Analysis of Organic Residues on Neolithic Pottery in Different Settlements in Poland

Chemical analysts and archeologists are increasingly interested in organic remains that penetrate the porous structures of ceramic vessels. Fatty acids and archaeological biomarkers are chemical compounds that are particularly important for determining the contents of ceramic vessels. This study involved gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of organic residues extracted from 56 Neolithic pottery samples found in 18 different settlements in Poland. Fatty acid ratios, including the newly proposed C15:0/C17:0 ratio (pentadecanoic acid/heptadecanoic acid) for the identification of dairy products and archaeological biomarker analysis, were used to determine the possible origin of these residues. The data obtained from the gas chromatography studies were statistically analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), k-means clustering, and PERMANOVA to determine differences in the diet of the people inhabiting individual settlements. The obtained results allowed us to determine that the Neolithic diet was probably similar in different regions of Poland and throughout different periods of the Neolithic era. However, because of the large difference in variance between the different sample groups, we believe that research should continue and that a larger number of samples per settlement or historical period should be examined. We can conclude that all samples contained residues of mixed animal and plant origin, and the food stored in these vessels was likely subjected to thermal processing.