S19-8

Lots of Food: Revisiting Archaeological Research as Ancient Foodways in the Philippines

Michelle Eusebio1, Jane Carlos2, Michael James Herrera2, Eleanor Marie Lim2, Joan Quincy Lingao2, Krisandra Mariano2, Janine Ochoa3, Gretchen Velarde2, Timothy James Vitales4

1Science and Society Program, College of Science, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Philippines

2Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Philippines

3Department of Anthropology, College of Social Science and Philosophy, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Philippines

4Archaeology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Philippines

Archaeology can provide a diachronic or long-term view of technological innovation in association with change of cultural systems. Foodways is a good example, in terms of the technology involved in the processes or stages along its chaîne opératoire or operational sequence. Consequently, it can also address how science, technology, and society interact in every step and the whole of foodways. The Philippines, with its rich culinary heritage from the ancient past, provides a case study of how archaeology and other disciplines can infer the long-term interaction between science, technology, and society as seen in its food and foodways. With the recent advocacy of interpreting archaeological research as the study of past foodways, it is high time to revisit the archaeological record from this point of view. Hence, this presentation examines how different stages of foodways in the ancient Philippines are represented and discussed based on archaeological work in the country. It also suggests what more can be done in assessing the remains of food and associated material culture. Food is important to contemporary political and economic issues, such as food sustainability and security. Archaeology can be utilized as an “alternative archive of food security,” since it provides a long-term view of changing foodways and political economy through material remains. Hence, examining the archaeology of foodways is also studying scarcity and food security, which are part of the human experience.