Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)

Do folktale heroines tell of a prehistoric plant ash use? The culinary use of plant ash is an ancient technology nearly extinct worldwide and completely absent from Eurasian cultural history. Despite the lack of this technology´s historical documentation, folktales provide a rich yet underestimated...

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Main Author: Lutz Zwiebel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EXARC 2025-03-01
Series:EXARC Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10793
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author Lutz Zwiebel
author_facet Lutz Zwiebel
author_sort Lutz Zwiebel
collection DOAJ
description Do folktale heroines tell of a prehistoric plant ash use? The culinary use of plant ash is an ancient technology nearly extinct worldwide and completely absent from Eurasian cultural history. Despite the lack of this technology´s historical documentation, folktales provide a rich yet underestimated corpus on salt and ash. The denotation of the physical substances as well as the related narrative structures are investigated throughout several tale types. Motifs and their typical transformations show a wide distribution accompanied by a common collective understanding. Origin and loss of such plant ash tradition are linked to prehistory. The expression of gender specific education in fundamentally changed social contexts is hypothesized. Vladimir Propp´s structural analysis is introduced as a tool elucidating unconscious human heritage.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-ee57c6092f0947719e0ac3d9b8e2277f2025-08-20T04:02:10ZengEXARCEXARC Journal2212-89562025-03-012025/1ark:/88735/10793Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)Lutz ZwiebelDo folktale heroines tell of a prehistoric plant ash use? The culinary use of plant ash is an ancient technology nearly extinct worldwide and completely absent from Eurasian cultural history. Despite the lack of this technology´s historical documentation, folktales provide a rich yet underestimated corpus on salt and ash. The denotation of the physical substances as well as the related narrative structures are investigated throughout several tale types. Motifs and their typical transformations show a wide distribution accompanied by a common collective understanding. Origin and loss of such plant ash tradition are linked to prehistory. The expression of gender specific education in fundamentally changed social contexts is hypothesized. Vladimir Propp´s structural analysis is introduced as a tool elucidating unconscious human heritage.https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10793saltfoodstory tellingneolithic
spellingShingle Lutz Zwiebel
Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)
EXARC Journal
salt
food
story telling
neolithic
title Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)
title_full Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)
title_fullStr Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)
title_full_unstemmed Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)
title_short Black Ash - a Forgotten Domestication Trait in Garden Orach (Atriplex hortensis L.)
title_sort black ash a forgotten domestication trait in garden orach atriplex hortensis l
topic salt
food
story telling
neolithic
url https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10793
work_keys_str_mv AT lutzzwiebel blackashaforgottendomesticationtraitingardenorachatriplexhortensisl