Zooarchaeological Approaches to the Identification of Bone Fat Production in the Archaeological Record

Keywords: Zooarchaeology, Resource intensification, Food insecurity, Cuisine, Foodways

Abstract

Mammal fat is an important industrial product and ingredient in culinary dishes and medicines the world over, yet evidence for its use is not often identified in the archaeological record. I first give a brief overview of the importance of bone fats to subsistence and industrial economies. I follow this with criteria for identifying these activities archaeologically. This review concludes with why the identification of such activities is important to our understanding of ancient foodways

Author Biography

Tanya M. Peres, Department of Anthropology, Florida State University
Tanya M. Peres is an anthropological archaeologist trained in zooarchaeology. Her interests include foodways, ethnozooarchaeology, and human and non-human animal relationships in all time periods. Her main research program is in North America.

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Published
2018-06-12
How to Cite
Peres, T. M. (2018). Zooarchaeological Approaches to the Identification of Bone Fat Production in the Archaeological Record. Ethnobiology Letters, 9(2), 107-109. https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.9.2.2018.1291
Section
Short Topical Reviews