According to a recent study that uncovers the earliest evidence of culinary spice commerce outside of the Indian subcontinent, curry dishes were first transported to southeast Asia around 2,000 years ago.
This footed sandstone grinding slab, 76 cm long by 31 cm wide, was excavated in 2018
More information about the impact of the globe spice trade on world history is provided by the findings, which were just published in the journal Science Advances.
In the study, archaeologists from Australian National University and other institutions examined plant remnants found on the surfaces of stone grinding tools discovered in Vietnam.
Researchers discovered grinding slabs and mortars and pestles that resembled early South Asian stone implements used for curry preparation in the Funan-era archeological site "c Eo" in southern Vietnam.
"The artifacts analyzed correspond with archaeological and traditional Indian spice grinding tools, designed to release the flavors and tastes that characterize different spices," researchers said in the paper.
These relics could be linked to the South Asian and Indonesian spices that are being used to make South Asian curries today.
For more than 4,000 years, South Asia has been a major supplier of spices for civilizations in Asia and Europe.
As a hub for trade between south Asia and China during the Funan era (65–580 AD), Indonesian spices like nutmeg and clove also played a crucial part in the maritime spice trade.
It is also known that the rise in the use of spices as food flavoring and preservatives helped to usher in the era of European colonization of the East.
Researchers note that there is only a little amount of direct biological evidence for the use of spices in cooking in south and southeast Asia during this historical period and previous times.
It has remained unknown whether or how these spices may have been used in southeast Asian cuisine throughout that time due to the lack of such evidence.
Additionally, they examined 717 grains of starch, pollen, and silica from plant tissues that were detected on the surfaces of 12 of these tools.
Spices and rice residues with primary origins in south Asia and Indonesia were found by researchers.
These comprised cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, galangal, fingerroot, and sand ginger.
According to researchers, the latest discoveries offer some of the earliest proof of curry production and the use of many of these spices in southeast Asia.
"We propose that this culinary tradition was brought into Southeast Asia by South Asian migrants or visitors during the early trade contact via the Indian Ocean, beginning about 2000 years ago," researchers stated.
