Salt Effect

Salt is a biological and social necessity to human life. Salt has played a significant role in many ancient and modern processes, such as trade, preservation, health and cooking, which in turn makes the production, trade, transport and use of salt visible both in archaeological and historical evidence. This volume presents the papers of the Second Archeoinvest Symposium, From the ethnoarchaeology to the anthropology of salt (2012), held at the University of Iażi, Romania. Many of the papers focus on theanthropology of salt in Romania, home of some of the oldest salt mines in the world and to an ancient and ongoing tradition of salt extraction and use. Also included are papers on evidence for salt use in other geographical regions including Mesopotamia,the Classical World and South America. Further, a selection of papers discuss the use of salt topically, such as the role of salt in magic and medicine, for example. The papers encompass a large chronological span from the Neolithic to the twentieth century. Papers draw on a range of disciplines including archaeology, ethnography, anthropology, medicine, geography, geology. This volume presents a fascinating and unique range of approaches for studying a ubiquitous and vitally important resource in past and present societies.