ABOUT THIS BOOK

Ancient Indigenous Cuisines explores the deep cultural and historical roots of Indigenous food traditions across the Americas, revealing how culinary practices are intertwined with ritual, identity, and resistance. Susan Kooiman blends archaeology, ethnography, and food studies to illuminate how ancient recipes and cooking techniques continue to shape contemporary Indigenous resilience and cultural revitalization.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Susan M. Kooiman is assistant professor of anthropology at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. She is the author of Ancient Pottery, Cuisine, and Society at the Northern Great Lakes.

Jodie A. O’Gorman is associate professor emeritus of anthropology at Michigan State University specializing in the archaeology of the Midwest with a long-term interest in the intersection of food, gender, and community.

Autumn M. Painter is an archaeologist with a regional focus on the eastern woodlands of North America and broad interests in zooarchaeology, foodways, social interaction, and coalescent communities.

REVIEWS

“Demonstrates how much progress archaeologists have made studying food, dishes, and meals in their broader social and geographical contexts. The editors showcase research in the North American Midcontinent while demonstrating examples of globally relevant theoretical approaches and advances in techniques.”—Gayle Fritz, author of Feeding Cahokia: Early Agriculture in the North American Heartland

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Cuisine in the Ancient Midcontinent by Susan M. Kooiman, Jodie A. O'Gorman, and Autumn M. Painter

Chapter 1 Earth Oven Cuisine via Fire-Cracked Rock Cooking in the Midcontinent by Fernanda Neubauer

Chapter 2 Indigenous Cuisine in the Northern Great Lakes by Susan M. Kooiman and Rebecca K. Albert

Chapter 3 Woodland Tradition Cuisines in Southeastern Wisconsin by Jennifer R. Haas

Chapter 4 Plates, Cuisine, and Community at the Morton Site by Jeffrey M. Painter and Jodie A. O'Gorman

Chapter 5 Ceremonial Feasting and Culinary Practices in the Central Illinois River Valley: A Zooarchaeological Perspective by Terrance J. Martin

Chapter 6 Exploring Identity through Cuisine and Ritual at the Morton Village Site, West-Central Illinois by Kelsey Nordine

Chapter 7 Bison Hoes and Bird Tails: Reconsidering the Introduction of Maize Farming into Manitoba by Mary E. Malainey

Chapter 8 Nixtamalization and Cahokian Cuisine by Alleen Betzenhauser

Chapter 9 The Archaeobotany of the East St. Louis Precinct of Greater Cahokia by Kimberly Schaefer, Mary Simon, and Mary M. King

Conclusion: Why Cuisine? by Jodie A. O'Gorman and Susan M. Kooiman

References

List of Contributors

Index