Reclaiming the Rotten: Understanding Food Fermentation in the Neolithic and Beyond

ABSTRACT

People have harnessed beneficial microbes to preserve, protect, and improve food for thousands of years. However, the significance and techniques of food fermentation are poorly understood in prehistoric archaeology. This paper explains what food fermentation is and discusses its relevance in an early farming context. It sets out the beginnings of a theoretical and material framework that can be drawn upon for further study of this crucial but overlooked aspect of prehistoric food cultures. Focus is on the British Neolithic, but the central concepts are applicable in other periods and places.

KEYWORDS:

• Fermentation
• microbes
• food preservation
• cuisine
• Neolithic
• farming

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Jessica Smyth and Roz Gillis for including the paper in this Special Issue. Thank you also to Peter Rowley-Conwy and to the anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier draft.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emilie Sibbesson

Emilie Sibbesson is Senior Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.