Food habits and social identity during Archaic age: organic residues analysis on pottery vessels from the Messapian settlement of San Vito dei Normanni (south-eastern Italy)

The paper deals with the results of a study on food habits during the Archaic Age in the Messapian settlement of San Vito dei Normanni (south-eastern Italy), integrating chemical analysis of organic residues by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) with the enquiries aimed at determining the actual use of pottery vessels from archaeological contexts. In the framework of a contextual approach, the traditional examination of the pottery was supported by a series of analytical techniques: analyses of technological, morphological and stylistic characteristics, use-alteration and residue analyses. The chemical characterization of organic residues carried out in the present study, together with all archaeological data, contributes not only to a better understanding of pottery function and trade, but also help us to define the “social dimension” in which the vessels were used. The results show that most of the imported cooking pots were used to boil meat, probably of ruminant animals. These data can be related with ritual meals and feasting activities based on animal sacrifice, as we can deduce from the large number of faunal remains found near the stone altar and in the area of the great building. Most of the pans were instead used to boil vegetables, mainly legumes and cereals, as confirmed by botanical remains, while some of them probably contained milk and non ruminant animal fats. Two samples of corinthian trade amphorae (type A) contained a vegetable oil, while the presence of pine resins in two samples (type B) could suggest that they originally transported wine.