Archaeology of Food

As an intensely social activity, food plays a central role in our lives. This course focuses on the study of food as a way to understand past prehistoric and historic-period societies. Using case studies, we will examine the origin, development, and cultural significance of the foods we eat, delve into the role of food in human evolution, follow the development of foodways through time, and learn how archaeologists use a wide range of artifacts, features, plant and animal remains, and biochemical data to recover information about foods.

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