Cantareus apertus shells with epiphragms collected from Aouled SaidSaafi 2024, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
Posted on 10/17/2024 1:52:40 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A new study by Dr. Ismail Saafi from the Aix-Marseille Université provides details on the discovery of cooked snail remains at Kef Ezzahi in northern Tunisia. The snail remains, dating back approximately 7710 years, are the only known cases of snail remains in northern Africa with their epiphragms (temporary closing membrane) intact.
The findings raise questions and shed light on snail consumption and the antiquity of culinary traditions in Tunisian societies. The findings are published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
The site of Kef Ezzahi is one of a handful of sites that contain a rammadiyet (massive accumulations of shell remains). During excavations conducted at the site in 2012, shells belonging to the species Sphincterochila candidissima were uncovered. Of these over 35,000 remains, 41 revealed the presence of epiphragms.
Dr. Saafi explains the function of this epiphragm, "Land snails produce an epiphragm when climatic conditions are unfavorable for their activity (temperature varies between 5° and 25°, presence of rain or high humidity). The epiphragm protects against water loss, especially when the temperature rises."
The finding is remarkable because it is the only known case in northern Africa and may be one of the oldest pieces of evidence pointing to humans consuming snails with epiphragms.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Cantareus apertus shells with epiphragms collected from Aouled SaidSaafi 2024, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
So, they are the ancestors of the French?........
“A snail crawling along the edge along the edge of a straight razor. That’s my dream, that’s my nightmare. A snail, crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor, and surviving.” Col. Walter E. Kurtz, Commander, 5th Special Forces.
Perhaps.
No offense meant to you or snails. Thank you, this is the reason I hang out here on FR for a few minutes of my day. I learn something I did not know before.
I always thought French ate snails and frogs because the nobility made the “little people” poor and declared hunting rights as theirs alone. So regular people ate what they could eat without getting sent to the dungeon.
The doorbell rings. The homeowner opens the door, sees no one. Closes the door. Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rings again. The man opens the door, notices a snail making its way down the doorpost. Figuring that some idiot kids were pranking him, and feeling frustrated, he picks up the snail and throws it at some kids playing in the yard across the street.
Three weeks later, the doorbell rings. The man opens the door. The snail is back, and sez, “what the hell was that all about?”
lol
appropriate that this Tunisian gourmet snail delicacy is announced by a guy working in France
The Tunisians ordered him with UberArchaeologists.
I have actually eaten snails several times and enjoyed them!...... And frogs legs once.......
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
