This dissertation explores foodways in the town of Nya Lödöse and at the royal castle of Älvsborg in western Sweden between 1473 and 1624 AD. Based on collaborative papers, the dissertation aims to outline an interdisciplinary approach to historical archaeology, integrating osteology, archaeobotany, stable isotope and organic residue analyses, and archival data. The theoretical framework draws on critical and postcolonial archaeology as well as on James C. Scott’s theories of everyday resistance.

The results show that the local food culture was a mix of locally available and imported foodstuffs, simultaneously rooted in traditional foodways and influenced by those of Hanseatic towns and Italian courts. American animals and plants were only introduced slowly and gradually. The local food culture not only reflected the inequalities of the time, but was also an arena where both ideology and resistance to it played out. Smuggling, poaching, and the subversive continuation of Catholic fasting can all be interpreted as forms of low-key resistance.

The dissertation consists of five papers. Papers I and III focus on identifying fish products in the zooarchaeological material and determining their origin by pairing stable isotope analysis (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of the archaeological fish bones with the study of customs records. Paper II examines the introduction of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) into Sweden, utilizing zooarchaeological material and account books from royal castles and estates. Paper IV reconstructs cooking practices in Nya Lödöse, using organic residue analysis of ceramic cooking vessels and the study of account books from Älvsborg. Paper V explores the proportions of aquatic and terrestrial foods in the diet by applying δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N analyses of individuals buried at the Nya Lödöse cemetery, alongside evidence from the Älvsborg account books.

The findings of this dissertation demonstrate the potential of detailed interdisciplinary studies to achieve fine-grained interpretations about food culture, its socioeconomic dimensions, and its political significance.