Archaeologies of Colonialism: Consumption, Entanglement, and Violence in Ancient Mediterranean France

477 Pages·2010·9.81 MB·English

by  Michael Dietler

ARCHAEOLOGIES OF COLONIALISM
The Joan Palevsky Imprint in Classical Literature
In honor of beloved Virgil —
“O degli altri poeti onore e lume . . .”
— Dante, Inferno
ARCHAEOLOGIES OF
COLONIALISM
Consumption, Entanglement, and Violence
in Ancient Mediterranean France
Michael Dietler
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles London
THE PUBLISHER GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE GENEROUS
SUPPORT OF THE CLASSICAL LITERATURE ENDOWMENT FUND
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS FOUNDATION,
WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED BY A MAJOR GIFT FROM
JOAN PALEVSKY.
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University of California Press
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University of California Press, Ltd.
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© 2010 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dietler, Michael.
Archaeologies of colonialism : consumption, entanglement, and violence
in ancient Mediterranean France / Michael Dietler.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-520-26551-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Social archaeology—Gaul. 2. Gaul—Colonization.
3. Gaul—Ethnic relations. 4. Colonization—Social aspects—Gaul—History.
5. Acculturation—Gaul—History. 6. Consumption (Economics)—Gaul—
History. 7. Violence—Gaul—History. 8. Gaul—Antiquities.
9. France—Antiquities. 10. Mediterranean Region—Antiquities. I. Title.
DC62.D54 2010
909(cid:2).09822—dc22 2010005647
Manufactured in the United States of America
19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Cover illustration: Representation of the Gyptis legend, engraved by
C. Laplante. From F.P.G. Guizot, A Popular History of France from the Earliest
Times. Estes and Lauriat: Boston, 1869.
For
Ingrid Herbich
Dolores Dietler
Patrick Dietler
To whom I owe everything.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments • ix
1. The Cup of Gyptis: Introduction to a Colonial Encounter • 1
2. Archaeologies of Colonialism • 27
3. Consumption, Entanglement, and Colonialism • 55
4. Social, Cultural, and Political Landscapes • 75
5. Trade and Traders • 131
6. A History of Violence • 157
7. Culinary Encounters • 183
8. Constructed Spaces: Landscapes of Everyday Life
and Ritual • 257
9. Conclusion and Imperial Epilogue • 333
Notes • 347
References • 391
Index • 453
vii
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Having conducted research in France for nearly thirty years, I find it fitting that the final
touches to this book should be made in Lutetia, capitol of the Parisii, as I return to France
for a sojourn as director of the University of Chicago Center in Paris. Over all those years,
I have accumulated many debts of gratitude to people and institutions. Let me begin by ex-
pressing my profound thanks to the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
at Stanford and to the Mellon Foundation for a memorable sabbatical fellowship during
2007–08 that enabled me to work the bulk of the manuscript into nearly final form. I
would also like to thank the many colleagues at the CASBS whose engaged conversation
aided my work, and particularly the members of the Imperialism, War, and Violence read-
ing group: Don Brenneis, Gail Hershatter, Miles Kahler, Walter Scheidel, and Allan Stam.
I also owe hearty thanks to the School for Advanced Research at Santa Fe, which provided
me with another delightful sabbatical in 2002–03 during which I was able to rethink the
original foolhardy attempt to compress multiple approaches to the colonial encounter into
a single unreadable, gargantuan book. I am also extremely grateful to the Lichtstern Fund
of the University of Chicago, the French Ministry of Culture, and the National Science
Foundation for research funding. My thanks also to the École des Hautes Études en Sci-
ence Sociale and the Université Paris I for sojourns as a visiting professor, and to Yale
University, where I taught before coming to Chicago. Other institutions I would especially
like to acknowledge include the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Unité Mixte de Recherche 154 at Montpellier-Lattes, the Centre Camille Jullian at Aix-en-
Provence, and the CNRS Laboratoire de Céramologie in the Maison de l’Orient at Lyon.
ix