About this episode
The episode explores the transition of Neolithic peoples to farming and their dietary habits through a unique Stone Age feast experience.
Neolithic peoples made the transition from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to crop-growing farmers, and their diets are the subject of numerous studies. Archaeological evidence informs us about the farming and foraging activities of these ancient peoples, but it's unusual to get a first hand taste of how it might have been to forage on the shore and land! On the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the arts organisation, Haar, facilitated an opportunity to sit down to an interpretation of a Stone Age feast - albeit with considerable artistic and culinary licence! The event was centered around the 5000-year-old Calanais standing stone circle. Nancy Nicolson joined the foragers to find out about the farming and feasting habits of our ancestors, and met one of the crofters whose sheep today graze the machair, the strip of flower and herb-rich land that borders the sea and which it is believed contributed to the flavours and nutrition of the food Neolithic people ate. Produced and presented by Nancy Nicolson.
People in this episode
Host: Nancy Nicolson
Topics covered
- Neolithic farming
- ancient diets
- foraging
- archaeology
- cultural events
- culinary history
Keywords
- Neolithic
- farming
- feasting
- foraging
- archaeology
- Isle of Lewis
- Calanais
- Haar
- ancient diets
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Haar
Books & works: Calanais standing stone circle
Places: Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
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