This week I’m speaking with Sophie Reilly, a PhD student focusing on the archaeology of ancient foodways. Sophie looks at plant residues on ancient ceramics to examine how people prepared and consumed meals in the past. We talk today about her Masters research (from McMaster University), where she looked at plant remains from ceramic vessels in the Lake Titicaca Basin of highland Bolivia. She explored the ways that different plants became part of peoples meals in everyday and special occasions.
In this episode, we talk about about her Masters research project in Bolivia, exploring the role that food played in mobility and inter-regional relationships, how we can use archaeology to look at plant residues on ceramics, and the ways that local and non-local foods can symbolize relationships and identities. Perhaps most importantly, we talk about Dr. Ellie Sattler. This episode also (surprisingly) marks the first time my cheeky daughter has made a guest appearance, so you're in for an extra goofy treat today!
Love Sophie's work and want to know more?
Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @ReillyDigs
Resources:
The link the to Incan Resources can be found here:
History of the Incas, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (this one is free!):
Narrative of the Incas, Juan de Betanzos (I couldn't find this one for free unfortunately)
Food, Gender and Poverty in the Ecuadorian Andes, Mary Weismantel (an old classic if folks would like to learn more about Andean food.
Microscopic image of manioc starch grains, by Sophie Reilly (science can be so beautiful!)
Llama vasija (vessel) Sophie mentioned in the interview. Sophie found maize (corn) residue in this, which would have been non-local for the area - listen to the episode to find out Sophie’s interpretation of this non-local food for ancient highland Bolivia!