The Story of Food in the Human Past

Author: Robyn E. Cutright
Publisher: University Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817359850
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Book Description
A sweeping overview of how and what humans have eaten in their long history as a species The Story of Food in the Human Past: How What We Ate Made Us Who We Are uses case studies from recent archaeological research to tell the story of food in human prehistory. Beginning with the earliest members of our genus, Robyn E. Cutright investigates the role of food in shaping who we are as humans during the emergence of modern Homo sapiens and through major transitions in human prehistory such as the development of agriculture and the emergence of complex societies. This fascinating study begins with a discussion of how food shaped humans in evolutionary terms by examining what makes human eating unique, the use of fire to cook, and the origins of cuisine as culture and adaptation through the example of Neandertals. The second part of the book describes how cuisine was reshaped when humans domesticated plants and animals and examines how food expressed ancient social structures and identities such as gender, class, and ethnicity. Cutright shows how food took on special meaning in feasts and religious rituals and also pays attention to the daily preparation and consumption of food as central to human society. Cutright synthesizes recent paleoanthropological and archaeological research on ancient diet and cuisine and complements her research on daily diet, culinary practice, and special-purpose mortuary and celebratory meals in the Andes with comparative case studies from around the world to offer readers a holistic view of what humans ate in the past and what that reveals about who we are.

A History of Food

Author: Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 144430514X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 776

Book Description
The story of cuisine and the social history of eating is afascinating one, and Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat covers all itsaspects in this classic history. New expanded edition of a classic book, originally published togreat critical acclaim from Raymond Blanc, The New YorkTimes, The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent andmore Tells the story of man’s relationship with food fromearliest times to the present day Includes a new foreword by acclaimed food writer Betty Fussell,a preface by the author, updated bibliography, and a new chapterbringing the story up to date New edition in jacketed hardback, with c.70 illustrations and anew glossy color plate section "Indispensable, and an endlessly fascinating book. The view isstaggering. Not a book to digest at one or several sittings. Savorit instead, one small slice at a time, accompanied by a very finewine." –New York Times "This book is not only impressive for the knowledge it provides,it is unique in its integration of historical anecdotes and factualdata. It is a marvellous reference to a great many topics." –Raymond Blanc "Quirky, encyclopaedic, and hugely entertaining. Adelight." –Sunday Telegraph "It's the best book when you are looking for very clear butinteresting stories. Everything is cross-referenced to anextraordinary degree, which is great because the information givenis so complex and interweaving." –The Independent "A History of Food is a monumental work, a prodigiousfeat of careful scholarship, patient research and attention todetail. Full of astonishing but insufficiently known facts." –Times Higher Education Supplement

The Story of Food

Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1465494782
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
From the fish that started a war to the pope poisoned with chocolate, discover the fascinating stories behind the origins, traditions, and uses of our food. Explore the tales, symbolism, and traditions that come wrapped up in the food on our plates – food that not only feeds our bodies but also makes up our culture. The Story of Food is a sumptuously illustrated exploration of our millennia-old relationship with nearly 200 foods. A true celebration of food in all its forms, this book explores the early efforts of humans in their quest for sustenance through the stories of individual foods. Covering all food types including nuts and grains, fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, and herbs and spices, this fascinating reference provides the facts on all aspects of a food's history. Discover how foods have become a part of our culture, from their origins and how they are eaten to their place in world cuisine today.

An Edible History of Humanity

Author: Tom Standage
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0802719910
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Book Description
A lighthearted chronicle of how foods have transformed human culture throughout the ages traces the barley- and wheat-driven early civilizations of the near East through the corn and potato industries in America.

The Archaeology of Food

Author: Katheryn C. Twiss
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108474292
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Book Description
Surveys the archaeology of food: its methods and its themes (economics, politics, status, identity, gender, ethnicity, ritual, religion).

Cuisine and Empire

Author: Rachel Laudan
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520286316
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 488

Book Description
Rachel Laudan tells the remarkable story of the rise and fall of the world’s great cuisines—from the mastery of grain cooking some twenty thousand years ago, to the present—in this superbly researched book. Probing beneath the apparent confusion of dozens of cuisines to reveal the underlying simplicity of the culinary family tree, she shows how periodic seismic shifts in “culinary philosophy”—beliefs about health, the economy, politics, society and the gods—prompted the construction of new cuisines, a handful of which, chosen as the cuisines of empires, came to dominate the globe. Cuisine and Empire shows how merchants, missionaries, and the military took cuisines over mountains, oceans, deserts, and across political frontiers. Laudan’s innovative narrative treats cuisine, like language, clothing, or architecture, as something constructed by humans. By emphasizing how cooking turns farm products into food and by taking the globe rather than the nation as the stage, she challenges the agrarian, romantic, and nationalistic myths that underlie the contemporary food movement.

Ancestral Appetites

Author: Kristen J. Gremillion
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139498886
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 197

Book Description
This book explores the relationship between prehistoric people and their food - what they ate, why they ate it and how researchers have pieced together the story of past foodways from material traces. Contemporary human food traditions encompass a seemingly infinite variety, but all are essentially strategies for meeting basic nutritional needs developed over millions of years. Humans are designed by evolution to adjust our feeding behaviour and food technology to meet the demands of a wide range of environments through a combination of social and experiential learning. In this book, Kristen J. Gremillion demonstrates how these evolutionary processes have shaped the diversification of human diet over several million years of prehistory. She draws on evidence extracted from the material remains that provide the only direct evidence of how people procured, prepared, presented and consumed food in prehistoric times.

Seed to Civilization

Author: Charles Bixler Heiser
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
Eating is the second favorite activity of many people, and for some it is the first. This lively book recounts the intriguing story of the plants and animals that stand between humans and starvation. In narrating his tale, the author traces the intricate patterns of food use and distribution that have developed since prehistoric times. This book is a must reading for anyone interested in the problem of feeding the world's teeming millions over the next half century.

A History of Food

Author: Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631194972
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 824

Book Description
The story of cuisine and the social history of eating is a fascinating one, and Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat covers all its aspects in this definitive history. Covers all known foodstuffs Copiously illustrated Full social and geographical coverage Awarded the History Prize of the Societe des gens de lettres de France, for the French edition Over 2500 sold in hardback.

The Secret History of Food

Author: Matt Siegel
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062973223
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Book Description
An irreverent, surprising, and entirely entertaining look at the little-known history surrounding the foods we know and love Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English? “As a species, we’re hardwired to obsess over food,” Matt Siegel explains as he sets out “to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths.” Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths—and realities—of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales. He even makes a well-argued case for how ice cream helped defeat the Nazis. The Secret History of Food is a rich and satisfying exploration of the historical, cultural, scientific, sexual, and, yes, culinary subcultures of this most essential realm. Siegel is an armchair Anthony Bourdain, armed not with a chef’s knife but with knowledge derived from medieval food-related manuscripts, ancient Chinese scrolls, and obscure culinary journals. Funny and fascinating, The Secret History of Food is essential reading for all foodies.