Hula valley
Hula valley
The archaeological site in the Hula Valley, dated to approximately 780,000 years ago, provides invaluable insights into the diet and way of life of early hominins. The site, known as Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, is located along the shores of the ancient paleo-lake Hula in the northern Jordan Valley, part of the Dead Sea Rift.
Twenty-six archaeological layers, extending 34 meters into the sediment, reveal that Acheulean hominins returned again and again to camp along the lake’s shores over a period of 100,000 years. Here, they made stone tools, hunted and butchered animals, gathered plants, and – perhaps most remarkably – controlled and used fire.
The findings suggest that acorns played a significant role in their diet. Burnt and charred acorns, particularly from the Tabor oak (Quercus ithaburensis), have been discovered at the site, indicating that they were not only collected but also processed – perhaps roasted – to make them more palatable and easier to digest. Alongside acorns, remains of Atlantic pistachio (Pistacia atlantica) and wild almonds have also been identified, suggesting that nuts were an important part of the diet.
These findings paint a picture of a gathering-based culture in which people made use of the rich diversity of local resources for their survival. Here, at the edge of the ancient lake, our distant ancestors lived from what the landscape provided – and acorns were part of this ancient web of nourishment.
Ajloun Nature Reserve, Jordan Select tours
The Levant
In the eastern Mediterranean, including present-day Palestine and Israel, acorns have been documented both archaeologically and ethnographically as part of the human diet. The oak forests of Anatolia, the Levant, the Zagros Mountains, and North Africa have provided nourishment for both people and animals for thousands of years.
Even during the Epipaleolithic period, around 13,000–9,800 BCE, there is evidence that acorns played an important role in the diet. At the Natufian settlement of Tell Abu Hureyra, in present-day Syria, mortars, bowls, and pestles have been found, which are believed to have been used for grinding and storing acorns. The Natufians were among the first cultures to begin transitioning from a nomadic lifestyle to more permanent settlements, before the widespread adoption of agriculture. Acorns formed part of their food resources alongside wild grains and legumes.
Maamora forest. / Ph. DR
North Africa
Acorns have also long been used as food in North Africa. During the Algerian War of Independence, khobz el ballout, a bread made from acorn flour, was baked, although today it has largely been replaced by wheat. However, couscous made from acorn flour has seen a revival as a more climate-friendly and gluten-free alternative. In Morocco, acorns are also used to produce cooking oil.
Kurdistan, life under trees, Hiên Lâm Duc
West Asia
In modern times, the tradition continues in regions such as Kurdistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Anatolia. Acorns are roasted, ground into flour, and used to bake traditional breads such as nani baru, nane belu, kalg, and pragi. Over millennia, the acorn has remained a resilient and nutritious resource – a link between prehistoric gatherers and today’s traditional cuisines.
In the Anatolian part of the Fertile Crescent lies the Neolithic settlement of Körtik Tepe, located along the Tigris River in present-day Turkey. Excavations there show that its inhabitants around 10,000 BCE relied on a wide range of natural resources. Rather than depending on cultivated grains, they appear to have sustained themselves on a rich and varied diet that included acorns, pistachios, hackberries, and almonds, as well as easily accessible small animals such as turtles and fish.
The findings from Körtik Tepe challenge the traditional view that early sedentary societies depended on agriculture. Instead, high-calorie wild plants such as acorns seem to have contributed to a stable food supply that made permanent settlement possible.
Guilin and Lijiang River National Park
Asia
In East Asia, particularly in Korea, Japan, and parts of China, acorns have long been an important part of the diet. Even today, acorn starch is used to make noodles and the jelly-like dish dotori-muk (acorn tofu) in Korea. The oldest known traces of acorn consumption in Asia have been found in Fuyan Cave, where analyses of 80,000-year-old human teeth have revealed residues of acorn starch.
During the Jōmon period in Japan (c. 14,500–300 BCE), acorns were one of the most important food sources, alongside chestnuts, walnuts, and other nuts. The prevalence of dental caries among Jōmon populations suggests a diet rich in starchy foods such as acorns. Archaeological findings show that acorns were collected on a large scale and ground using stone tools for use in cooking.
In China, evidence of acorns as food has been found at several Paleolithic sites along the Yellow River, particularly on the Loess Plateau. At Shizitan, dated to around 10,700–9,600 BCE, analyses of starch residues and wear patterns on grinding stones indicate that people used them to process acorns, alongside other plants such as grass seeds and legumes.
In Southeast Asia, findings from Cai Beo show that people 7,000–6,000 years ago used acorns as an important food source, along with other plants such as taro and palms. These findings illustrate how early hunter-gatherers in the region made use of acorns before the introduction of rice and millet agriculture.
In Korea, acorns became particularly important during the Neolithic Chulmun period, where analyses of stone-lined cooking pits show that large quantities of acorns were systematically processed. This period also saw technological developments, with more efficient stone tools for grinding acorns coming into use, indicating their central role in the diet.
In Japan, acorns were also used as a survival food during the Edo period, particularly in remote mountain regions. During the difficult years of and following the Second World War, children were sent out to gather acorns, which became a necessary resource in times of food scarcity.
Eskilstuna, Sweden
Europe
In Europe, acorns have been an important part of the human diet for thousands of years, and evidence of their use can be traced back to the Gravettian culture of the Paleolithic – a culture that also left behind impressive cave paintings and evidence of burial practices. A key discovery was made at Grotta Paglicci in Puglia, southern Italy, where a 32,000-year-old stone tool – a combination of mortar and grinder – was used to process various plant foods, including acorns. Researchers have found that the stone contains starch grains from, among other things, wild oats and acorns, providing the earliest documented evidence of food processing in Europe.
During later periods, such as the Ertebølle and Funnelbeaker cultures, acorns were a central part of the diet. Finds from the Neustadt area show that acorns were among the most frequently processed plants, with traces of acorns present in around 90 percent of the samples from these cultures. Acorns were processed by boiling to remove the toxic tannins and were then ground into flour, providing nourishment during periods of scarcity. In Denmark, archaeological evidence supports this use, with charred acorns found alongside other plants such as hazelnuts, apples, and barley in burnt Neolithic houses.
In Switzerland, at Bronze Age settlement sites, acorns have been found together with wild fruits and nuts from hazel and beech, indicating that acorns continued to be part of the diet across multiple periods. Even within the Linear Pottery Culture, one of the earliest farming societies in Europe, people continued to gather and consume wild fruits and nuts, including acorns, despite having begun to cultivate cereals.
This long history of acorn use shows how they have been a reliable and valuable resource for people over time. From hunter-gatherers in Europe to farmers of the Neolithic and Bronze Age, the versatility of acorns as food has helped sustain human life during difficult periods. Their nutritional value has made them an important part of the diet, even in modern societies where traditions surrounding acorns still persist in certain regions.
Cherry Hill, Novato by Saxon Holt
North America
In California and southern Oregon, many Indigenous peoples – including the Salinan, Hupa, Yurok, Karuk, and Miwok – have long relied on oaks both for food and for cultural practices such as basketry and land stewardship. Acorns have been a central food source for these communities, but also a symbol of their cultural traditions.
Miwok women gathered acorns in woven baskets carried on their backs, supported by a strap across the forehead. As with other groups, such as the Pomo, acorn gathering was an important communal activity, and traditional knowledge of how to collect and process acorns was passed down through generations. But gathering was only part of the work – acorns needed to be processed to become edible. First, they were shelled, then the kernels were ground into flour and the tannins were leached out using water. The flour was used to make foods such as porridge, bread, and soups.
To grind acorns, the Miwok used their characteristic grinding rocks – large stone slabs with bowl-shaped depressions, well suited for processing the hard kernels. With these stone mortars, they could produce substantial amounts of flour in a relatively short time. One such site is known today as Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, where the mortar holes are still visible in the bedrock, bearing witness to the important role acorns played in Miwok society.
Acorns were not only food, but also a cultural anchor that connected communities and traditions. Oaks – both as a source of nourishment and as a foundation for shared activities – have always been central to Miwok lifeways.
For coastal peoples such as the Hupa and Yurok, acorns were also a staple food. They ground them into flour to make porridge, bread, biscuits, and cakes, and also roasted them for direct consumption. Oaks and their acorns formed an indispensable part of life for many of these communities, and the knowledge and techniques developed to process them remain an important part of their culture and survival.
Acorns have thus been far more than just food – they have been a living symbol of history, knowledge, and the ability to adapt to and care for the surrounding landscape, generation after generation.