Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia

Karen Bescherer Metheny is visiting researcher of archaeology at Boston University. She is author of From the Miners’ Doublehouse (2007) and co-editor of Landscape Archaeology (1996, with Rebecca Yamin). She has taught courses in the anthropology and archaeology of food, food history and food culture of New England, and method and theory in food studies. Her current research interests center on the use of food mapping and other visualization techniques, and the cultural significance of maize in colonial New England.Mary C. Beaudryis professor of archaeology, anthropology, and gastronomy at Boston University. She is author or co-editor of numerous published works including Findings (2006), Archaeologies of Mobility and Movement (2013, co-edited with Travis Parno), and The Oxford Handbook of Material Culture Studies (2010, co-edited with Dan Hicks). She currently teaches a course called Pots & Pans: The Material Culture of Cookery & Dining in which she has combined her interests in foodways and material culture to focus on technological and material change in the kitchen and at the table.

Food has always been an essential part of human life and culture; food is not just what provides humans sustenance but is used to celebrate, communicate, and innovate. This set delves into these diverse aspects of the archaeological history of food through more than 240 entries covering various time periods, theories, foodstuffs, and locations and cultures worldwide. Entries with a broad focus, such as Agriculture and Food and capitalism, are longer than most entries and include research from different places, eras, and cultures to provide a wide-ranging context. Entries on specific locations, food items, techniques, and concepts, such as RNA analysis, Fishing, and Jamestown, Virginia, are more narrowly focused and provide great detail on the topic. Each entry includes a see also section to direct readers to related entries and a 'Further Reading' list of important publications on the topic. The two-volume set is easy to navigate, with a thematic table of contents to help readers locate related topics and a detailed index with cross-referencing. Although the archaeology of food is a very specific topic, this encyclopedia is interdisciplinary in order to provide context and comprehensiveness. Therefore, it would serve as a great resource for college-age students in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, food studies, history, sociology, and other related disciplines.