A Culinary Perspective on North-Central Anatolia: An Overview of Cooking Facilities across the Late Bronze and Iron Ages

Abstract

This paper presents the evidence related to the spread of cooking methods in north-central Anatolia during the Late Bronze and Early and Middle Iron Ages (1650-700 BC), with particular emphasis on fire installations and cooking tools collected during the last century of archaeological activities. Ovens, hearths, andirons, cooking pots, and baking plates are a constant presence within the various settlements of the Anatolian plateau. This essay will reconstruct the history of cuisine and eating customs across the Late Bronze and Iron Ages through archaeological evidence and complementing it with ethnographic research. This approach, indeed, offers extra information on foodways not available in written sources, especially when the latter are lacking or reticent. Finally, the data and information on daily life’s cooking and food preparation will be employed as a lens to identify broader social and economic phenomena prompted by the rise and fall of the Hittite Empire in the heart of the Anatolian Plateau.