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Archaeologists Find 2,400-Year-Old Soup

Posted by samzenpus on from the your-dinner-is-cold dept.

Chinese archaeologists have discovered a sealed bronze pot containing what they believe is a batch of 2,400-year-old bone soup. The pot was dug up near the ancient capital of Xian. Liu Daiyun of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology says, "It's the first discovery of bone soup in Chinese archaeological history. The discovery will play an important role in studying the eating habits and culture of the Warring States Period (475-221BC)." No word on if the archaeologists also found the accompanying ancient crackers.

15 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. What we really want to know... by uvsc_wolverine · · Score: 4, Funny

    So how does it taste?

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    1. Re:What we really want to know... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 2

      Probably vile. I had bone hotpot one time. I was invited to the restaurant by an acquaintance, and was horrified when I found out what the specialty of the house was. The bits of meat clinging to the bones were OK, but the tendons and other connective tissue were dreadful. I filled up on boiled vegetables, mostly. The worst part came at the end, when the enormous cracked-in-half bones were taken out of the boiling pot and given to each of the diners. Waiters showed up with plastic straws. I stood horrified as each of the diners stuck the straw into the broken end of the bone and slurped out the by-now-almost-liquified marrow. You know how when someone's drinking a Slurpee and you can see the level in the straw rise until it reaches their mouth? Yeah, it was like that, only with bone marrow. This was back when I was still in my "I should try everything in China" phase, so I took a sip. It was as bad as I thought it would be. My fellow diners thought this was the crowning achievement of the whole meal, and were simultaneously disappointed and delighted when I passed my bone. Disappointed because I didn't like it, but delighted because there was more for them.

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    2. Re:What we really want to know... by TheCarp · · Score: 2

      While I do believe that if you cook bones enough they do soften and can be eaten...

      I believe its more likely that they were cooked for the marrow. Check out the meat section of a good grocery store (preferably with their own butcher). They will have big beef bones labeled "marrow bones" for cheap. Toss a couple of those in a stew and cook until the marrow falls out.... I already ate lunch and thats making me hungry again....

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    3. Re:What we really want to know... by DarkOx · · Score: 2

      I suspect they did not eat the bone. They probably were making broth with it just like we do today. You boil the bone and the marrow flavors the broth. The bone is removed before eating.

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    4. Re:What we really want to know... by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      That's what I'd like to know. I had no idea one could eat bone.

      But, surely you're aware that making soup and stock often includes bones to simmer off the last of the meat or things like the marrow, right?

      I mean, the turkey carcass after thanksgiving often goes into a pot as the basis for a soup. Same thing.

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    5. Re:What we really want to know... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The worst part came at the end, when the enormous cracked-in-half bones were taken out of the boiling pot and given to each of the diners. Waiters showed up with plastic straws. I stood horrified as each of the diners stuck the straw into the broken end of the bone and slurped out the by-now-almost-liquified marrow.

      Marrow is eaten in almost all cultures ... it's full of fat and things that people find tasty.

      Examples include Ossubuco (which you can probably find pretty readily), roasted bones with the marrow still in 'em, and probably more (OK, those two examples are probably close to the same thing).

      Back when people didn't have the luxury of only buying the pretty bits at the supermarket, people basically ate the whole animal. I know loads of people who will feast out on tendon or pig ears -- it's not for me (I don't eat meat), but it's not really surprising that people eat it. Asia and some food-revivalists seem to be the last bastions of eating all of the obscure bits of an animal. The sheer number of foodies nowadays probably makes some of this stuff even more common.

      I figure if you're gonna eat animals, embrace the horror, and try all of the parts. Who knows, you could find something you can't live without.

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    6. Re:What we really want to know... by formfeed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Back when people didn't have the luxury of only buying the pretty bits at the supermarket, people basically ate the whole animal

      They still do.

      The difference is, traditionally people ate the good meat and turned the not-so-prime parts of exactly the same animal into dishes that -thanks to some creativity- made the rest of the meat tasty as well (at least for the locals). These dishes evolved into regional specialties.

      Today, the prime meat is sold and the rest gets rendered, combined with the leftovers of another thousand animals, and processed to turn it into fatty, protein or gelatinous fillers. This mass than ends up in canned soups, soup base, in sausages, ready made dinners, or as natural flavoring added to anything else. - Or if everything else fails, you can always feed it back to the animals.

    7. Re:What we really want to know... by BobMcD · · Score: 2

      Wow. Slashdotters must never cook or something. Amazing, considering how fat you all are.

      Don't look now, but you just posted on slashdot - fatty.

  2. Eh... by Lorem_Ipsum · · Score: 2

    It has a little wang to it.

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  3. Re:Of course no crackers by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. An offhand lame attempt at humor added by a Slashdot editor does not mean that OMG AMERICAN IMPERIALISM WHARRGARBL.

    Slashdot makes no secret of the fact that it's an American website with accompanying worldview. You don't like it, go elsewhere.

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  4. Big deal by jvillain · · Score: 4, Funny

    Big deal. I have older soup than that in my fridge.

  5. Re:Of course we had soup by oodaloop · · Score: 2

    It's not a surprise they ate soup. It's a surprise we actually found some that old. Fossils stick around a while in the ground. Some metals, stones, etc preserve well. Soup? It's a rare find. If someone makes some soup, it's usually then eaten. If they died before eating, it would likely have been eaten by someone else, spilt, or otherwise lost or destroyed in the next 24 centuries. So yes, it's surprising to find old soup.

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  6. But I ordered the salad. by blair1q · · Score: 3, Funny

    This place is not getting a good review for service from me.

  7. Re:Of course we had soup by Skrapion · · Score: 2

    Well, they probably didn't eat it because it went bad, and then they just never got around to throwing it out. It's like that Tupperware container in your fridge.

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  8. Tupperware... by Anarchduke · · Score: 2

    Eat your heart out.

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