Traces Of Fish Soup Discovered In Prehistoric Pots

A recent study in the journal Nature demonstrates that prehistoric man's first use of cookware was to make fish soup, reports NPR. This is in marked contrast to prevailing theory regarding their diet — namely that it consisted of nuts and berries, suited to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that characterized pre-agrarian societies.

Researchers from around the globe examined remains of ceramic cookware scattered across 13 sites in Japan. They performed a chemical analysis and discovered that many of the fragments, dating back to 11,000 to 15,000 years ago, contained small amounts of carbon, nitrogen, and marine fatty acids, signs that seafood was cooked in these vessels.

What kind of seafood? Oliver Craig, an archaeologist at the University of York in England and contributor to the study, believes it could have been salmon. "As some of the vessels were found some distance from the coast and still had marine signatures, we think this may be from salmon, as these animals spend most of their lives feeding in marine environments before migrating upstream," said Craig to NPR. Anyone wishing to connect with early man, then, should put "salmon soup" on the menu tonight.

Will Budiaman is the Recipe Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow him on Twitter @WillBudiaman.