Description

pp. xiii, (1), 364, b/w illustrations, “For the majority of creatures on this earth, the elements of our first meals together–a flashing fire, bared teeth, a quantity of food placed in the center of a group of hungry animals–spell trouble in a myriad of ways. For us, the idea of a group of people coming together for a meal seems like the most natural thing in the world. The family dinner, a client luncheon, a holiday spread–a huge part of our social lives is spent eating in company. How did eating together become such a common occurrence for man? In Feast, archaeologist Martin Jones presents both historic and modern scientific evidence to illuminate how humans first came to share food and the ways in which the human meal has developed since that time. He also shows how our culture of feasting has had far-reaching consequences for human social evolution.”