Food Practices of Ancient South Indians: Insights from Biomolecular Analyses of Potteries

Food Practices of Ancient South Indians: Insights from Biomolecular Analyses of Potteries | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Biological Sciences - Article Food Practices of Ancient South Indians: Insights from Biomolecular Analyses of Potteries Vijayanand Chandrasekaran, Prakash V. S., Manivannan K, Thennarasan A, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6604909/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Organic Residue Analysis (ORA) has emerged as a pivotal technique in archaeology, offering direct molecular insights into past societies' dietary practices and culinary traditions. By analyzing the lipids, proteins, and other organic compounds preserved within the porous matrix of ancient pottery, researchers can reconstruct the types of foods consumed, the processing methods employed, and even gain glimpses into early agricultural and animal husbandry practices. Here, we present groundbreaking research on ancient dietary practices in South India through the application of advanced analytical techniques, including Micro Computed Tomography (µCT), Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-Q-ToF-MS/MS), and elemental composition analysis of pottery residues. This study identifies specific molecular biomarkers indicating the presence of peanuts and dairy products in vessels from two archaeological sites: Keeladi in Tamil Nadu and Gottiprolu in Andhra Pradesh. Most notably, the detection of peanut-specific procyanidin tetramer challenges conventional historical narratives about introducing peanuts to the Indian subcontinent, suggesting they may have been present earlier than the traditionally accepted 16th-century timeline associated with European colonial trade. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Analytical chemistry/Mass spectrometry Scientific community and society/Social sciences/History Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files MaterialsandMethods.docx Article File STable1Biomarkerslist.xlsx Measured biomarker list STable2YA3.csv Morphometry results of YA3 pottery shred STable3YC5Q2.csv Morphometry results of YC5Q2 pottery shred STable4XA73.csv Morphometry results of XA7-3 pottery shred STable5A21.csv Morphometry results of A2-1 pottery shred Descriptionforthesupplementaryvideofile.docx Description for the supplementary video file SupplementaryFiguresRevisedV2.docx SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SupplementaryvideoofXA73.mp4 X-RAY Micro-Computed Tomography of XA7-3 pottery shred Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6604909","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Biological Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":454048594,"identity":"c10eb521-6400-4349-8967-10b2ebfdc230","order_by":0,"name":"Vijayanand Chandrasekaran","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA90lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZoYEKAtIf2CQgLOJ08I4g0FCgrAWBEhgYOZhgFmDBxgcZ3j4mafmjrw5ewLjZ9s2izoG9sMPGB7uwKPlMEOyNM+xZ4Y7ex4wS+e2AR3Gk2bAkHgGtxbJZoYEaR62w4wbbiSwMeecAfklh4EhsQ2vluTfPP8O24O1WIC08L/Br4WfmSFNmrftcCJYC0MFUIsEAVtAWizn9h1O3nDmYbNkT4WEZJvEM4MD+LSw8Z9JvvHm22HbDceTD374YVDHz8+f/PDhTzxaGBh4Eph4wAzGBoghQHwAnwYGBvYDjD/wqxgFo2AUjIKRDgDabEnKAwh1wwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Vellore Institute of Technology University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vijayanand","middleName":"","lastName":"Chandrasekaran","suffix":""},{"id":454048595,"identity":"17a30f86-8b56-43c3-8576-1dd32d10a606","order_by":1,"name":"Prakash V. 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