A good weekend to you. Any room left for one more little bite of a food story?
Neanderthals ate their veggies.
A report in the journal Antiquity says plant matter found at caves in northern Iraq and Greece reveals that, despite the way they’re depicted in paintings and museum exhibits, Neanderthals didn’t just chuck a spear at a wooly rhinoceros and chow down. They plucked wild nuts, peas, beans, lentils and wild mustard, then soaked, ground and mixed them to make what they ate more appealing.
They cooked. They cared about flavor and ingredients. They had technique. They didn’t just wield clubs. Think Neanderthal haute cuisine.
It reminds you of Faulkner’s observation, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” New discoveries and analysis can open the past to us in new ways. We look into the past, and can see the first traces of ourselves.
I asked our friend Rick Bayless, the award-winning Chicago chef, what spicing he’d recommend for that Neanderthal repast. Rick points out, “It’s unlikely the spice trade from south Asia had started yet. Certainly, there wouldn’t have been any of the ‘New World’ chilis. But wild mustard is incredibly delicious — slightly bitter and a little spicy. Throw that into the pot and you’d have a delicious meal.”
(Yet I’m sure my Neanderthal ancestors might have asked, “How many centuries do we have to wait for harissa?”)
From our show this week: Maria Ressa, the dauntless Philippine journalist and Nobel winner, on her new book, How to Stand Up to A Dictator, a call to the world to combat disinformation. Jerzy Skowlimowski, the great Polish director (now 84) on his utterly moving and engaging film EO, the story of a donkey passed between human hands. And my essay this week is really a cry from the heart after more mass shootings.
Scott Simon is one of NPR's most renowned news anchors. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and one of the hosts of the morning news podcast Up First. Be sure to listen to him every Saturday on your local NPR station, and follow him on Twitter.
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