Ancient Foodways

How archaeology can shed light on past foodways and
social worlds

Through
various case studies, Ancient Foodways
illustrates how archaeologists can use bioarchaeology, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany,
architecture, and other evidence to understand how food acquisition,
preparation, and consumption intersect with economics, politics, and ritual.
Spanning four continents and several millennia of human history, this volume is
a comprehensive and contemporary survey of how archaeological data can be used
to interpret past foodways and reconstruct past social worlds.

This
volume is organized around four major themes: feasting and politics; sacrifice,
ritual, and ancestors; diet, landscape, and health; and integrative methods.
Contributors weave together multiple threads of evidence relating to plants,
animals, craft production, and human health and reconnect the material remnants
with behaviors, practices, and meanings. The case studies show the varied and
creative ways that multiple sources of evidence can be used to shed light on
past foodways.

Ancient
Foodways demonstrates how environmental and cultural factors shaped past subsistence
strategies and cooking practices and the role food played in shaping cultural
identity and exchange networks, while also examining how food production
methods can lead to environmental destruction and the detrimental role of
dietary constraints on human health.