Archaeology Lecture with Chantel E. White

Chantel E. White (CAAM, Penn Museum) will speak on "Eating and Drinking in a Classical Greek Harbor Town: The Archaeological Science of Cuisine". Lunch will be at 12, the lecture will be at 12:30.

Lecture abstract:

The Molyvoti, Thrace, Archaeological Project (MTAP) explores evidence for agriculture, diet, and cuisine along the north Aegean coast. Since 2013, excavations at Molyvoti have largely focused on two Classical residential structures laid out on a Hippodamian grid plan and occupied during the early/mid-fourth century BC, the House of Hermes and the House of the Gorgon. Archaeobotanical remains, integrated with zooarchaeological results, pottery studies, and detailed contextual analysis, have revealed microscopic traces of fermenting, cooking, boiling, and other food processing activities. Together with information from Classical texts, a north Aegean cuisine has come into sharper focus, highlighting the ways in which local crops came to be celebrated and staple Classical dishes persisted as the backbone of daily foodways at Molyvoti.