Early Mesopotamian institutions served meat, dairy, freshwater foods and tree resin

Evidence from 37 vessels suggests institutional meals at Shakhi Kora drew on domestic and wild animals, plants, dairy and resin flavoring.

Abstract editorial illustration accompanying the article: Early Mesopotamian institutions served meat, dairy, freshwater foods and tree resin

Editorial illustration — not from the study.

Researchers examined vessels from Late Chalcolithic institutional contexts at Shakhi Kora in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, combining residue analysis with isotope evidence, plant remains, animal remains and archaeological context. The vessels preserve evidence of food use over several centuries.

The findings point to a varied food supply that included domestic and wild animal resources, freshwater foods, plants and dairy products. The researchers say this suggests animal protein was available to a broader range of people, and was eaten more often, than some reconstructions based mainly on early written records have proposed.

What the vessels contained

The team analyzed 37 vessels from institutional contexts at Shakhi Kora. Chemical residues and isotope signatures indicated sustained use of ruminant, non-ruminant and freshwater resources, alongside plant and dairy products. Compounds derived from Pinaceae trees—such as pines and related trees—were widespread, suggesting that tree resin was routinely used to flavor or process meals. The evidence spans several centuries of the Late Chalcolithic period.

Why these meals matter

Food control and redistribution were important to the development of Mesopotamia’s earliest public institutions, but the meals themselves have been difficult to reconstruct. These findings add direct material evidence for a diverse institutional food supply and suggest that animal protein from both domestic and wild sources was accessible to more people than text-based accounts alone have indicated.

Evidence and limits

The study combines organic-residue analysis, compound-specific isotope measurements, plant and animal remains, and archaeological context from 37 vessels. Together, these lines of evidence identify broad food categories and likely resin use, but they do not provide complete recipes or establish how every meal was prepared or distributed. The evidence comes from institutional contexts at one site, Shakhi Kora, so its applicability to all early Mesopotamian institutions remains uncertain.

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