ABSTRACT
Cultural identity and food have been closely associated in the anthropological and archaeological literature. Stereotypical associations between specific foodways, regions and periods have been put forward and at times modern culinary 'identities' have been projected to the past. This chapter explores such issues, highlighting the complex interplay of culinary choice, intra-communal social relationships, contact networks and change through time. Turning to prehistoric times, culinary practice of daily and special events alike would have contributed towards shaping cultural identity and its transformation through time. Plants involved in shaping culinary practices are examined at the site level, the micro-regional level, the wider regional level, as well as through time. It is clear that a large part of the prehistoric culinary past of plants still survives as the quintessence of daily meals in modern Greece and surrounding regions: bulgur, trachanas, pulses, fruit such as figs and grapes, as well as their juice in forms such as wine, syrup, vinegar and paste.
