ABSTRACT
Food is clearly integral to biological survival, but it is also something richly connected with social and cultural life. Flavours and taste have long been fundamental to humankind's enjoyment of food, and meat arguably assumes a central role in such gastronomic passions. Mammals, birds and fish typically comprise the bulk of the faunal remains recovered and identified from ancient sites. There is variation in the proportions of each category, however, depending on aspects. Trends in meat consumption vary geographically and temporally in antiquity. At one level, regional climates and topographies factor in the representation of animal taxa over time and space. Much gastronomic attention in antiquity centres upon fat and its association with meat. Various cultural preferences and initiatives register in this respect, encompassing not simply the desire to breed, or often prioritize, fatty animals and meat cuts for consumption, but also the incentive to maintain, enhance or add fat while cooking and processing the animals.
