Fun but it is Ottoman/modern. 

 

Years ago when we were working in Turkey with all the archaeobotanists we started tracing when the South American foods arrived there - from Spain via North Africa.  The earliest we found was 1581 (Busbeq's trip to Amasia).  I also heard from Colin Leakey (who among other things advised Heinz about beans) that beans probably reached the west across Asia.

 

I would love to hear what the latest data is on all this. 

 

I tried with Sibby Postgate to reconstruct the Bronze Age diet in a diagram based on an advert for olive oil margarine lauding the Mediterranean diet. We got it as accurate as we could in 2002.  I can send it to anyone who would like it as a pdf attachmet..

 

Lisa French

 

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