Session 2: Human Nutrition: From Resource Processing to Diet

Natural resources, whether raw (meat, bone marrow, fruits, roots, seeds) or processed (cooked meat, broths, cheese), provide a wide array of consumable products for humans. Their properties can be enhanced through various operational sequences (cooking, maceration, grinding), whether for cultural or health-related reasons. Modern bioarchaeological approaches now enable better identification of food origins, documentation of culinary practices, and characterization of dietary regimes from artifacts, organic remains, or human skeletons.

The goal of this session is to highlight the diversity of study sites, time periods, analytical materials, and methodological protocols, as well as the interdisciplinary nature of research on food—from resource transformation to dietary characterization. Particular attention will be given to inequalities in resource access, differences related to age, gender, or social status, geographical or cultural disparities, and the continuity, modulation, or disruption of practices and innovations.

Keywords:

• Subsistence strategies
• Dietary practicesResources
• Inequalities
• Health