Level 114
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Ancient and Traditional Foodways

Ancient and Traditional Foodways

A journey through the origins of agriculture and the diets of the earliest civilizations, from the first domesticated grains of the Fertile Crescent to the sacred food laws and culinary traditions of the ancient world.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. The Birth of Agriculture and Early Grain Cultures. How agriculture, herding, and grain-based diets shaped early Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China.
  2. Rice, Ayurveda, and the Classical Mediterranean Table. Rice, Ayurveda, and how ancient Greece and Rome built their tables and earliest cookbook.
  3. The Americas and Africa's Ancient Foodways. How maize, potatoes, and African grains fed the ancient Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa.
  4. East and Southeast Asian Foodways. Rice, fish, soy, and the chicken's spread across ancient Japan and Southeast Asia.
  5. Preservation, Drink, and the Spice Trade. How ancient peoples preserved food, brewed drink, and traded salt and spices.
  6. Sacred Food: Taboos and Dietary Law. The origins of kosher, halal, and Hindu and Buddhist vegetarian dietary law.
  7. Feasting, Ritual, Trade, and Daily Life. Feasting, sacrifice, trade routes, and daily cooking technology in the ancient world.
  8. Storage, Society, and the Archaeology of Diet. Granaries, social hierarchy, and how archaeology reveals what ancient people ate.

This is the starting point of Ancient and Traditional Foodways: you don't need any prior knowledge of this subject to begin.

Key points

Visual module map

1The Birth of Agriculture and Early Grain Cultures
2The Americas and Africa's Ancient Foodways
3Preservation, Drink, and the Spice Trade
4Sacred Food: Taboos and Dietary Law
5Storage, Society, and the Archaeology of Diet

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

Your module mastery

0% (overall measurement)
Approximate breakdown by skill
Understanding of historiographical debate0%

A rough estimate based on the key points reviewed, not an exact measurement of actual mastery.

Final test

You need to review all key points to unlock the final test.

Optional mini-games

Extra practice, with no penalty, to reinforce the module's content.

Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Fernández-Armesto, F. (2001). Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food. New York: Free Press.
  • Standage, T. (2009). An Edible History of Humanity. New York: Walker & Company.
  • Tannahill, R. (2002). Food in History (rev. ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press.
  • Laudan, R. (2013). Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Montanari, M. (2006). Food Is Culture. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Toussaint-Samat, M. (2009). A History of Food (2nd ed.). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.