The Hittite Analogy of Anatolian Culinary Culture: A Gastroarchaeological Study

Abstract

The main aim of the research is to make a gastroarchaeological examination of the culinary cultures of Anatolia and the Hittite Civilization. As a sub-objective, it's to reveal the reflection of historical time on the culinary cultures of the societies that lived and live in the same region. The research is important in terms of revealing the past of a living culinary culture. The findings of the five Anatolian cities were collected by semi-structured interview technique, taking into account the limitations of the research, while the findings of the Hittite culinary culture were obtained by content analysis with a gastroarchaeological approach. An analogy was made between the two culinary cultures. As a result of the research, it was revealed that the Hittite culinary culture and the Anatolian culinary cultures within the sample use the same foodstuffs, have the same food preservation methods and cooking techniques, and have very similar dishes.