Food in prehistory of Northern Italy: case studies and investigation methods

This research shows that the use of electron microscopy (SEM) is fundamental to study food remains and to highlight their variety. Three samples of prehistoric bread from the area of Lake Garda (Northern Italy), and precisely from Bande di Cavriana, Lazise and Lake Lucone, were studied with this technique. They consist of products intended for daily meal, but found in the favourable context of underwater sites. The loaf from Cavriana contains dressed barley and wheat (emmer and/or einkorn), carefully dehusked, as demonstrated by the few remains of glumes in the dough; the presence of the bran confirms that it is a wholemeal bread. Emmer is also found in the dough of the flat bread from Lucone, whose study is still at a preliminary stage; in the flat bread from Lazise, the presence of sharp-edged fragments of kernels in the dough indicates perhaps a different way of preparation of this product.