Beaudry Mary Carolyn - Archaeology of food : an encyclopedia

Archaeology of Food

Archaeology of Food

An Encyclopedia

Edited by

Karen Bescherer Metheny and Mary C. Beaudry

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

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Copyright 2015 by Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Archaeology of food : an encyclopedia / edited by Karen Bescherer Metheny and Mary C. Beaudry.

volumes cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7591-2364-9 (cloth : alkaline paper) ISBN 978-0-7591-2366-3 (electronic)

1. Prehistoric peoplesFoodEncyclopedias. 2. Food habitsHistoryEncyclopedias. 3. DietHistoryEncyclopedias. 4. Excavations (Archaeology)Encyclopedias. 5. Social archaeologyEncyclopedias. I. Metheny, Karen Bescherer, 1960 II. Beaudry, Mary Carolyn, 1950

GN799.F6A73 2015

394.1'209dc23

2014049892

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

In memory of our colleagues

Klaus Schmidt19532014

Sharon Zuckerman19652014

Abbreviations

Introduction

An egg. A ceramic bowl. A stone pestle. Charred grains of wheat. Seemingly ordinary objects that nonetheless have profound implications for understanding past human culture and society. Food procurement is essential to human survival, and changes to diet have been intimately connected with human evolutionary and social development. Ancient populations developed a multitude of strategies (of which food production, or agriculture, is only the most recent) to procure, process, and consume foods for their subsistence. But food is more than diet and nutrition. Food and foodways are central to cultural practice, social organization, and a range of intersecting identities and belief systems.

In editing the first reference work devoted to the fundamental connection between food and archaeology, our chief goal has been to assemble into two volumes entries that succinctly encapsulate current scientific knowledge about the archaeology of food. The encyclopedias 284 entries, contributed by 236 archaeologists and scholars from across the globe, are a reflection of the interest in and breadth of food-related inquiries in our field. The encyclopedia spans diverse geographical and temporal contexts, as well as an array of topics related to the archaeological study of food, including eras, places, cultural groups, specific foodstuffs, landmark sites, analytical techniques, methodology, pioneers in the field, innovations, theories, issues, controversies, and more. Entries such as Bioarchaeological Analysis or Food and Capitalism provide broad overviews of research using examples from different sites, cultures, or eras. More narrowly focused entries, for example, on specific analytical techniques, and site-focused entries provide greater detail.