Study Reveals Our European Ancestors Ate Seaweed and Freshwater Plants
Published:13 Dec.2023 Source:University of York
For many people seaweed holds a reputation as a superfood, heralded for its health benefits and sustainability, but it appears our European ancestors were ahead of the game and were consuming the nutrient-rich plant for thousands of years. Researchers say they have found "definitive" archaeological evidence that seaweeds and other local freshwater plants were eaten in the mesolithic, through the Neolithic transition to farming and into the Early Middle Ages, suggesting that these resources, now rarely eaten in Europe, only became marginal much more recently.
The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that while aquatic resources were exploited, the archaeological evidence for seaweed is only rarely recorded and is almost always considered in terms of non-edible uses like fuel, food wrappings or fertilisers. Historical accounts report laws related to collection of seaweed in Iceland, Brittany and Ireland dating to the 10th Century, while sea kale is mentioned by Pliny as a sailor's anti-scurvy remedy. By the 18th Century seaweed was considered as famine food, and although seaweed and freshwater aquatic plants continue to be economically important in parts of Asia, both nutritionally and medicinally, there is little consumption in Europe.
There are approximately 10,000 different species of seaweeds in the world, however only 145 species are eaten today, principally in Asia. The researchers hope that their study will highlight the potential for including more seaweeds and other local freshwater plants in our diets today -- helping Europeans to become healthier and more sustainable.