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Ethnopharmocological relevance During the European Middle Ages aromatic products imported from Asia and Africa were credited with both preventive and curative medical properties. In addition spices provided an image of wellness and as they were expensive and had many uses in cuisine and fragrance, they functioned as prestige consumer goods. Materials and methods This is an effort to look historically at a social and cultural phenomenon for the period roughly A.D. 1200–1500. Sources of information about the demand for and uses of spices include lists of materia medica, medical treatises, cookbooks, religious writings, descriptions of banquets and court ceremonial and literary works showing what might be called aspirational lifestyles. Results It is important to focus on the demand side of the spice trade rather than simply assuming a consistent demand and looking only at the supply (prices, routes, for example). Conclusions The demand for spices must be understood in terms of their attributed medical and wellness powers, but these in turn are related to the mysterious Eastern origins of spices that enhanced their image as elite consumer products and their association with spiritual as well as medical healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Tropical spices have long been utilized in traditional medicine and cuisine. New archaeological evidence highlights temporal changes in the nature and scale of the ancient spice trade and in the ancient usage of these plants. Furthermore, a study of their ‘materiality’ highlights that the impact of spices extends beyond their material properties. Here the botanical remains of spices recovered from archaeological excavations at a port active in the Roman and medieval Islamic spice trade are evaluated. Materials and methods Recent excavations at Quseir al-Qadim, an ancient port located on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, have provided new evidence for the spice trade. Due to the arid conditions ancient botanical remains were preserved in abundance and these included spices, as well as a wide range of other food plants. Quseir al-Qadim was active as a transport hub during both the Roman and Islamic periods (ca. AD 1–250, known as Myos Hormos, and again during ca. AD 1050–1500, known as Kusayr), and the remains thus facilitate a study of temporal change in the trade and usage of these spices. Standard archaeobotanical methods were used to recover, identify and analyze these remains. Results At least seven tropical spices were recovered from the excavations, as well as several other tropical imports, including black pepper ( Piper nigrum ), ginger ( Zingiber officinale ), cardamom ( Elettaria cardamomum ), turmeric ( Curcuma sp.), fagara (cf. Tetradium ruticarpum ), myrobalan ( Terminalia bellirica and Terminalia chebula ) and betelnut ( Areca catechu ). A marked contrast between the two chronological periods in the range of spices recovered points to changes in the nature and scale of the trade between the Roman and medieval Islamic periods, while differences in the contexts from which they were recovered help to identify temporal changes in the way in which the spices were utilized during those periods. Conclusion Archaeological and textual evidence suggest that in antiquity spices were used in ritual (funeral rites, offerings), in perfumery, and in medicinal remedies, with black pepper the only tropical spice regularly employed in cuisine. By the medieval period the culinary role of spices had grown significantly, both in the Middle East and in Europe, while retaining their importance in medicinal applications. In both time periods they were luxuries available only to the upper strata of society, but the material properties of spices and their elite status made them desirable to a wider section of society. In their pursuit of spices people became entangled in a meshwork of relationships, altered social realities and political power struggles. Globalization is one such entanglement, highlighting that the potency of spices goes far beyond their ability to stimulate our taste buds, delight our sense of smell and cure our ailments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]