Cooking for the living and the dead: lipid analyses of Rauši settlement
Cooking for the living and the dead: lipid analyses of Rauši settlement

Summary/Abstract: This paper is intended as a contribution to the understanding of Late Iron Age foodconsumption patterns and dietary preferences along the lower course of the River Daugava.The multidisciplinary study analysed the ceramic vessels from the 11th–13th century Raušisettlement and cemetery. We used lipid residue analysis employing GC­MS (gaschromatography­mass spectrometry), GC­C­IRMS (gas­chromatography­combustion­isotoperatio mass spectrometry) and bulk EA­IRMS (elemental analyser­isotope ratio massspectrometry) of food­crusts for identifying vessel contents. The results are compared andassessed in the context of food refuse finds at the site, and the carbon and nitrogen isotopicbaseline of River Daugava. Other evidence of dietary practices reported in previous researchand historical sources is also integrated in the discussion.The results point to the Liv burial pottery being taken directly from the household as asecondary use. The pottery analyses and bone refuse indicate that the people of Rauši mostlybased their diet on fish, beef and milk. Pork, however, seems to have gone through alternativecooking practices like drying, curing or fermenting. Surprisingly none of the analysed potshad been used for extensive processing plant matter. Cultivated crops seem to have been usedas a supplement to the protein rich diet.

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