3,500-Year-Old 'Lunch Box' Discovered in the Swiss Alps, Researchers Stunned to See Traces of Cereals
It is not out of the realm of possibility for someone to misplace their lunchbox, the loss becomes a topic of interest for archeologists when it is 3,500 years old. The ancient lunchbox was buried underneath miles of ice in the Swiss Alps, before being uncovered in 2012, Live Science reported.
The lunchbox was made of wood and contained traces of the food carried by the traveler during their possible voyage. Findings regarding the lunch box have been published in Scientific Reports.
The box has a round base made from Swiss pine and a rim cut out from willow, Live Science reported. Both of these parts were sewn together and put into place by splint twigs of European larch. Experts noted some residue on the box's surface, whose identity is yet to be figured out.
The bronze age finding was unearthed by experts from the University of York underneath an ice patch in the Lötschenpass, 8,700 feet (2,650m) above sea level, in the canton of Bern, Daily Mail reported. On examination, researchers found alkylresorcinols inside the box. Alkylresorcinols are widely considered to be fat-based biomarkers for whole wheat or rye grain.
Archeologists believe that the food particles were preserved inside the vessel because of how they were nestled amidst ice in the Alps. "The deposit has been preserved because it was frozen in an ice patch until recently when the ice started melting. It was in very good condition as if it was left up there just a few months ago," Dr. Andre Carlo Colonese, the lead researcher explained.
The team associated with the study used certain chemical techniques to figure out the identity of the residue, Live Science reported. Researchers were ecstatic with their examination as it is very rare that food remains are in a condition for analysis that, too, after so many millennia.
"One of the greatest challenges of lipid analysis in archaeology has been finding biomarkers for plants," Colonese explained. "There are only a few and they do not preserve very well in ancient artifacts."
Experts consider the finding to be crucial because it helps them understand the shift from hunting to farming in society as millennia passed, Daily Mail reported. "It is not only significant for the development of early farming societies in Eurasia, but for the rest of the world as we know it today," Colonese added.
The presence of cereals in the box gives an idea about how cereals entered into the dietary pattern of humans, Live Science reported. "Detecting a molecular marker for cereals also has widespread implications for studying early farming," another study researcher, Jessica Hendy, of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History explained. "It enables us to piece together when and where this important food crop spread through Europe."
Archeologists are now hoping to use their methods of chemical analysis in ceramic containers they have discovered through the ages to figure out if these processes work in such materials if food traces in them are not visible.