Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics and Power (Smithsonian Series in Archaeological Inquiry)

216 Pages·2001·69.31 MB·English

by  Michael Dietler

AND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
J,! SE JES ARC AEO OGICAl QU RY
ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES
- ~ O-?d obett \-lcC Aoams 5eoes Ed ors
AND
of pammJ.c ON FOOD, POLITICS,
~.
..
"'I!·~d cdi~ coIkmons
Edited by Michoel Dlerier and
oi
oi
C o n t e n t s
List of Illustrations vii
List ofTables Ix
Contributors
•
XI
1
Digesting the Feast-Good to Eat,Good to Drink, Good
to Think: An Introduction
1
Michae/ Diet/er and Brian Hayden
PART 1: ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES
2
Fabulous Feasts: A Prolegomenon to the Importance of Feasting u
TJo h, I.. :001
t
00·061932
Brian Hayden
z
J,Zl
l"~
3
Theorizing the Feast: Rituals of Consumption, Commensal PolitIC
iutuJ CluN'd tn tht" 11t111 J St.llt ... of ~o\rneri(.l
and Power in African Contexts 65
os to Michae/ Diet/er
• O' 06 iW O! 01 ! 4 III
aTbt papa ",~d to th~ rublll..umn mtC:~ the minimum rrqwrements of the American 4
t>n.urd for Inlurmal1un S(len(<s Pammenee of Paper for Pnored LIbrary
lUonal
Of Feasting and Value: Enga Feasts in a HIstorical Per$pect
vt'
I Z
t.iotCl1:Ilo 9 19.
(Papua New Guinea)
lIS
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n
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SOUlCt:$
Akha Feasting: An Ethnoarchaeologlcal Per$peCII
Michae/1. Clar.e
)
Polynesian Feasting in Ethnohistoric, Etllnogr phI(. aod
texts. A Companson of
Porrl le V. irell
Feasting for Pro perlt A tudy of
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Table
a' T~",J\ : - - • ,,-,t'mhl.,!!,,, 1<)un.1 Jt Ph,hPpLnc Sites
,...m:d.lIn ... . ' , 2Qo
\'t'n 1Il~
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-aJ U h \\
T\FI .. L.JiU : (; l' l\!ht 10 C'\C.l\ .lnon~
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Pt'n"'CntJ~(,:- ~
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"J cpu 2 I J
TJn).n ~ . JssembldgC=" ellce ,s non ·e
l)t 1112 tn Ice
.; (\HllrJn .. "m ("If !.-('rJ,"o , Z I ArchaeologIcal Igtl.Jrure. of Fe.J. co 40
m zonr' - - h I
h b (.IU 4 1 The OClal Components of Feasrmg .Jnd Com
• I ' - ~ ~ hi we' . front P I Ippm. sIte, 294
"ernng .lL,em _
~ . , DC " ~ ' Pohocal Srrategle5 11
111 ch.rJ,,<n. . f mdrd ntual feJsnng
0
.0 - :.:hem. tOr rt"l.lU(lnshl!' exp
0 4.2. ChronologIcal cheme of E\"enco D,,= ed 1i
en
to 1
~
to Philirrme duetilom. 300 . _
4.3. The SIX Stage,. of the Aearee Cult of Ceneral En
.1.J •
cb the Eastern US .. 100 s.c.-, 00 314
A.D.
J I 1 TruncJt J .\Ioun < m to the Tee Cycle 135 nd It.\
J 0\ lan of features JIb
11 1 ~fc"eJthen Moun . • p J I; Companson of RIch and Poor F.milies
5. 1 14.
II 1. \\allin~ PI.ldorm ~Iound. pJm of features
5.2. Akha Feast Types 153
11 4. Cold _pnngs. plan of features . J I
6. 1. Key Conrrasrs between Ttkopl'. MoI.rque... 'H
IJ , Cold. prm!-'S. cross·sections 01 large postholes 319 . -.~. "nu .1\\"::Inan
6.2. Pru)Qpai Kinds of Feasts Tikopu 1,/
In
11 emlen Creek Mound . o. 2. plan of feature 320
0
Pnnapal Kinds of Fe.l the \\;u-queS.lS
6.3. IS In 1-4
of <moiung meat on a caffold.
IJ - T ,",ucuan method - 7 1. Maroage Wealth E.~(hanges be~een Two HI h-R.lnk
su:teentb-centur) Flonda 32b Families 20
11 I The :\mencan Bottom regIOn 335
81 Cllssificaaon of the Combo- lup,bo Ce~~ C
l..s .en.
• -.£,,1 ."'\:!
112 Lue preluslonc chronology for the Amencan Bortom 336
8.2. Dlsrnbuaon of Beer Jnd. onbert \"e· el, II
12.3 • Ire plm of cenrraJ Cahokia 338
8.3 SynOpSIS of chemaac Pol.lnaes The Comh...,. hIP
I Z ~. Pomons of deer belongmg the hIgh. nudo and low Food UtilHy lndex (FUll
[0 11.1 Truncated Mounds the Eastern Urured. tar~ . 100 ..
In
categones J~ I 11.2. Assoclacons of Certain Woodland PI~tlol ill \\oun4 II
115. ,.\ protiJe of ODe of the sub-Mound 51 excavaoon Uturs 343 15 1 Artifacts Related to a Thanksglvll1g FeolSl m :.mpIe ~
120. Change m percentage of ISP of deer at Caholua 345 Arofacl> Related to Pre"dents' Oa~ Feolst pk C"
152. d to .-
I Z - ummary of faunal materials from sub-Mound 51 pIt 346 15.3. ArtifactS Related to d :-'hd"eek Part) Itl 'ampJ
12 ' Zone 02 bm:ls from sub-Mound 51 348
120 ZOIlt 02 fish from sub-Mound 51 350
13 I Mlp of western El Salvador 369
131 Sire map for Ceren. El Salvador 371
133 Plan \lewof Structure 10 at Ceren. El Salvador 373
IJ 4 Arnst'sruonstrucoon of Structure 10 374
13.5 Household I, Strucrure 10. and Structure 12 showmg posiuons
ofmeuLel
376
13 6 omen work gruup u~mg household space to gnnd corn
5
for mual {ea [
379
3
4 1 ~rd of !,;r 3\13
4 Z Pofl)uted p14qudromlppur 395
4 J Pofurarcd p aque {Him KhafaJe 3'15
A fI from Kh .. (aJ~ 3'1"
4
r m lir 1%
( ,m nknown 11 ~\l7
I m fr.r r IUUr~II[ f .. [ 41H
viII
1
C o n t r i b u t
un
A Brown. Dep'" Wlont of 'ulthropo\ ~ l'
da
J ent
~\Jchael Clarke. Deparuo of Arch3eo1
warren R- DeBoer. Depa! ulleTIt of Aruhropol _
of New York
~hchael Dieder. Deparullent of Anthropol _
Briw Hayden. Depal ullenl of .>.rchaeolGgl.
lngnd Herblch. Deparullenl of Aruhropolog) U
Laura Lee Junker. Depa! oneot of "'nthro
Lucr<oa S. Kelly. Deparunem of Anthropolo
Pamck V Kirch. Department of .i\nthropol
VemooJames Knight. Depanmeofof
\\"dliam L Ram)e. Depal Qllenl of .'\n
De= Schmandt-&sseu!. Center for Middk ~
CiD
atAusun
Anthropo/
PoUy Wiessner. Oep;u Qllen! of
Douglas C. WIlson. .tional Parlt &n,a.
e
DIGESTING THE FEAST: GOOD TO T,
GOOD TO DRINK, GOOD TO TH
I(
AN INTRODliCTIO
Michae/ O'er/er and
With apologle.
[(l r I
~
remral I tlu , lum
~rgunlenr
the,,· 'hapte~ l"ollr<11 Iy
cru(tal sen . In th liNt pi
abuut least "0. nd mouL.i pn
standIng t'ultUIT od AI Ilk
lime n niut fur
I
,ant I't'rh.lJ>$ nlral
hu\Oo th
I Ir I
In I. h ,I lilt! n
d '011 ,n" nJ
<
11.
,
-
CIon . \\'e need to uunk senou. ly and nncall)' about what feast>. are. how they op
erate . and ho\\ \\ e can detect and mterpeet them Olherwtsc they nsk bec of other scholars who b"ve recently ~ P
10
' OmUlg
•
one mOre ul-digesred archaeologtcal tmerprenve fad nety of both ethnograpluc and
•
One of the num snmuiJ for underrakmg Uus book. and for convenmg the sym U srul proVtSlonal. undersranding of the Il.Iture 0 tbr
and cultural pracnce. A> the chaptm thi \
posIum that generated tt. was that both of the editors came to the concJuston In
o\..,r a decade ago that feasts are an extlemelv slgmficanr aspeer of social !tfe On a tuba a bealthy divemry of theorencaJ ooenu
demand feasts . Consequendy. this bod mu oducton
worldwide scale, and that understandmg them crucial for apprehendmg and
tS
force these chapters into a <traIned 5ynthcD rummuv
comprehendmg man}" SOCIal and cultural processes m ancient socicnes Howeve
r.
ughnng of a few key tbemes thal inm :a'. th
arrived at tIus mutual conclusion by qutte dlfferem routes and from very dif-
\,,~
( Clliltllt
~ ~
gest future directions.
ferent theorencal dispositions .
.-\S will be endent from our respecnve chapters and pnor pubhcations on the
CATEGORIES AND DEFINITIONS
subject. Hayden's perspecnve (see Chapter firmly grounded m a culrural
2\ IS
Perhaps the most ObVlOUS quesnon thar nttds be
ecolog) onentanon Furthermore. he was ongmally led to explore tIus iJne of re I
:e
-Are we all talking abour the same rhm " ""
search largely by Ius mterest m the evolutionary tmpltcations of feasong the
In
we are nor really talking aboul a"rhm at all. but
rransforrnanon of sOciopoltncal structures m hunter-gatherer societies of the Pa
scnbe collecm..,1y a divene set of culrunl PT H
afic . 'orrhwest and Paleoltduc Europe Dletler's perspecnve (see Chapter 3). on
fuJ azuh
ask is rhe related quesnon. Is tbi, ..
, In
the other hand. grew out of the domam of sodal theory often referred to by the
clear thar we all use the rubncfo:t.tt co. r a ~.k
tS 10
ecologtcally mclined as 'cuI ruralisr"-that a perspective that takes culrure sen
tS.
Are we agreed on the entena by "inch 1
ously as a hisroncal agent as well as a htStoncal product-although. because of Its
gether and eIdude othCl", and d e.- rhe re.
determinist unpltcations, dus label IS one that few scholars would actually apply
ence and speafiLit) to be useful' \\'e belt",
to them elves. Hence. Dietler's perspective actually has a strong social onema
· yes: with a few sopulaaom
non, WIth roots m practice theory and poltncal economy (in a nutshell. there a
IS
Each paper pro\1de, at lea>1 a genn-al \\
,
central concern with the intricate relanonslup between culrure and power).
moons sho\\ . ome \;tn.bllt!} both rh
ID t
Moreover, he was lDduced to Investigare feasong as a result of archaeologICal and
the
rance of the partiClp.InL and.u of
ethnograpluc research among agrarian sooeaes In Europe and Africa.
phrased. and some are more aplicit dun H
Th.tS very faCT of arn\mg at a conjuncture of Interest and understanding from
these the Idea thlt fea are e'
t> itS
such smktngl) differem drrecaons strengthened Our convicaons that, despite our consumpnon 01 food anJ or drink I
cominumg dialogue of disagreement over a number of ISSUes Isee below. and such food COn umpuoo
ID!: ~\ nlS -
Chapters 2. and 3). we had stumbled upon some dung of genuine and general the >lmple o(h~ngt' of fooJ with
dls[lnctlon> rh
gnlficance IdOl [0 m~tntlm I1
One of the more rusconcerrmg conclUSions rhat we also agreed upon. how rcnr that on~ bel!m to, ooflale ~
fur
[he oth"r ktnd> of Itans.al'tl
was that feouting was both severely underrheorized In the exi ting ltt~rarure
e\1:T,
elude, both wldecs[.ulmng /Co ... a
and bcked sysremaac empirical documentation of a kind thar would be useful
[h" tmporlanr "ou U ..n d fun.'t1l
for cunt
archaw\(.>glcalm(erpretauon Tht5 IS not to claim that feasting ha5 been
o[h r klOds of pr~, tl. t'
ettly
p IgnOred In the earher archaeologICal and anthropologICal hrerarure, or
n,~tlcr f:hapt .. r I 1 IJU
gnificant
IJWg\ltS h .. (' nOl been fnnhcnmmg (e.g. • see Fncdman t<l1i.I.
1"",,
ft'a rln • a p.lnl ul r
11 . ,"eluded M
L cra
Row1ands
Friedman and 1978). Ilowever, rhe " earlter wor.., gw )
/Tom d;"1 m ab
a I
,y\lt·l1l.ll
lC..'
'lf
as pcnphaal ob rrvatlom they dId nut generale
and a Unn .. nd ma
SlalOed ar
.1
J
nploratlon of the ubJ Cl and Ih,'y fatled rng"nu"r J u tng hodv ., rh
[0
a grllUP
.jU"
Ipu lofth rlmphc:aI1<,'1 IlenCl' ,W' uu I1 1 (Uwm'
DIG ESTING THe fE~ST -
---------'---..:...:..:..:~~--.--=-.
b ' · orawrieal dcsplays) underline the rit· wbat Hayden caUs ' manguJaoon.~ The dulicuJee, of
feaslI ng g .. slIlg eng. danCIng. n auon. . "
(e m e
. , f h e It. T hey help to crea te lhe expe n enee of condensed grounds between, for example. tile permUtaoom of ntlQ) pram
natu re cse ev
UdJ 0 t I •
.. (C I ) alld render feasts such ideal stages fo r o ther impo rtant
to mark feasts off from everyday meals. and rho>e that are . cl I
m eanmg len 1979
0
. I I as prest' tlOnS o f va luables, ma k.eng alliances. and, as
classes in "diacnticaJ " feasts (see Dletler Chapter u ....
oaa rranS3ClIo ns. sue ' . 1
IUlifonn
. . ' . , _ • . t "Ut
Wlessner (Chapter 4) dem o nstrates, the construction o f valu e. gies of matenaJ slgoarures may not belp us much be) DJ the mere
. H d (Chapter 1) uses a som ewhat broader definitio n, simply
of the existence of feasung .
In contrast, ay en •
. I ' h us uaJ occasIo n accompanied by an unusual shared meal
sopu atmg t at any un . . Whatever the eventuaJ resolution of this dLSClI>SIOn, wbat !.>.1
;It
Ceast Moreover in hIS VIew, nrual aspects mayor may not
s h ou Id b e COIlSl d ere d J 11 , • ing beyond the basIC Identificaoon of presence toward undc!"
be Idennfiable arch aeologlca Uy and m ay no t even be overtly manifest in some
of feasts were being mounted. what Iunds of nrual " or ~re
Other autho rs propose yet o ther minor variations fo r the
_~
eu,nograpwL, c cases. . . and what the sociaJ rarruficaoons were. req= complex m d nlWk~
. f ' However despite these differences. there IS still a very large
d e tiro non 0 leases. . recursive argumentation. However, even tf • bandy m!<rpn-m
ennfymg many kinds of shared meaJs as feasts when "en
e t on Id
d egree 0 f agreem n . timately be unatramable for archaeologists , as as for cultural amhro
confronted with emplricaJ cases in etlmographic contexts.
and histonans). this does nOt mean tIlat we =or dC\'e!op a m btttrr
GIven these snpuJations. it seems d ear that "feasts" is a category that has suffi·
standing of the matenaJ dimensIOn of feasnng Indeed prCSdlt ~
al
c ent speaJiory to be analyticaJly powerful yet brings within its scope a signifi.
precise informaoon on this Issue LS one of the bl~ r .mp<duikll t ~
oll'
· portant practices around the world and tIlrough ome. Hence
cant range of un chaeologlcaJ mvestigation of reasong and tile <,.Iuaoon f the rela
"feasts" LS a productive category. It is "good to think. "
icy of different archaeological mterpreraoons, For m part.
Withm the domain of practices that wc designate as feasts . there are many
do not yet know preosely what to look for The "cltlpbrv ~
pOSSIble ways to categorize the range of differences and similarities. This fact ex·
by Junker (Chapter (0), Krught (Chap,er 1[\ KcUv Chapler 8
Il .
plalns the conSIderable diversiry of classificatory schemes brought to bear on the
1
3), and Schmandt·Besserat (Chapter q ) m tlus \-oIumc pamt tire
subject by the autllors in this volume. WhiJe some readers may find the lack of a
profitable strategIes for Interroganng the b
wufO! dassificaoon troubling or disappointing. we would suggest that this dl·
ill
informanon (see also. for example, Bhrz CI..-k aDd
1993.
"er'lry need nO! worry us and is, in fact . a good thing-especially at this stage of
I996. !999b; Gardelsen IQ99, loore IQ , lams 19'9
theoreocaJ development. Classifications are , after all. sunply tools of anaJysis.
fOcusmg
more primary ethnographic re earch
Dtfferent ones wdl be appropriate for different purposes. The criteria for select·
undenaken by Clarke (Chapt~r 5\ Ha>*n ( h.apccr ~
mg them should be sunply the effecoveness they demonstrate in achleving the
this
(Chapters J dnd i urgentl need d 10icmcr
Q),
goals for ",ruch they were deSigned. the interest of those goaJs, and, of course.
of
by scholars already famibar WIth the problclIl$
rhe logICal COnsistency of tile classtfications. As research progresses in this rela·
cal COntexts. Again. it is the ynetglSbc dt.!.tcttcal
lTvely novel field . our various ways of characterizing and understanding feasts domainS thar will propcllhe
wtll undoubtedly unprove . Bm tlus does not mean tIlat we will move toward rhe As a final nOIC' on c1~ssili -.rion, a bi Kf
de\-elopment of a smgle typology of feasts. In our view that would be counter of thIS volume IS a1 0 In ON r. Pan
tusroricaJ
produclIve' m the SOCIal sciences, classlficatory reification is generaJly the enemy based upon cthnogt"aphic and
of SIS Or indivtdual case Th
undemanding
a fuller
Hayden (Chapler has expressed the hope that eventually we may develop an rion about ouallik ro de lop
2 )
they discu rhe
archac:r,loglCal r1asSlhcauon 'lfftasts based on matenal remalOs. Others (c .g., DIet
these chapten re hclt
la Chtpkr 11 are less langume abour thIS prosP~([. bclcevlOf: [hat the culturally
r. •
proach to hili- and 11
natur~ "f m~ndatt"s
UIOl tltUted fta IS that archac'ol"glCal Interpretam)n WIll ,11
all h. I
rt qulr the (On Irurwm a nrhly lI'xtllu·d dnd ally spenlir rontex
f/f CUItUl
I "I
tuaI argum nt grflunded III a rhtore", al IJII<.J""tdlllhng 01 t I rUlllp' 'Xllle.'
lI"
"JII
k I v,' III "I
I'll
ai ling <.omparallVr "thn',grapIIlC I'" III
10 pI I IIV, !)11ll'1 WII" ' .•1
4
-
DIGEST! G- THE
F£~S
Thus, IIJl'dcn ex,lI1lllles feasung (mm .1 and eeolng
(Chapl ~r l.) cross~ cullura l
Ines during the second mlllenntum 0 Krugbt
I(.d p,'rspectl\'e IOWJld Ihe developmcnt of a genera l framework for Ihe archJco \I~
;ant role of feasting the eation .and the
U1 Cl 0
logical delcown a"d IIlICrplt'I.Hl tm of fe.ISls Dlctler (Chapter uses the Luo
3)
the WooJland cultures of the southeasl<m l ruted
uther Afnc,ln CJSCS ar!il'l' the IIlhcrcntly politica l role of fea"s and to
,1I1d 10 for
nlum while Kdly (Chaprer document
A,D .. 12
devdop generaltheoretll:JI.1n.1Iysls of thc umplex relationship bClween fca sts,
J
MISSISsippian Site> dunng the early $I~. of the u •
cnm m~I1S.lhlY, and pnwer W,essner (Chapter 4) provides a nch clhnoh lslo rlcal
(Chaptcr ' 3) presents an analysts of n,,,\\ e\'ldence for
,1t1.1ly" of the role of feas15 rchglous cu lts anu strategies of New GUlIlea btg,
IJ1 strUctures for Itn eage feasts non-elite Ma
U1
mcn fi,r promOting thclr self Interests Jnd transfonntng conceptions 01 value
movlJ1g to the anCient Near East, Schmandr.
Clarke (Chapter shows how feas15 arc used by the Akha tlibes of Thailand to
5)
use of feasts by Sumenan ehtes colleCl
to
establish so iOeCtlOOmic safety I,elworks, KJrch (Chapter 6) uses a companson of
It worth emphaSIZing that, desplrc the
IS tmp~
three Polynesian cases demonstrate how the magnitude of, and facilities asso.
to
and temporal contexts represented by the dupter
Ul
c.alcd With , feasting Increase with tncrcaslllg size and complexity of Ihe polities.
was clearly not to prOVIde a comprehemt\ !obal
Perod,e (Chapter documents the range of feamng on th e Northwesl Coast of
7)
tory. Hence, the absence of tudIes from certam
North America and Illustrates what advantage acc ru ed hosts, DeBoer (Chap·
to
taken as an tncbcarton that the edIto", Judp.-d th.t
ler provides an Important example of Amazonian feasting with Its unique gi rl 's
8)
feature of the ancient soaallambcapt' th areas r
111
mluauon features anti compcntlvc male boasnng, and renects upon longter",
archaeologICal analysIS of feasts 1 le, good rh
In
hJStoncaltransformatlons and continuities, Pinally, Dlctler and Herblch (Chapter
rope, for example, IS not covered IhL lume
~
U1
use a comparanve exammatlon of the political-economIC dynamiCs of work
9)
crcaslJ1g1y recognized to ha\\.' been a praCt! e of
nJa)Of
leasts among the Samla of Afnca and other societies propose a general Iheo,
to
vanous kinds or SOCial change through ut th
rcocal model for the crucial role of feasts in labor mobilization and explOitation ,
one or the editors has prevlOu. ly undertolken ,
m
Part Two contains chapters that move m the opposite interpretive dIrection,
ent European archaeological COntext Dlcder t
I
That is, thty attempt to grapple with the detectton of feasting in the material
Murray 19Q 5, ch mm Pantd IQ~2, :herr,U{ ~
I!N!
record and to then make plaUSible Inferenccs about the socialitfe and culture of
Simply to provtde a sdenetl cl of frto h
the people who were prodUCing and partlclpattng In those feasts . These creatively
blhtic for the IdenufieJoon Jnd tnlt'rpn:t
tJon
mgemous stucb~s Illustrate both the difficulties and potenl1al of t:lus domam of ~Jthau'!lvc, range ur ar,hJcol"gl'''!
mqUlr>; as well as the nccesslty of a recursIVe dlalecncal conversation between
elhnographlcally denved theory and archaeological data. At first glance, may FEASTS AND FEASTING
It
appear <UnOUS lhat Wllson and Ralhje's (Chapter (5) ;cudy of garbage m present Another Import anI qUl'stlon f'<"
In
day Tucson should be classed tOgether With Ihese laller chapters, but, m facl, (he Ing arrhJcologl(JI .-uI1I<"I. \\uh ut ~
tn
logIC of thIS mlerprel1ve exercise IS thoruughly archaeological The samples of j<fJJl; . In otht" words, ,'.n un,' d r I~ t
. b I 'e malcrial IIcms
ne<ess.lnly belli!; abh ,drnur. It:!" ,tuent
rcf were obtained by mea", other t h an excavation, ut t les . hl
us~
, b k lar on of Ihe practices gest rhJt lU't' In'("cd
are th('Tl used reason Inlerenl1ally ac to an l11lerpre I <.11, ,
to
h al SOCial context ral ub,", tI"n tu Ih" kllld of PI'( 1t.a1
that pmdurt'd Ihem ba,cd upon an understan d mg f I e gener .
0
, ' . ) I ~I e tht,y prnvld~ suth a, trdd, Jgn.uhu", 'or hI h
01
(but wllhf)UI d,rtCI of those speCific practices . ene,
ob~nvJIIOn
r ,.
' t throul\h nut IInp< ""hie, tn Idr.nu" W k 1
()131~ '
a gOf,d ht'un tlf le lof lht, p,,,,,hlllllt'S filr un cl cr>tan d109 cas 1"
11 "
1'.<1c, 'or ,. .H Hpl , Ih b.ll$ NI
· h 'Jdees wdl have
'11
nalr mams a and lultUlalcllmexl wllh h many
III ~"Cldl W IC r< .
"athout
of Ih uPt't QClon r
I
IfJm f~mlhanty
,hJrwt, II
·1 JI'(h,ll'nl .. ~i(,' 'o"k 1'1
" • Ill. \'
(Jthl711 rs tn th. ("tllln "Il<-l a rJllg'" ,l more b Y I rh
pI 0 Vl(lt"
th.t
f he.· ~ IT'lu\r 11l III
I I I t'rnl1()1111t' .Im
:a lUd" Junke, (ft.plt' or,) provldn r('glll"J dlla Y'"'' I I ,,,I,, ,,' ' .
,I
tll, nd th It
I Ih" 1''' tl'
poll .r.1 rol f,l feast 11 .. 'If Iy dyn.II"1I luhural "IlV"'"1I11l'1I1 "
(Jl
11
- - -
.\lld,.rr1 nl( lto Or1l1 IhllH1 1111\'11", DIGESTING THE fEAST
• ----------.:~.:.::...:..:.~~---.-.
-.
dl.~IU'"( (111"n.1 .l Ie alld how 10 look lilt th em m rc"mn.,1 archaeologICal data nons wbere they occur. and feasong locatIons are oftrn
' nln
ArchaeologISt> know q Ult~ well how W ou t trade and charactenze its qu an ritual slructures. In contrast, spea/ic rrade arnvltji area' are
Illdll\<: anJ q u.lht J tl "" JllnellslOns through the use or. for exampl e. petrographIc.
identify. and the act of exchange produce. lInte if anv Ji
,hel\llea l. •n d , tyhstl( analySIs of cer.lJll l(S fo und contexts of consumption chMJ
III cally. because feasts often proVIde the context for e ~
th ,' \ J Il ge nerJlly nOI yel fJnllh ar w Ith th e ways thar o ne can dcrect and
r~U t of detecting feas ting m the archaeologJcai recotd ma~ e. n
tt
r h .•r a( lc l1zC fcaslIng as " llence. they are less alen the possibihues and
pro(~.!s to dersrand trade Methods for accompltshing tht.s s1iII bc,m
Are
m ore , kcptJ ( al nf the cndeavo l unl ess o ne can produce a Po mpcllesque example
the contributions by Brown (Cbapter 13), KeUy Chapler u .md
of a k.l"
11 ) all offer exemplary case sturues shov.mg how the presen e o
Ju nkc l ' (ChJpter 10) analysIs o f reasting in th e Phillppllles IS of great Interest
be teased out of various permutations of pan.U. laW1al. anJ .utif.l
preclSc1 ) bl'c.lUse IS an excelle nt example o f ho w the analysis of feasting as a
11 rhese chapters also ably demonstrate. the mere IdentIficatIon Ihr e
pro("css can be convlIlclIlgly and pro ntably don e thro ug h sensitive eXam1l1allOn
feasts at indIvidual archaeologICal sltes ,s nOt the ulttmale .~'<l
uk"
of Ihlll!;' reglo ndl patte rns o f CeramIc Impo rt consumptio n. A Similar case
Rather. we want know what they mean tel of the ne ".
to ill at,
ha> he en made fo r different teglo nal patterns of feasting Iron Age Europe
III p.1n
them- and this reqUlJ'es Sltuatlng them WIthin broaJerrepona!
(Dle d er 1990. 1<196) w,th the subsequent Identincano n of an actual feasl event
Part of the pOtential vis,btlity of feasts demes from th act tIu t
(Dlelle r 19</9b. C arde15en 1999). What such smd,es demand is a careful contex
once agam, they are ntual (or. as Hayden "ould qu..!, · 11 ntu.1!iz d"
r
tual anJI) " s o f patterns of consumption. ThaI nOI merely looking at the rus
IS.
ThIS means that they are commoril - a centra.l elem m
rn butlo n of ceramic types or wares over Ihe landscape . but undertakmg an
such as trutiatIons. weddmgs. dIld bunals. of w luch al It3,t Ihr LtLtt'r ha
anal o f Ihe quamnatlve, cOlllext·specinc d,stTibution of specific forms and
'SI>
chance of bemg preserved as smgle-e\-cm arrha.d . al m I re
Ihe patterns of .lssociauon where they arc found . It IIlvolves asking. for exam
means that the same kinds of wacntlca (e g . qualilJtI\
. whether certalll k.lIlds of lableware are found all or only some graves or
III
ences m food consumed. spatial egreg.tion, architecr
IU
a region , all or orily some domestic or ceremonial contexts on
,~t1lcments 111 III
maturgical effect. elc ) that may be used. oiten comb
In
tho',. sClllemcrm. associated WIth whal other kmds and sizes of ceramic cook-
mark feasts off from dJ.l]Y meals as ntual e\ ma..!l e
nt.
•
"cs,c1, .md whal relatIVe quantities each of those COlllexts, assoCIated
109 10 III tbe archaeologICal record -,f we know how to loo them.
w Ilh what lund, of faunal rem.ms. and so on II also requires looking at rrans
will reqwre that we become sensmzeJ Ihen t
It> I
lonnauon5 01 the,e partems OVer time Such analySiS can be very revealing not
that we develop the theorencal comp<'tence to dui .., th thar
urilv of the eXIStence of feastlng. bUI, more Importantly. of forms and Ius-
liS more sophl. tlcated m.lnner lask l.uge nd, •
ThIS IS I
• h " I
tnncal Slgl1lficdIlCC. Of cour,e. as chmandt-Besserat (Chapler 14) as ruce y whIch we can alr~ady s~e lOnsldtrablt produ \
SUI
demonstrated With her Near Eastern study. the po Slbtlines for understandmg ut
One of the ~ncouraging Sl~'Tl' tmr.gt' ~ m
to OUl
I 'glOnal leasllng practices are greatly enhanced by the presence of contempo,
the frequent aSSOClatlon l\1 I(-asung WIth ~rwl
1
2
ra ry plClunal and lextual representations (see also. for example. Arsenault 99 : elaboration th.t may be rt'adll~ rt"~'TUUbk-
J"ff"
1998; S hmm Pantel 1992). But a greal deal is poss,ble even III the absence Brown' (Chapter 11\ srud)' 01 nun rill ~~. nng I la
of these 1.111 r klllds of data (Chapter stuuy ul ahokla. Kmghl Iwp( r I
12\
k d of malenal
~VI
Hayden IChaptcl 2) prOVIdes a summary 0 f t h e many III moullds. IWu out uf th ....... uf KIITh bap~r
S
:h~PI na~
dm e thal ("an pOIt'nually be useu lor deahng w'lh feasung archaeologICally. but latches rcpone,1 by Pe ... "h. . \ r .\. I
•. h e onc way or an
vtnually the c/JllInbu\lnos Ih" Iu me d (tr css "SU In Illlponalll ('mphas,ze th~1 n, I 1nl
to VD J t 15 \(I
, h" d ' Ion I lhJI {easl .tru<led
om
I'"
r Onc: of the ulleresllng I"alun' cmcr"" ,rom l IS ISellS.· I . Sltr ung but Ib ....
tt'~
\(J
h f .rchJl·ologlC. stln
Th~1
d rdI
I. .. /: the m r th
c:tluUy h an advantage OWl trade .lS a su JCct 0 .1 l. • Ill<)
In
. ,able Identify
on that 11 ,,11, murh U('IIt< pus"hl I Io r h 'illS to . t• • tu .... , ..... p.... III Ih .. "~Al l.abor
1fI I 1\1(',
r.
'1111 Irut', pJrt. r l n~1 ;l(lIvllll'S '.rtlS.fll lit uf Ih .. I th I
1 tIl bl'l.IUSt' TeaS J ,.,
t
11'1,,1 . tht In ....
I b" h. ( haplt'1 In
dt I
of list
ry llalU pro d r. Opll/US 111 111l(lIVl- ff' .1
"Ir \I ioU «
•