September 23, 2025

From the Neolithic to the Table

Key Points

Cooking workshops engaged the public with recipes derived from Neolithic food findings, enhancing awareness of ancient lifestyles.
Four recipes were developed based on food remains from sites in China, Türkiye, Germany, and Switzerland, illustrating cross-cultural connections.
The initiative combined archaeological knowledge with culinary practices, fostering dialogue between history and modern cooking methods.
Lessons learned from the outreach project suggest that engaging the public can effectively convey archaeological science and social history.

Abstract

The archaeology of food offers an unparalleled means by which to disseminate archaeological knowledge. In this paper, we present the results of an outreach project in which we developed four recipes based on food remains recovered in four Eurasian Neolithic sites (Lajia, in China; Çatalhöyük, in Türkiye; Neustadt, in Germany; and Parkhaus Opéra, in Switzerland) and presented them to the public in three cooking workshops. Beyond presenting the culinary process involved in the development of the recipes, the cooking workshops aimed at disseminating general information about the society that produced each recipe (how they lived, how they acquired food, etc.), the archaeological find that inspired the recipe, and the scientific techniques used to study the find. In this paper, we focus on the dialogue that took place between archaeology and cuisine during the development of the recipes, the dialogue with the public during the workshops, and the lessons we learnt throughout this process. Online Supplementary MaterialsSupplementary Files 1–6 can be found at the end of the online version of the article. Click here for Supplementary File 7. OPEN ACCESSThis paper will be available in Open Access for three months from the date of publication (ending 22/11/2025).

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