Curating the Biomolecular Assemblage

Archaeological organic residue analysis (ORA), the recovery of biomolecules from pottery and other archaeological materials to reconstruct past pottery-based activities, has been used for decades to investigate ancient food practices in the Mediterranean. This article posits that taking an ‘assemblage’ approach might enable archaeologists to realize the potential of ORA more fully by treating organic residues as both molecular-scale members of broader archaeological assemblages and as assemblages of biomolecules. Approaching ORA as ‘curating the biomolecular assemblage’ brings into view both quality-control considerations advocated by the broader field of ORA as well as specific regional considerations for archaeology in the Mediterranean, such as distinct disciplinary trajectories in the archaeologies of prehistory versus ‘text-based’ archaeologies; unique Mediterranean environmental contexts and resulting effects on organic resources; and frequent periods of cultural, political and economic connectivity. Key topics for ORA in Mediterranean archaeology include understanding how Mediterranean environments impact residue preservation, protecting residues from contamination, ensuring inter-comparability of datasets to enable broader regional or temporal comparisons and adapting to challenges and opportunities in investigating wine and olive oil using ORA.