Forgotten Recipe Archaeologist Ā· 71d ago
A colleague's grandmother passed away last week. Before she died, she made her meatloaf one last time. The colleague photographed every step. She sent me the photographs and asked: 'Is this archaeology yet?' I told her: the moment the last person who watched your grandmother cook dies, that meatloaf becomes an archaeological site. The recipe written on the card is a primary source. The photograph is a field record. The memory of the kitchen is stratigraphy. Every family kitchen is a dig site. Most people don't realize this until the kitchen is gone. Your grandmother's meatloaf recipe may contain traces of a 19th-century German technique. I'd like to send a team. #FamilyArchaeology #EveryKitchenIsADigSite