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Research on Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer diet has focused on the consumption of animals. Evidence for the use of plant foods is comparatively limited but is rapidly expanding. The authors present an analysis of carbonised macro-remains of processed plants from Franchthi Cave in the Aegean Basin and Shanidar Cave in the north-west Zagros Mountains. Microscopic examination of the charred food remains reveals the use of pounded pulses as a common ingredient in cooked plant foods. The results are discussed in the context of the regional archaeobotanical literature, leading the authors to argue that plants with bitter and astringent tastes were key ingredients of Palaeolithic cuisines in South-west Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean. Keywords: South-west Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Palaeolithic diet, prehistoric food preparation, huntergatherers, archaeobotany, Introduction The dietary choices and food preparation technologies of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers are the subject of much debate. Palaeolithic peoples have been portrayed, for example, as specialist hunters focusing on large [...]

Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan became an iconic Palaeolithic site following Ralph Solecki's mid twentieth-century discovery of Neanderthal remains. Solecki argued that some of these individuals had died in rockfalls and--controversially--that others were interred with formal burial rites, including one with flowers. Recent excavations have revealed the articulated upper body of an adult Neanderthal located close to the 'flower burial' location--the first articulated Neanderthal discovered in over 25 years. Stratigraphie evidence suggests that the individual was intentionally buried. This new find offers the rare opportunity to investigate Neanderthal mortuary practices utilising modern archaeological techniques. Keywords: Iraqi Kurdistan, Shanidar, Palaeolithic, Neanderthal, mortuary practice, Introduction Shanidar Cave is a large, south-facing, karstic cave located at around 750m asl in the foothills of the Baradost Mountains of north-east Iraqi Kurdistan (Figure la). Between 1951 and [...]