New Archaeological Research Reveals Bronze Age Plant-Based Diets in the Middle East

New archaeological research from the UAE and Oman is reshaping our understanding of Bronze Age diets—revealing that plant-based eating was far more prevalent than previously believed. For decades, scholars assumed that Bronze Age communities in the Arabian Peninsula relied primarily on meat and dairy. But a recent study led by Dr. Akshyeta Suryanarayan of the University of Cambridge challenges that narrative. Through advanced lipid residue analysis of 179 pottery fragments from sites like Hili 8 and Hili North Tomb A, researchers uncovered chemical traces of plant-derived compounds, including markers from cereals and date palms.