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H2020Individual fellowship2017–2019

CUISINE · An innovative approach for the study of culinary practices in past societies

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2017-05-01 → 2019-09-06
EU contribution
€195,455
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Results in brief

An innovative approach for the study of culinary practices in past societies

The aim of the CUISINE project was to develop an innovative methodology for the study of culinary practices (cuisine) in past societies integrating the morphological analysis of cooking pots, the analysis of their fat content (lipids) and the analysis of microscopic plant remains (phytoliths and starch grains). In order to interpret the archaeological record, extensive plant reference collections and several experiments were developed as part of the project. At the same time, the methods developed during the experimentation phase were applied to two archaeological case studies in the Aegean, an area that has historically been (and still is) a crossroad for people and foodstuffs: the Neolithic site of Stavroupoli (Greek Macedonia, ca. 5600-5000 cal. BC) and the Bronze Age site of Knossos-Gypsades (Minoan Crete, ca. 1700-1100 cal. BC). The development of these integrated analyses on Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements allowed for the study of the emergence of new social practices and cultural identities linked to the origins of food production and the development of urban societies.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The aim of this project is to develop an innovative methodology for the study of culinary practices (cuisine) in past societies integrating the morpho-typological analysis of cooking pots, the analysis of their lipid content and the analysis of microbotanical remains. By analysing a society's diet and cuisine we can explore, for instance, cultural development expressed through growing complexity in parallel with the development of more complex social and technological structures. This project will explore culinary practices in past societies through the integrated analysis of phytoliths, starch grains and lipids from cooking pottery. In order to interpret the archaeological record, extensive plant reference collections and several experiments will be developed as part of the project. At the same time, the methods developed during the experimentation phase will be tested and validated on two archaeological case studies in the Aegean, an area that has historically been (and still is) a crossroad for people and foodstuffs: the Neolithic site of Stavroupoli (Greek Macedonia, ca. 5600-5000 cal. BC) and the Bronze Age site of Knossos-Gypsades (Minoan Crete, ca. 3650-1100 cal. BC). The development of these integrated analyses on Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements will allow for the study of the emergence of new social practices and cultural identities linked to the origins of food production and the development of complex, urban societies.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · OxfordCoordinatorUnited Kingdom

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union