Papers by Masahiro Baba
PLOS ONE, 2020
The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is sti... more The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is still a challenge to archaeological science, as most of the markers known up to now are either not durable or diagnostic enough to be used as secure proof. The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation (by charring) in archaeological contexts and to explore the preservation of microstructural alterations of the cereal grains. The experimentally germinated and charred grains showed clearly degraded (thinned) aleurone cell walls. The histological alterations of the cereal grains were observed and quantified using reflected light and scanning electron microscopy and supported using morphometric and statistical analyses. In order to verify the experimental observations of histological alterations, amorphous charred objects (ACO) containing cereal remains originating from five archaeological sites dating to the 4 th millennium BCE were considered: two sites were archaeologically recognisable brewing
EGYPT AT ITS ORIGINS 6, 2021
More than a decade of excavations in the Locality HK11C at Hierakonpolis has shown that intensive... more More than a decade of excavations in the Locality HK11C at Hierakonpolis has shown that intensive production activities took place here in the Naqada II period. HK11C is a well-preserved area of non-funerary remains where investigations have revealed a complex installation for the production of beer and pottery at Operation B and a mud-brick structure for the preparation of fish and meat at Operation C. The size of these installations and the evidence for large scale production they contain indicate that at Hierakonpolis, specialised manufacture had emerged by the early Naqada II period. Craft specialisation in Predynastic Egypt has been much discussed as a correlate to the development of complex society and the political economy. Evidence for this has been sought mainly from the study of luxury goods. However, the ceramic assemblages collected at HK11C now provide a rare opportunity to examine this topic from the point of view of utility wares deriving from structures of known function. In this paper, the pottery was examined in terms of standardisation. During excavations at both Operations B and C, all rim and diagnostic sherds were collected, amongst which the straw-tempered Nile silt modeled rim jar was found to be the most common shape within the assemblages. This jar therefore was the main focus for the analysis of standardisation presented here using metric data of rim diameters and coefficient of variation (CV), as well as a detailed examination of routinised formation techniques. The development of the modelled rim jar and its mode of production as a window on specialisation are also discussed in the light of their functional, geographical and socio-political context.
Scientific Reports, 2019
Previous studies have shown that the Ancient Egyptians used malted wheat and barley as the main i... more Previous studies have shown that the Ancient Egyptians used malted wheat and barley as the main ingredients in beer brewing, but the chemical determination of the exact recipe is still lacking. To investigate the constituents of ancient beer, we conducted a detailed IR and GC-MS based metabolite analyses targeting volatile and non-volatile metabolites on the residues recovered from the interior of vats in what is currently the world’s oldest (c. 3600 BCE) installation for large-scale beer production located at the major pre-pharaonic political center at Hierakonpolis, Egypt. In addition to distinguishing the chemical signatures of various flavoring agents, such as dates, a significant result of our analysis is the finding, for the first time, of phosphoric acid in high level probably used as a preservative much like in modern beverages. This suggests that the early brewers had acquired the knowledge needed to efficiently produce and preserve large quantities of beer. This study prov...
EGYPT AT ITS ORIGINS 6, 2021
In this paper we report on research to estimate the firing temperature of Predynastic pottery ret... more In this paper we report on research to estimate the firing temperature of Predynastic pottery retrieved from Hierakonpolis. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis was used to compare the extent of vitrification visible in the matrices of archaeological pottery sherds as well as in samples of local clay that was potentially used in pottery production and which was progressively fired at known temperatures. The results show that untempered fabrics, straw-tempered fabrics and calcareous fabrics present slightly different ranges of firing temperatures, which probably suggests the use of different firing methods.
REMOVE THAT PYRAMID! Studies on the Archaeology and History of Predynastic and Pharaonic Egypt in Honour of Stan Hendrickx, 2021
In this paper we report on research to estimate the firing temperature of Predynastic pottery ret... more In this paper we report on research to estimate the firing temperature of Predynastic pottery retrieved from Hierakonpolis. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis was used to compare the extent of vitrification visible in the matrices of archaeological pottery sherds as well as in samples of local clay that was potentially used in pottery production and which was progressively fired at known temperatures. The results show that untempered fabrics, straw-tempered fabrics and calcareous fabrics present slightly different ranges of firing temperatures, which probably suggests the use of different firing methods.
Scientific Reports, 2019
previous studies have shown that the Ancient egyptians used malted wheat and barley as the main i... more previous studies have shown that the Ancient egyptians used malted wheat and barley as the main ingredients in beer brewing, but the chemical determination of the exact recipe is still lacking. To investigate the constituents of ancient beer, we conducted a detailed IR and GC-MS based metabolite analyses targeting volatile and non-volatile metabolites on the residues recovered from the interior of vats in what is currently the world's oldest (c. 3600 BCE) installation for large-scale beer production located at the major pre-pharaonic political center at Hierakonpolis, Egypt. In addition to distinguishing the chemical signatures of various flavoring agents, such as dates, a significant result of our analysis is the finding, for the first time, of phosphoric acid in high level probably used as a preservative much like in modern beverages. This suggests that the early brewers had acquired the knowledge needed to efficiently produce and preserve large quantities of beer. This study provides the most detailed chemical profile of an ancient beer using modern spectrometric techniques and providing evidence for the likely starting materials used in beer brewing. Scientific RepoRtS | (2019) 9:16199 | https://doi.
Journal Articles by Masahiro Baba
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2021
Beer was a staple food, but also served a variety of social functions in the political economy of... more Beer was a staple food, but also served a variety of social functions in the political economy of Ancient Egypt. Recent excavations at Hierakonpolis, a major site of Egypt's Pre-and Early Dynastic period, have revealed largescale brewery installations, suggesting that the beverage played a significant role in the development of complex society and the expression of power and status, with collateral impact on craft specialization. However, there is as yet no definite consensus on how beer was produced, distributed or consumed in Predynastic Egypt. To address this gap, this research applies microfossil residue analyses on pottery fragments recovered at two different areas at Hierakonpolis: from a midden near the Predynastic beer production site at Locality HK11C; and from the Second Dynasty ceremonial enclosure of King Khasekhemwy. The results provide the first scientific evidence for a long tradition of beer jars-pottery vessels specifically for and symbolic of beer-beginning in the early Naqada II phase of the Predynastic period. The results suggest that beer production contributed to the economic and ideological integration of society, the rise of the elite, and the cultural unification that took place leading up to the consolidation of the centralized political state.
PLOS One, May 7, 2020
The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is sti... more The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is still a challenge in the archaeological sciences, as most of the markers known up to now are either not durable or diagnostic enough to be used as secure prove. The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation (by charring) in archaeological contexts and to explore the preservation of microstructural alternations of the involved cereal grains. The experimentally germinated and charred grains showed clearly degraded (thinned) aleurone cell walls. The histological alternations of the cereal grains were observed and quantified using reflected light and scanning electron microscope as well as corresponding morphometric and statistical software. In order to verify the experimental observations of histological alternations, amorphous charred objects (ACO) containing cereal remains originating from five archaeological sites dating to the 4th millennium BCE were considered: Two of these sites are archaeologically recognisable brewing installations from Predynastic Egypt, while the three roughly contemporary central European lakeshore settlements lack such specific context of the analysed cereal-based food remains. The aleurone cell wall thinning known from food technological research and observed in our own experimental material was indeed also recorded in the archaeological finds. The Egyptian materials derive from beer production with certainty, supported by the ample contextual and artefactual data. The Neolithic lakeshore settlement finds currently represent the oldest traces of malting in central Europe, while the bowl-shaped bread-like object possibly even points towards early beer production in central Europe. One major further implication of our study is that the cell wall breakdown in the grain’s aleurone layer can be used as a general marker for malting processes with relevance for a wide range of charred archaeological finds of cereal products.
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Papers by Masahiro Baba
Journal Articles by Masahiro Baba