Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics

2014 Edition
| Editors: Paul B. Thompson, David M. Kaplan

Ancestral Cuisine and Cooking Rituals

Reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0929-4_81
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Synonyms

Ancient cooking; Archetypical food; Cooking customs; Iconic dishes; Prehistorical recipes; Ritual food; Traditional cuisine

Introduction

All over the world today, different peoples carry out culinary practices and methods of preparing food that belong to and denote earlier and often particularly ancient forms of cooking (Civitello 2011). Anthropological and ethnological studies show that the cuisine of our ancestors is far more than a long-standing system of preparing food developed down through the ages. Bio-archaeology and ethnobiology also reveal that the cuisine of our ancestors is not a simple cluster of remote culinary habits or customs but involved special artifacts, technical expertise, and basic skills related to nutrition and environment. Moreover, it reflects archetypical images and ideas about the origin and identity of individuals and groups. In addition, traditional concepts of gender are embedded in the most ancient culinary practices. Ancestral cuisine is also...

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.University of MilanMilanItaly