From remote antiquity to contemporary contexts, food and the 'stuff' of food remains central to people's daily experiences as well as their sense and expression of identity. This volume explores the materiality of foodstuffs past and present, examining humanity's intriguingly complex relationships with, and experiences of, food. The book also makes a fresh contribution to our understanding of materiality through a novel focus on material culture, analysing objects used to prepare, wrap, serve and consume food and the tactile experiences involved in its production and consumption. Considering a wide range of cultures, spanning from ancient China to modern-day Kenya, this broad collection of interdisciplinary chapters reveal the multiple interplays between foods, bodies, material worlds, rituals and embodied knowledge that emerge from these encounters and which, in turn, shape the material culture of food. Exploring the Materiality of Food 'Stuffs' makes an important contribution to this burgeoning field and will be of interest to archaeologists and anthropologists working in the key area of food research.

About the Author

Louise Steel is Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David.

Katharina Zinn is Senior Lecturer for Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David.

Book Information
ISBN 9780367874292
Author Louise Steel
Format Paperback
Page Count 292
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g