food scraps and cooking fires

[GoodTaste]

The phrase "food scraps" sounds odd to me since the author is describing an active past of the sacred pyramid. "Scraps" sounds like dying ashes after people who partipated the rite had gone (if that was the case, why cooking fires were still burning?). So it should be removed IMO.

What do you think?

===================
About 130 kilometers from modern-day Atlanta, a three-story-tall earthen pyramid once rose among the rolling hills of the Oconee Valley. Atop the mound were red cedar pergolas and two large platforms—one with food scraps and cooking fires, the other with meticulously swept floors and clay hearths simmering sacred drink.

Source: Science Jul. 22, 2020
Sacred site reveals how Indigenous people resisted colonial forces for 130 years
By Bridget Alex
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...ee-tribes-resisted-colonial-culture-130-years

 

[teechar]

No. You're way off the mark again. "Food scraps" is meant in its literal sense. The rest of that text even confirms that. I strongly advise you to read more straightforward material at this stage to improve your comprehension of English language texts. Avoid (for now) Twitter, scientific journals, etc. and practise reading articles in magazines, news and current affairs stories.
Note also the correct spelling of "participate". If you haven't got one already, install an English spell checker in your browser/text editor.