多学科视野下的中国古食谱研究

A Multidisciplinary Study on the Paleo Diets of China

食谱是古代饮食文化的重要组成部分。重建古人食谱,不仅可望揭示先民的生活方式,探索古人生存环境,而且可为古代动植物的变迁、农业的起源和传播以及动物的驯养等重要学术问题提供新的研究视角。传统古食谱研究主要立足于历史文献,以及考古出土的饮食相关遗存,如饮食用具、饮食加工器具、农业/畜牧业/采集狩猎工具、绘制有宴饮/庖厨场景的墓葬壁画或者画像石/砖、动/植物遗骸等。值得注意的是,随着自然科学方法在饮食考古学研究中的应用,如骨骼或牙齿的稳定同位素分析、植物微体化石分析、考古残留物分析等,中国古食谱研究的深度和广度得以提升。此外,一些应用较少但是研究角度比较独特的方法,如牙齿磨耗分析、骨骼微量元素和单体氨基酸分析、粪化石研究等也为中国古食谱研究提供了助力。

Dietary is a significant part of ancient food culture. The reconstruction of paleo diets can reveal and allow us to explore the lifestyle and the living environment of our ancestors. Also, it can provide a new research perspective on the evolution of ancient plants and animals, the origin and spread of agriculture, animal domestication and other important academic issues. The traditional studies of paleo dietary are mainly based on historical documents and/or archaeological findings, such as ancient cutlery, food processing equipment, agricultural/pastoral/hunting tools, tomb murals or stone/brick paintings with feast/cooking scenes, animal/plant remains, etc. Furthermore, the depth and breadth of the study on Chinese paleo diets have been enhanced with the application of scientific methods in dietary archaeology,such as bone or dental isotopic analysis, micro-botany analysis and archaeological residue analysis. Additionally, those methods which are scarcely utilized but provide unique perspectives, such as dental analysis, trace element and single amino acids analysis and coprolite analysis, also assist paleo dietary studies in China.