Details

Subject(s)

• Food—History [Browse]
• Agriculture—History [Browse]
• Human ecology—History [Browse]
• Human behavior—History [Browse]
• Ethnoarchaeology [Browse]

Editor

Munro, Natalie D., 1970- [Browse]

Series

• Cambridge elements [More in this series]
• Cambridge elements. Elements in the archaeology of food [More in this series]
• Cambridge elements. Elements in the archaeology of food, 2754-2971 [More in this series]

Summary note

Due to the multi-faceted nature of food - as sustenance, symbol, and commodity - diverse theoretical perspectives have been used to study it in archaeology. One of the more influential and versatile of these approaches is behavioural ecology: the study of behavioural adaptation to local environments. Behavioural ecology provides a powerful body of theory for understanding human decision-making in both the past and present. This Element reviews what behavioural ecology is, how it has been used by archaeologists to study decision-making concerning food and subsistence, how it articulates with other ecological approaches, and how it can help us to better understand sustainability in our contemporary world. The use of behavioural ecology to bridge the archaeological and the contemporary can not only explain the roots of important behavioural processes, but provide potential policy solutions to promote a more sustainable society today.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references.

Target audience

Specialized.

Source of description

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on February 9, 2026).

ISBN

9781009273411 (ebook)

Doi

10.1017/9781009273411

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