Plant Food Processing Tools at Early Neolithic Göbekli Tepe reconstructs plant food processing at this key Pre-Pottery Neolithic (9600-8000 BC) site, with an emphasis on cereals, legumes and herbs as food sources, on grinding and pounding tools for their processing, and on the vessels implied in the consumption of meals and beverages.

Plant Food Processing Tools at Early Neolithic Goebekli Tepe reconstructs plant food processing at this key Pre-Pottery Neolithic (9600-8000 BC) site, with an emphasis on cereals, legumes and herbs as food sources, on grinding and pounding tools for their processing, and on the vessels implied in the consumption of meals and beverages. Functional investigations on grinding and pounding tools and on stone containers through use-wear and residue analyses are at the core of the book. Their corpus amounts to more than 7000 objects, constituting thus the largest collection published so far from the Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia. The spectrum of tools and of processed plants is very broad, but porridges made of cereals, legumes and herbs, and beers predominate over bread-like food. The find contexts show that cooking took place around the well-known monumental buildings, while the large quantity of tools suggests feasting in addition to daily meals.

The Art and Science of Dome-Shaped Wood-Fired Ovens, from history to your backyard or commercial shop, is a carefully crafted guide that explains the tradition and science of wood-fired cooking. The book embarks on a historical journey, tracing the development of wood-fired ovens and their cultural significance. It then unravels the theory of heating and the burning behaviour of wood, making complex technical concepts accessible. Transitioning from theory to practice, the guide outlines the design and construction process of a wood-fired oven. It considers engineering aspects and locally available materials, emphasizing efficient, sustainable building. The book discusses essential cooking utensils and tools, shedding light on the entire cooking process, from fire-starting to ash disposal. In a unique chapter on data logging, readers are introduced to modern temperature monitoring techniques. It shows how managing thermal mass can expand the range of recipes beyond the commonly perceived breads and pizzas. Lastly, the book explores Turkish cuisine, debunking preconceptions and presenting a wide array of dishes suitable for wood-fired ovens. The recipes span from traditional Turkish to International cuisines and fusion recipes, equipping readers with the tools to broaden their culinary repertoire. This book serves as an indispensable resource for anyone interested in wood-fired cooking, blending historical context, technical insights, practical advice, and mouth-watering recipes into a compelling narrative. This comprehensive manual aims to bring wood-fired cooking into the heart of modern culinary practice.

This volume brings together the latest results and discussions from research carried out in the eastern Fertile Crescent, the so-called hilly flanks, and adjacent regions, as well as providing key historical perspectives on earlier fieldwork in the region. The emergence of sedentary food producing societies in southwest Asia ca. 10,000 years ago has been a key research focus for archaeologists since the 1930s. This book provides a balance to the weight of work undertaken in the western Fertile Crescent, namely the Levant and southern Anatolia. This preference has led to a heavy emphasis on these regions in discussions about where, when and how the transition from hunting and gathering to plant cultivation and animal domestication occurred. Chapters assess the role of the eastern Fertile Crescent as a key region in the Neolithization process in southwest Asia, highlighting the key and important contributions people in this region made to the emergence of sedentary farming societies. This book is primarily aimed at academics researching the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture in southwest Asia. It will also be of interest to archaeologists working on this transition in other parts of Eurasia.

Alcohol use has a long and ubiquitous history. The prevailing tendency to view alcohol merely as a 'social problem' or the popular notion that alcohol only serves to provide us with a 'hedonic' high, masks its importance in the social fabric of many human societies both past and present. To understand alcohol use, as a complex social practice that has been exploited by humans for thousands of years, requires cross-disciplinary insight from social/cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, psychologists, primatologists, and biologists. This multi-disciplinary volume examines the broad use of alcohol in the human lineage and its wider relationship to social contexts such as feasting, sacred rituals, and social bonding. Alcohol abuse is a small part of a much more complex and social pattern of widespread alcohol use by humans. This alone should prompt us to explore the evolutionary origins of this ancient practice and the socially functional reasons for its continued popularity. The objectives of this volume are: (1) to understand how and why nonhuman primates and other animals use alcohol in the wild, and its relevance to understanding the social consumption of alcohol in humans; (2) to understand the social function of alcohol in human prehistory; (3) to understand the sociocultural significance of alcohol across human societies; and (4) to explore the social functions of alcohol consumption in contemporary society. 'Alcohol in Humans' will be fascinating reading for those in the fields of biology, psychology, anthropology, archaeology, as well as those with a broader interest in addiction.

This book surveys the archaeological record for stone tools from the earliest times to 6,500 years ago in the Near East.

Analysis of the transition to sedentary farming in the Fertile Crescent and the establishment of Neolithic culture based on major excavations in Iraq.