ANTH 205 Lecture 22

« previous | Monday, March 18, 2013 | next »

Work on Research Paper!!!

Exam next Monday

Egypt, Archaeology of Food

Constructing cuisine from material remains (usually discarded garbage)

Fairly constant temperature and humidity, so stuff is very well-preserved.

Where something is found is just as important as what was found.

Picture is always incomplete since context is required (very difficult to ascertain)

pottery: survives almost anything; styles change very slowly; usually labeled/decorated
equipment for food gathering, processing, cooking: fishing stuff; cooking/eating vessels
kitchens: hearths, ovens preserve well; worker housing had kitchens on the roof; lots of baked things; querns for grinding grain; mortar/pestle combos
actual food remains: bread; wine; butter
animal remains: esp. bones; quantities
human skeletal remains
mummies: parasites: ex. trichinella spiralis; furniture; models of food, dishes, kitchens
writing: no cookbooks found; heiroglyph for "nose" similar to that for "smell", "taste", "pleasure"/"enjoy"; lists of stuff (in everyday Demotic script)

Worker village (government housing) at Deir el-Medina

How do they figure that out?

At least 40 types of bread and at least 23 types of beer (yeast, grain, and time)

Workers received 10 loaves of bread and 1 jug of beer per day

Higher-ranking officials get more, and used excess to barter for more goods.

Domesticated Cattle, Pigs, Sheep, Goats, Donkeys

Preference for fat animals (force-feeding)

Honey and Date syrup used as sweetener

Herbs used for flavor and preservation

Reconstruction and Reliving ancient culture to see if it works.

e.g. Beer