DOWNLOAD NOW! Get a FREE download of the book until the 18th of December: Food in Ancient China (cambridge.org)
The series “Elements in the Archaeology of Food”, published by Cambridge University Press, has published its first volume!
Jaffe, Y. (2023). Food in Ancient China (Elements in the Archaeology of Food). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. December 2023. ISSN 2754-2971 (online), ISSN 2754-2963 (print). https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009408370
“Food in Ancient China”, edited by Katheryn C. Twiss (Stony Brook University, NY) and Alexandra Livarda (ICAC-CERCA), provides an overview of food and foodways in Ancient China, from Homo sapiens (around 50 KYA) up to its historical beginnings: the foundation of the Zhou dynasty (at the start of the first millennium BCE). While textual data provide insights on food and diet during China’s historical periods, archaeological data are the main source for studying the deep past and reconstructing what people ate, how they ate and with whom. This volume introduces the plants and animals that formed the building blocks of ancient diets and cuisines, as well as how they created localized lifeways and unifying constructs across Ancient China. Foodways – how food is grown, prepared and consumed – were central in the development of differing social, economic and political realities, as they shaped ritual and burial practices, differentiated ethnic groups, solidified community ties and deepened or assuaged social inequalities.
About the series
“Elements in the Archaeology of Food” showcase the vibrancy and intellectual diversity of twenty-first century archaeological research into food. Volumes reveal how food archaeology not only illuminates ancient political manoeuvres, social networks, risk management strategies, and luxurious pleasures, but also engages with modern heritage management, health, and environmental conservation strategies.
Alexandra Livarda is a Ramón y Cajal researcher at GIAP (ICAC-CERCA). Grant RYC-2017-22105 funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and by El FSE invierte en tu futuro.
