Excessive and Deviant Consumption in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is filled with references to eating and drinking, but gluttony and drunkenness are not emphasized. Can the story of the Rebellious Son tell us more about what was
Pickles and Prehistory
Yeast is having a rare moment. Everyone knows about yeast and brewing, but have we been missing the revolutionary role of fermentation in food preservation?
The Ancient Lands of Honey: Middle East, Egypt, Greece
Long before sugar, there was honey. How did this sticky sweetness go from something collected by brave hunter-gatherers to an industrial product?
Fossil Pollen and the Story of Olives in the Mediterranean Basin
Olives are among the most characteristic Mediterranean crops. Examining fossil pollen has yielded new insights on how they spread across the Mediterranean.
Vanilla in the Middle Bronze Age: New Findings from Megiddo
There were many kinds of fragrances and flavors available in the second millennium BCE. But the recent finding of vanilla residues at Megiddo takes the idea of exotic to a whole ne
Visualizing Food Storage in Ancient Houses
The expression seeing is believing has another meaning in archaeology; imagination is necessary to see what has been removed. Visualization is a powerful technique to see what is n
Arabic Medieval Cookbooks in English Translation: Treasure Troves for Near Eastern Material Culture
Medieval cookbooks present hundreds of recipes, including a surprising number for sparrow. But they tell us much more than about food; they provide a picture of life and manners.
The Golden Pome: The Pomegranate from its Deepest Roots to Modern Culture
Pomegranates are renowned as health food but that association is very ancient. And it should not be surprising that pomegranates are also associated with powerful deities across th
Salt in Mesopotamia: A Blessing and A Curse
Salt was common in Mesopotamia; Assyriologists tend to ignore it. A closer look shows Mesopotamian writers were concerned with salinization and that salt was an integral part of di