Theme:
1. Artefacts, Buildings & Ecofacts
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Food Culture(s) of Neolithic Southeastern Europe: Culinary Traditions, Cuisine and Pottery
Content:
The interpretation of the past culinary traditions and cuisine – as a means for better understanding of the prehistoric societies, entails thorough examination of the utensils used for the preparation of food. The cooking pots, as a use category, offer a great deal of information not only on prehistoric diet and dietary preferences, but also on complex issues referring to the construction of social and cultural identity, the symbolic systems, the political relations and economies.
The morphological and technological characteristics of these vessels - indicative of the various cooking techniques applied for preparation of food, reveal specific aspects of the culinary practices, associated with the cultural and the social dimensions of food. The application of variable scientific analyses (organic residues, microbotanical studies, etc.) thus provides essential information on the actual components that comprised a meal, explored in the context of the social practices and the ways of consumption.
In this session we are interested in the cooking pots, as they played a crucial role in the preparation of food. How the analysis of cooking pots contributes to the study of the Neolithic social transformations, human mobility, the cultural dynamics and the expressions of identity? What contribution have the scientific approaches tο the better understanding of the local culinary traditions? Can we trace similarities or differences among the cuisines of the Neolithic societies of southeastern Europe? And how other materials (botanical and zoological remains, tools such as millstones, etc.) found in association with the cooking pots, provide insights into the food choices of the Neolithic people?
The aim of this session is to bring together the variable data obtained from the examination of the cooking pots, and along with the study of other related materials, to explore their role for the better understanding of the Neolithic societies.
Keywords:
prehistoric pottery, cooking pots, southeastern Europe, cuisine, Neolithic societies, Neolithic period
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Marianna Lymperaki (Greece) 1
Co-organisers:
Tanya Dzhanfezova (Bulgaria) 2
Affiliations:
1. Democritus University of Thrace
2. St Cyril and St Methodius, University of Veliko Tarnovo
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