30th EAA, Session 1008: Food Processing and Cooking Practices in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia (Neolithic to Iron Age) – Call for papers

Rome, 28 – 31 August 2024, Sapienza University of Rome

Deadline for paper submission: 12 February, 2024
Deadline for poster submission: 8 April, 2024

Session # 1008

Studies on ancient diet and cooking practices are well developed and help shedding light on various aspects of social and daily past life. Some issues are still to be unraveled in the scholarly debate: to overcome regional and chronological specialisations; to reach a broader perspective; to discern the resources used in food preparation and the use of food-related tools. Additionally, there is an increasing need for the examination of resources as salt, milk, products derived from cereals and legumes, dairy products, natural sweeteners, and other minor ingredients. With this session we aim at bringing together researchers working on different areas and periods, to share methods, contextual and diachronic perspectives, artifacts’ studies, including pottery typology and technology, use of tools, petrographic and residue analysis, as well as experimental activities, actual recipes, and palaeobiological dataset.
We intend to: examine the material characteristics of artefacts, structures, and facilities for food production; uncover the tools employed in the creation of food products; explore the allocation of settlement areas for food production and the production itself. The extensive chronological and geographical scope considered allows us to elucidate how these practices change in tandem with economic and social structures from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Methodologically, we will adopt a multidisciplinary approach, welcoming contributions in archaeology, archaeometry, functional analysis (use-wear and residue), experimental archaeology, and ethnographic comparison.

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