Archaeologists have unearthed 14 Neolithic millstones from a 5,500-year-old Neolithic settlement on the Danish island of Funin, which were originally thought to have been used to process grains into flour. Surprisingly, analysis of the stones and the accompanying plant debris suggests that early Northern European farmers did not primarily use these tools to make bread, but may have been used to prepare non-grain foods such as porridge or gruel.

One of 14 millstones discovered by archaeologists while excavating a 5,500-year-old settlement on the Danish island of Funing. A new study shows that these stones were not used to grind grain. Image source: Niels H. Andersen, Moesgaard Museum

A whetstone, as the name suggests, is a flat-surfaced tool traditionally used for grinding another, smaller stone.

Archaeologists recently discovered 14 such stones while excavating the Early Neolithic Beaker Culture settlement at Frydenlund, southeast of Haarby, on the island of Funen (see the facts paragraph at the bottom of this article).

Given the presence of these grains, it is easy to speculate that residents of the settlement 5,500 years ago used these stones to grind grains into flour for making bread - a common explanation for such tools.

Photomicrographs of four archaeological starch granules from different millstones in Friedenlund, magnified 400x (white bars represent 20 μm), each taken in plane polarized light (left) and cross-polarized light. The type of starch shown in image 'a' is similar to the Panicoideae type of starch from a subfamily of the Poaceae family; other types of starch are not identifiable. Photo credit: Cristina N. Patús, HUMANE, Barcelona.

However, new research calls this assumption into question. An international team from Denmark, Germany and Spain analyzed the grains and millstones and concluded that the tools were not used to grind grains.

The team examined tiny plant remains, such as phytoliths and starch grains, found in small cavities on the stone's surface. Surprisingly, they found no evidence of grain processing. Instead, the few plant stones found and the identified starch grains came from wild plants rather than domesticated grains.

"We have not identified which plant the starch grains came from. We have simply ruled out the most obvious candidates - namely cereals found at settlements (which were not ground), and various species collected, including hazelnuts," explains Dr Welmoed Out, an archaeobotanist from the Moesgaard Museum.

The study, which she co-led with senior researcher Phil H. Andersen, also from the Mosgaard Museum, was recently published in the scientific journal Plant History and Archaeobotany.

One of the pestles discovered during the excavations at Friedenlund. It was used to press something, but not grain, against one of the millstones. Image source: Niels H. Andersen.

The purpose of these millstones remains to be explained, apart from the obvious wear marks left by the push mills used to grind grain.

"Trough-shaped stone quells with traces of pushing movements appeared after 500 years. The grinding stones we study here were struck with a stone pestle, as if they were rolled in a mortar. We also found stone pestles at the site that resembled round thick stone guts. However, we have not yet analyzed them for stone or starch," explains Nils-H-Andersen.

This is the first comprehensive, state-of-the-art analysis of plant debris and starch from the grindstones of Northern Europe's first farmers. The findings support a hypothesis advanced by archaeobotanists and archaeologists elsewhere in Northern Europe after finding remains of grains cooked into porridge and gruel: that the earliest farmers lived not on water and bread, but on water and gruel, as well as berries, nuts, roots and meat.

If you've ever wondered what an early Neolithic settlement on South Funin looked like, you can take a guess at the model on display at the Moesgaard Museum. Image source: Niels H. Andersen.

Yes, they probably drink water. According to Niels H. Andersen, no definite traces of brewing beer have been found in Denmark before the Bronze Age.

However, as two researchers from the Mosgaard Museum emphasize: "This study only concerns one settlement. Although it supports other findings from the Funnel Beaker culture, we cannot rule out the possibility of different results when applying this method to other excavation finds."

The Funnel Beaker Culture was an early farming culture in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, spanning approximately 4000-2800 BC, marking the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry into Scandinavia. The name refers to the earthenware beakers with funnel-shaped necks common in the culture.

The finds on South Funen Island are the most extensive millstone and grain finds from the Funnel Beaker culture in the entire region it encompasses.

Compiled from /scitechdaily