A Taste of the Ancient World is an exhibit displayed at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology about Greco-Roman eating and drinking, farming and starving presented by University of Michigan undergraduates in Classical Civilization 452: Food in the Ancient World.

In our own society, there is no escaping the significance of food. Food and drink keep us alive. They feed our imagination and stimulate our senses. They communicate beliefs. They distinguish rich from poor. They are a blessing that can sometimes become a curse.

Each of these statements would have been equally true in the ancient Mediterranean world. This exhibit has been designed by undergraduate students to provide just a 'taste' of the complexities of Greco-Roman food production and consumption.

Many - but by no means all! - of the 'food-related' objects in the holdings of the Kelsey Museum are physically on display. This electronic exhibit is designed to showcase items that are kept in storage, and to expand the range of artifacts we can study to explore the significance of food in the ancient world.

Web site created by CHICO, the Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach. CHICO is based at the University of Michigan's School of Information, includes participants from the School of Information, University departments in the arts and humanities, area K-12 schools, as well as local, regional and national museums and public libraries.

Made possible in part by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.