My lecture will be entitled "Food ‘facts’: new findings and emerging challenges in the investigation of ancient foodways". I will examine ancient foodways – the customs or habits of a group of people concerning food and eating – which are increasingly a focus of research in archaeology. This paper will highlight some of the exciting new findings from Ireland and beyond, as well as some of the challenges facing archaeologists who are undertaking research in this area.
The structure of the paper will follow the four themes of the IAI conference: prehistory, environmental archaeology, community archaeology and historic archaeology. The prehistory and environmental archaeology themes will be explored through consideration of evidence from Ireland’s first farmers, highlighting research from the “Cultivating Societies” project. The community archaeology and historic archaeology themes will focus on the “Swords Castle: Digging History – Fingal Community Excavation Project”. These two projects have made important new discoveries on ancient foodways, and they have highlighted issues relating to professional practice in Ireland. The paper will also include an analysis of the role that archaeologists can play in informing debates relating to modern food trends, such as the Paleo diet and lactose-avoidance, as well as potential problems that may arise when archaeologists advise on healthy-eating practices for modern societies.
For more information on the conference, visit the IAI website. Tickets are available here.