Five Ways Native American Communities Honor Turkeys
Ancient Indigenous peoples who lived in what is today the U.S. Southwest carved turkey bones into flutes, such as these from the site of Pecos Pueblo in New…
Tag: food
The Diet of the Future Is a Menu That Draws From the Ancient Past
The author wears an outfit he made using ancient tools, methods, and materials while filming the National Geographic TV show The Great Human Race in Alaska. Brent Meske/Courtesy…
5 Questions About Eating Like a Human
In this free live event, SAPIENS Media and Public Outreach Fellow Yoli Ngandali asks archaeologist, primitive technologist, and chef Bill Schindler about his new book, Eat Like a…
How Pottery Offers Glimpses Into Ancient Foodways
[no-caption] The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara This article was originally published at Knowable Magazine and has been republished under Creative Commons. Unearthed from the graves…
The Resistance and Ingenuity of the Cooks Who Lived in Slavery
This plate features a traditional meal of fish and provisions (tubers and vegetables) served on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Diane Wallman Garlic sizzles in a big Dutch…
When the Guinea Pig Goes Gourmet
“Do you eat guinea pig?” I asked Leonardo. We were perusing the menu in a restaurant in Lima, and I wanted to know what my Peruvian friend thought…
The Macabre and Magical Human-Canine Story
Researchers found this dog skull in a Czech Republic site inhabited by humans some 28,500 years ago, offering a clue to understanding the ancient story of domestication. Mietje…
A Five Course Degustation for the Changing “Australian” Palette
To this day, I love fried Spam and eggs. The crunchy and salty slice of processed mystery meat dipped in just cooked egg yolk is one of my…
Centavitos Against Food Insecurity: Structural Violence, Charity, and Technical Fixes in Guatemala
On March 23rd, 2021, the 2020 yearly results for the “Gran Cruzada Nacional por la Desnutrición” (Great National Crusade for Malnutrition) were presented in a press conference held…
The “macrobiotics friends association”: nurturing life amidst chronic disease in Vietnam by Le Hoang Ngoc Yen
“I will never return to that Zone of Death! You too should try to follow this diet to nurture life.” Aunt Minh[i](Fieldwork notes, February 2018) We first met…
Thesis Review: Ethical Constellations of Muslim Food Practice in Mumbai
Photograph: coming soon I’m delighted to post this exciting PhD thesis review, which nicely complements the recently posted review of the book Food, Faith and Gender in South-east…
Evolutionary Foodprints
*This essay includes a photograph of a replica Paranthropus boisei skull and a replica human skull. New approaches to the dental remains of early hominins and the diets…
Tasting Independence
Maggi instant noodles are a treasured favorite among India’s young people. Their banning in 2015 conjured youthful memories of rebellion and revealed the uncertainties of our global food…
Farmer Talk
Facing language problems in Peru’s new coffee economy During a recent trip to the Andean-Amazonian foothills of Southern Peru, I hiked out to a remote corner of the…
How to Build a Sandwich
A degree in sociocultural anthropology may not be the most obvious background for a food stylist, yet it was a love for hands-on, detailed fieldwork that led me…
Embodied Taste
A student-curated exhibition offers an immersive exploration of food and the connections, stories, and memories we consume each time we eat. Image description: A small, neon yellow…
Eat, Drink, and Stand in Japan
Japan’s standing bars offer respite from the daily grind with drinks, lively company, and a feast of small dishes. Image description: People walk down a corridor in front…
From Cocoa Farms to Candy Chutes
The Wonka-fication of chocolate in American society is multiply damaging, increasing cocoa producer vulnerability to COVID-19 and further eliding the inequalities that characterize the value chain. “W…
People of the Bean
An heirloom bean club brings culinary community and diverse foodways to its legume lovers’ doors. Alubia Blanca, Good Mother Stallard, Vaquero, Eye of the Goat. Four times a…
Killing the Workers Who Feed Us
Keeping processing lines running at workers’ expense is not only a sign of our pandemic times. The meat and poultry processing industry has long treated workers as disposable.…
The Darker the History, the Sweeter the Truth
How a white identified city struggles to commemorate the Black lives and deaths that produced its sugar and built its wealth. Sugar Land is a growing, white, politically…
Finding Calm—and Connection—in Coffee Rituals
When I arrived from the Philippines to the airport in the city of Gondar in northern Ethiopia early last year—before the pandemic started—I was greeted with an intensely…
Review: Food, Faith and Gender in Southeast Asia
Food, Faith and Gender in South Asia: The Cultural Politics of Women’s Food Practices. Usha Sanyal and Nita Kumar. Bloomsbury. 2020. ISBN: HB: 978-1-3501-3706-6. 222 pp. Wendy Yared…
Review: Digital Food
Review of Tania Lewis. Digital Food: From Paddock to Platform. Bloomsbury Academic. London. 2020. ISBN: 978-1-3500-5509-4. 205 pp. Richard Zimmer (Sonoma State University) Tania Lewis has wr…