Remnants of 2000 year old curry shed light on trade routes
July 22, 2023 6:58 PM Subscribe
Remnants of 2000 year old curry shed light on trade routes and role of spices in ancient civilisations. Analysis of micro-remnants found on a stone grinding tool in Southern Vietnam revealed a range of spices including ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Remnants of 2000 year old curry shed light on trade routes
When you referenced the remnants of a curry, powder on a grinding tool was not my first image.
Interesting find, though.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:22 PM on July 22, 2023
When you referenced the remnants of a curry, powder on a grinding tool was not my first image.
Interesting find, though.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:22 PM on July 22, 2023
Funan period is quite interesting. The wiki page on Funan is very good.
"The Funanese settlement of Óc Eo, located near the Straits of Malacca, provided a port-of-call and entrepot for this international trade route. Archaeological evidence discovered at what may have been the commercial centre of Funan at Óc Eo includes Roman as well as Persian, Indian, and Greek artefacts. The German classical scholar Albrecht Dihle believed that Funan's main port, was the Kattigara referred to by the 2nd century Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy as the emporium where merchants from the Chinese and Roman empires met to trade. Dihle also believed that the location of Óc Eo best fit the details given by Ptolemy of a voyage made by a Graeco-Roman merchant named Alexander to Kattigara, situated at the easternmost end of the maritime trade route from the eastern Roman Empire."
First Cambodian monarch, Queen of Funan, Queen Soma.
"As per the legends, an Indian merchant ship was attacked by the pirates led by Soma, daughter of the chieftain of the local Nāga clan. The merchants led by Kaundinya fought back and fended off the attackers but the ship had been damaged and was beached for repairs"
Alot of sea activity, some piracy, attacks and diplomacy by marriage and a hint at repair port.
Though hundreds of years later, 'Ancient Maritime trade routes along the Indian ocean' is a pretty good article especially 'Culinary Influences'.
posted by clavdivs at 8:15 PM on July 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
"The Funanese settlement of Óc Eo, located near the Straits of Malacca, provided a port-of-call and entrepot for this international trade route. Archaeological evidence discovered at what may have been the commercial centre of Funan at Óc Eo includes Roman as well as Persian, Indian, and Greek artefacts. The German classical scholar Albrecht Dihle believed that Funan's main port, was the Kattigara referred to by the 2nd century Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy as the emporium where merchants from the Chinese and Roman empires met to trade. Dihle also believed that the location of Óc Eo best fit the details given by Ptolemy of a voyage made by a Graeco-Roman merchant named Alexander to Kattigara, situated at the easternmost end of the maritime trade route from the eastern Roman Empire."
First Cambodian monarch, Queen of Funan, Queen Soma.
"As per the legends, an Indian merchant ship was attacked by the pirates led by Soma, daughter of the chieftain of the local Nāga clan. The merchants led by Kaundinya fought back and fended off the attackers but the ship had been damaged and was beached for repairs"
Alot of sea activity, some piracy, attacks and diplomacy by marriage and a hint at repair port.
Though hundreds of years later, 'Ancient Maritime trade routes along the Indian ocean' is a pretty good article especially 'Culinary Influences'.
posted by clavdivs at 8:15 PM on July 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
Man, I was hoping for a "curry shed" for a second there.
posted by brundlefly at 1:09 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by brundlefly at 1:09 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
Culinary anthropology is one of my lifelong fascinations, I’m really happy to read this! It happens all the time with discoveries like this, where food ways are seemingly unchanged or only slightly adjusted for contemporary tastes over thousands of years. The spices listed in the article sound like they would make a great curry I could buy today. Of course we don’t have the context of the people it was being cooked for, or what was served with all those valuable spices. Were there noodles? A pungent broth? Was it a large dish for a group to eat communally or a tiny tasting portion to savor? I wish I knew more. Regardless, this kind of thing connects me to humanity in ways nothing else really does. People continue to be people and sharing recipes down the generations connects us all the way back. It’s like oral histories that tell of species that are now extinct and meteorological events that were recorded half a world away in a monk’s notes - the flavors that people sailed oceans and climbed mountains to share are still remembered, and point to other things to learn about the past as well.
posted by Mizu at 3:34 AM on July 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 3:34 AM on July 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
For the record, I would eat 2,000 year-old curry.
posted by chavenet at 3:38 AM on July 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 3:38 AM on July 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
As an Indian person, I feel like I have to point out that "curry" is a British colonial epithet (and sometimes even a British colonial creation). That is the reason - the only reason - that White people don't use the term to describe Bolognese sauce or french onion soup.
By definition therefore, the oldest curry can be no older than the British Raj. Food with ground spices? Sure, we've been doing that a lot longer.
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:13 AM on July 23, 2023 [10 favorites]
By definition therefore, the oldest curry can be no older than the British Raj. Food with ground spices? Sure, we've been doing that a lot longer.
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:13 AM on July 23, 2023 [10 favorites]
add me to the list of people disappointed that this isn’t about an ancient curry shed
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 9:59 AM on July 23, 2023
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 9:59 AM on July 23, 2023
It would be much more interesting if they could determine proportions, since with spice blends it’s all about ratios. But the ingredients part is interesting. I’m impressed they got this much.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 6:58 AM on July 24, 2023
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 6:58 AM on July 24, 2023
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posted by misterpatrick at 7:13 PM on July 22, 2023 [4 favorites]