore, sending smoke south along the coast into San Francisco in California.

Outside the Bay Area, residents were evacuated or told to prepare to evacuate in parts of Butte, Nevada, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, and Monterey counties.

Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the two dozen-plus fires across the state by declaring a state of emergency, allowing California to receive mutual aid from other states and secure federal grants. The Complex included the Hennessey Fire, the Gamble Fire, the 15-10 Fire, and the 13-4 Fire west of Healdburg in Sonoma County. A total of 32,000 acres were burning.

Another large wildfire was dubbed the SCU Lightning Complex, a series of several fires burning 25,000 acres in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Joaquin County, and Stanislaus County. Napa County sheriff’s deputies were already in the neighborhood, urging residents to leave the area. It was scary and overwhelming. The evacuations affected residents in the northern part of Napa County, including Spanish Valley, Snell Valley, and Butts Canyon roads.

The Berryessa Estates is relatively rural and has nearly 200 single-family homes with close to 400 residents. Officials were concerned about the embers that might float from the fire and just taking every precaution. Flames from the Hennessey Fire had crept into the eastern hills of Nichelini Vineyards, a 600-acre property in Napa’s remote Chiles Valley area.

So far, the grapevines or buildings were safe, but it was only a matter of time until the blaze impacts the most important parts of the property, which has been in the family for 130 years.

For a large property in the rural, eastern outskirts of Napa County, Nichelini Vineyards has been remarkably fortunate. A wildfire has never caused damage to the house and building since they were built in 1890. Nichelini Vineyards has never missed a harvest yet, not even during Prohibition. Evacuations expanded to everything west of Lake Berryessa water’s edge.

The primary goal was to have enough shelter capacity to provide safety to residents, all in the middle of a pandemic. The Hennessey Fire remained at zero containment, as did the Gamble Fire, near Brooks, Yolo County, which had grown to 5,000 acres. A third lightning fire in the North Bay, the 15-10 Fire, near Berryessa-Knoxville Road, had consumed 4,500 acres and was also uncontained.

CAL FIRE also reported several lightning fires in the East Bay and South Bay hills that had consumed 25,000 acres, burning in five counties. Firefighters had no containment. Agency officials also issued evacuation warnings for areas near Loma Mar and Dearborn Park in the southern part of San Mateo County. In Butte County, firefighters continued battling multiple fires caused by 1,500 lightning strikes.

The county Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations for several roads north of the Feather River.

Additional evacuations in Monterey County were caused by the River Fire, and warnings went out for the Jones Fire in Nevada County and in Sierra County for the Loyalton Fire. Conditions remained difficult for firefighters, with temperatures soaring past 100 in the North Bay. An excessive heat warning was expected to remain in effect. A rare August severe storm system in 2020 rolled through the San Francisco Bay Area in California, packing a combination of dry lightning and high winds that triggered wildfires throughout the region.

The NWS extended a red flag fire warning for the entire Bay Area in California. Any lightning strikes will likely lead to new fire starts given the current heat wave. A secondary pulse of moisture and instability arrives later. The bizarre storm system was being spun into the Bay Area from Tropical Storm Fausto off Mexico’s West Coast. High winds downed Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) lines, triggering power outages from neighborhoods in San Rafael all the way into western Marin County and thousands of others throughout the Bay Area in California.

57,410 customers were without power, a majority due to the lightning strikes. Those numbers were concentrated in the North Bay. In Santa Clara County, downed power lines sparked a fire in an unincorporated area on Brush Road near state Highway 17 that forced the evacuation of 20 residents. The fire was contained after burning a little more than an acre. Bay Area firefighters were busy as the storm moved through.

The CAL FIRE Santa Cruz-San Mateo tweeted that its crews responded to a total of 22 separate fires.

Most presumed to have started from lightning strikes. Forward progress has been stopped on most of these fires. Firefighters are working to get more resources, stretched thin due to heavy fire activity. PG&E webcams captured images of a rather large wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Additional strike teams were rushed to the area with high winds spreading the fire and threatening structures.

Air support was requested. Marin County Fire reported that its crews were responding to numerous lightning strikes in the area of King Mountain and San Geronimo and throughout the county. No current evacuation orders or warnings in place. There was a fire at the base of Mount Barnabe that had grown to 10 acres and was about 60 percent contained. CAL FIRE sent crews to a lightning cause fire in the area of 20730 Brush Road in Redwood Estates Area that initially threatened homes and forced some evacuations before forward progress was halted.

Crews were also dispatched to battle a growing vegetation fire in the area of 5201 Arroyo Road in Livermore. Firefighters had aggressively attacked the 2-alarm Arroyo fire, a blaze fueled an Eucalyptus grove, and had held it at 50 acres and with 50% containment. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department alerted that law enforcement and fire personnel are receiving multiple calls for service involving downed trees and powerlines.

A few spot fires within the Sonoma County have also been reported.

In Contra Costa County, there were several fires in the area of Morgan Territory and Marsh Creek roads near Mountain Diablo State Park. The Deer Valley Complex fires had grown to a total of 100 acres with zero containment. No evacuation has been ordered at this time, however it is possible one may become necessary. Multiple agencies including CAL FIRE, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, and San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District responded to the area.

East Contra Costa Fire Protection District reported there were three fires burning in the area, south of Briones Valley Road, at Marsh Creek Road and Deer Valley Road, and inside of Round Valley Regional Park. Approximately 25 fire units are on scene with more en route. Lightning has been striking the hills all around in the area while firefighters are trying to contain the blazes.

In the South Bay near Salinas, firefighters were battling a growing 20-acre blaze in Pine Canyon. The smoke-filled Bay Area skies also led to an air quality advisory being issued. Numerous lightning strikes overnight have sparked wildfires across the region. Air quality may deteriorate in areas near or downwind of the fires. If the smell of smoke is present, it is important that Bay Area residents protect their health by avoiding exposure.

The intensity of the storm system triggered severe thunderstorm warning for the entire San Francisco Bay Area in California.

The warning for Contra Costa, Alameda, Napa, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties was extended and even after it expired the lightning and thunder continued. The weather service also issued a special marine warning for the waters of San Francisco, San Pablo, Suisun Bays, and the west Delta. Bay Area residents also took to social media with remarkable images of the lightning storm.

Many commented how strange it was to experience a midwest style lightning storm in the Bay Area. The NWS said wind gusts generated by the fast-moving system were being clocked as high as 66mph on Atlas Peak, 65mph at Hawkeye, 48mph at Saint Helena, 45mph on Mountain Tam, and 42mph on Mountain Diablo. The cluster of severe thunderstorms are generating extremely strong erratic wind gusts which can cause downed trees, power lines, and other structural damage as well as difficulty driving.

The NWS also posted on Twitter a photo of a massive, rare roll cloud along the Santa Cruz Coast. The storm came as the region has been locked into a sweltering heat wave. Record temperatures again fell across the region and the early morning rains would only provide a brief respite. Forecasters predicted another four days of temperatures in the triple digits in the inland areas.

For years there has been talk of a potential exodus from the San Francisco Bay Area in California, spurred by the exorbitant cost of living and long, slogging commutes.

But before covid, leaving the area meant walking away from some of the best-paying and most prestigious jobs in America. There are signs the exodus is finally happening. America’s signature hub of innovation, Silicon Valley, an industrial region around the southern shores of San Francisco Bay, California, may never be the same. Tech companies are giving their employees more freedom to work from anywhere.

Employees are taking them up on the option to relocate, forming the beginnings of a shift that could reshape not only the Bay Area in California, but also the cities where these tech workers are making new homes. It is early days, and information about who is leaving and where they are heading is just starting to come in. But for those who are looking, the evidence is there.

Google last month said employees will not be returning to the office until at least the summer of 2021, in part so they can sign one-year leases somewhere else. Facebook employees could stay away for that long too. Facebook has 52,000 employees and expects to shift to a substantially remote workforce over the coming decade, and is now recruiting a director of remote work.

Other companies including Twitter and Slack have declared most of their employees can work remotely for good.

Cybersecurity firm Tanium, headquartered in Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco, also told its 1,500 employees at the end of June that they could work remotely permanently. Since then, 16% of the workers based at Tanium’s headquarters have either formally requested or inquired about relocation. Tanium’s chief executive, Orion Hindawi, relocated to Seattle in July 2020.

Around 40% of Facebook’s employees were interested in permanent remote work. Three quarters of those interested employees said they might move to another place. A survey of 371 Bay Area tech workers conducted in mid-May found that 42% would move to a less expensive city if their employer asked them to work remotely full-time. Another survey at the end of July found that 15% of more than 3,300 Bay Area professionals who responded had left the region since the pandemic began, though it was unclear how many considered their moves to be temporary.

Of those remaining, 59% said they would consider relocating if their companies allow it. While it is too soon to measure the total net outflow of tech workers from the Bay Area in California, it is already affecting real-estate prices. Rents have started falling for the first time in years. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco in the month of July dropped by 11% compared with the same month a year prior.

In Cupertino, home to Apple, and Mountain View, home to Google, the median rent for one-bedroom apartments fell by more than 15%.

The majority of techies in the Bay Area are not about to move out, but it is a significant enough minority that it is moving the market. While the pandemic has slowed or stalled rent increases in cities nationwide, San Francisco stands out. Rents in the city have fallen for the first time since 2014.