An international team of archaeologists have identified remains of spices used to prepare curry in utensils from 2,000 years ago found at the site of Óc Eo, in Vietnam. The discovery, which provides the earliest evidence of curry consumption in Southeast Asia, confirms the spice’s importance on early trade routes.
The research was based on microscopic food residues left on twelve utensils that had been used to prepare food. 604 grains of different plant species have been isolated from the surfaces of these utensils. In addition to remains of rice and possibly coconut, multiple grains of eight species used to make curries have been identified.
“In our study, we particularly emphasize the importance of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon because they came from distant regions via sea trade routes,” Hsiao-chun Hung, an archaeologist at the Australian National University in Canberra and director of the research, which also involved teams from Vietnam and China, said by email.
“Many [grains] show breaks caused by the molta, just like the granules found in modern curry powder”, write the researchers in the journal Science Advances, in which they presented their results yesterday. The utensils, estimated to be between 1,800 and 2,000 years old, include mortars and grinding boards like those still used today to prepare curries in Vietnam.
None of the eight species identified in the utensils is native to the Mekong River Delta, where the Óc Eo site is located and which at that time was part of the Kingdom of Funan.
The most abundant species is turmeric, which arrived in the region from the west, as it is a plant that probably originated in India, the country where curry is believed to have been invented some 4,000 years ago. The research provides the oldest evidence of the presence of turmeric in Southeast Asia and “highlights the culinary influence that Indian culture had there”, say the authors of the research.
Ginger probably arrived in Óc Eo from the east, the exact origin of which is unknown, but which is already mentioned in the Analects of Confucius, written between the 3rd and 5th centuries before Christ.
From the southern islands came nutmeg, originally from the Banda Islands, and cloves, obtained from a species from the North Moluccas. These two ingredients, which are part of the culinary culture of Vietnam, are less common in the curries of other regions.
To the surprise of archaeologists, one of the 2,000-year-old grains gave off a distinctive aroma of nutmeg.
“Curry recipes arrived in Southeast Asia [the region of Vietnam] with traders and migrants from South Asia [India],” say the researchers. “This study clarifies how South Asian cultures influenced the formation of Southeast Asian cuisines, taking into account the role of Óc Eo in maritime trade networks.”
The other four species identified in the Óc Eo kitchen utensils are Chinese ginger, which is obtained from a different plant than ginger; Thai ginger, also called galanga major; the Kaempferia galanga, which also belongs to the ginger family; and cinnamon.
The latter was able to reach the Mekong Delta from different places, as it is obtained from at least five different plant species of the genus Cinnamomum and was already traded there in the second millennium before Christ. Previous research indicates that cinnamon, which is mentioned in the Old Testament, had arrived in Israel about a thousand years before our era and was previously used to embalm mummies in Egypt.
“The global trade in spices has linked cultures and economic systems of Asia, Africa and Europe since ancient times”, conclude the authors of the research in Science Advances. “Our findings provide direct evidence of the role they played in this trade of the ancient port city of Óc Eo”.
