The so-called husking tray is a pottery shape attested during the 7th and the first half of the 6th millennium BC in the Near East. These vessels are large trays with surfaces crossed by scored patterns. It has been hypothesized a functionality related to cerealprocessing and bread making, further supported by ethnographical and experimental evidence. The Neolithic site of Tell Sabi Abyad (northern Syria) has provided diverse ceramic material including storage vessels, as well as a wide range of macrobotanical remains such as hulled barley, emmer wheat, lentil, chickpea and flax. The results of use-wear and phytolith analyses from a selection of husking tray assemblages from the Late Neolithic settlement are discussed here. Use-wear distributions over their surfaces showed patterns related to the detachment of plant foods such as `bread-like¿ materials, according to experimentally-produced records. In turn, phytolith results indicated the nature of the plant material adhered to the vessel surfaces which is dominated by Pooideae grasses. Multicellullar or anatomical connected phytoliths from the husks of wheat and barley were common in these assemblages. Overall, these results suggests a functionality related to the processing of cereals into bread. This integrated approach further supports the hypothesis that husking trays were used for baking to better understand Late Neolithic culinary practices.

Peer reviewed