Constructing Messapian Flavorscapes:
Between Seas and Spheres
PhD Candidate: Marc Martucci Morris
Supervisors: (opens in a new window)Assoc. Prof. Meriel McClatchie and (opens in a new window)Dr Jo Day
Abstract
The concept “we are what we eat” has a deep history, enabling the emergence of distinct food traditions in many parts of the world. The historic food identities of some Mediterranean regions are well established, such as Greek and Roman cultures, but what did their neighbors, the Messapians, eat?
The "Messapic" people of the Salento peninsula (the “heel” of the Italian “boot”) had long been considered to be in the periphery of both the Greek and Roman spheres of the 1st millennium BC, but more recent research has increasingly emphasized its geographic position as a natural site of the confluence of peoples and cultures. Italy should not be seen in terms of North and South, but rather in terms of East and West—a land bridge between the ancient East and ancient West were it not for the Adriatic sea. The Salento peninsula is the closest landmass toward which to cross. Archaeologically, this role of cultural meeting ground has been tracked via changes in the rich ceramic assemblages of marvelously bedecked tombs, and more recently in survey and landscape studies tracking changes in land use and settlement dynamics. However, the ceramic assemblages of common households, and as relates to the preparation, cooking, and eating of food, remains less well-understood. The dead don’t bury themselves, nor does food cook itself; both require people making conscious choices throughout the process.
This research proposes a multidisciplinary approach to contribute a new understanding of the Messapic culture itself and within its broader Mediterranean context. By merging diverse datasets, such as ceramics, archaeobotany and ethnobotany, this research aims to uncover the “hidden flavors” and arrive at a better understanding of Messapian meals and how people expressed their identity in a changing world through their food; an understanding that may help illuminate the path forward in an even more rapidly changing one.
Funding
This research is funded by a UCD School of Archaeology/UCD College of Social Sciences and Law Research Scholarship.