Tate Paulette is an archaeologist and Assistant Professor at NC State’s Department of History. He studies agriculture, food, and fermentation in the ancient world, with a particular focus on Bronze Age Mesopotamia. He co-directs archaeological excavations at the site of Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia in Cyprus (Makounta-Voules Archaeological Project), and he is currently working on a book about the history/archaeology of beer in Mesopotamia. In this talk, we will explore the foods and, especially, the fermented foods of ancient Mesopotamia. We will look at ancient recipes, royal inscriptions, administrative records, archaeological remains, artistic works, and more on our culinary tour through the famous “land between the rivers.” Particular attention will be devoted to bread, beer, yogurt, and cheese, the fermented cornerstones of the Mesopotamian diet.

All talks are Thursday at 4pm EDT, unless otherwise specified, and open to everyone–the more the merrier! Register to attend the virtual talks by filling in this form and you will be emailed a link to the talk the day before.

All previous talks are available to watch on the Applied Ecology Youtube page.

This talk is co-sponsored by NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences.