The Archaeology and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empires

301 Pages·2003·7.44 MB·English

by  Tamara L. Bray

The Archaeology and Politics
of Food and Feasting in
Early States and Empires
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The Archaeology and Politics
of Food and Feasting in
Early States and Empires
Editedby
Tamara L. Bray
WayneStateUniversity
Detroit,Michigan
KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK,BOSTON, DORDRECHT, LONDON, MOSCOW
eBookISBN: 0-306-48246-0
Print ISBN: 0-306-47730-0
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Contributors
TamaraL.Bray • WayneStateUniversity,Detroit,Michigan48202
AnitaG.Cook • CatholicUniversity,Washington,D.C.20064
MichaelDietler • UniversityofChicago,Chicago,Illinois60637
JoanM.Gero • AmericanUniversity,Washington,D.C.20016
MaryGlowacki • FloridaStateUniversity,Tallahassee,Florida32304
PaulS.Goldstein • UniversityofCaliforniaatSanDiego,LaJolla,California
92093
JuliaA.Hendon • GettysburgCollege,Gettysburg,Pennsylvania17353
SarahMilledgeNelson • UniversityofDenver,Denver,Colorado80208
JanMarieOlson • UniversityofAlberta,Edmonton,Alberta,T6G2H4
SusanPollock • BinghamtonUniversity,Binghamton,NewYork13902
MichaelE.Smith • StateUniversityofNewYork,Albany,NewYork12222
StuartTysonSmith • UniversityofCalifornia,SantaBarbara,California93106
JenniferB.Wharton • StateUniversityofNewYork,Albany,NewYork12222
v
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Contents
Chapter1.TheCommensalPoliticsofEarlyStatesandEmpires ..... 1
TamaraL.Bray
PARTI.OLDWORLD
Chapter2.Feasts,Funerals,andFastFoodinEarlyMesopotamian
States........................................................... 17
SusanPollock
Chapter3.Pharaohs,Feasts,andForeigners:Cooking,Foodways,
andAgencyonAncientEgypt’sSouthernFrontier.................. 39
StuartTysonSmith
Chapter4.FeastingtheAncestorsinEarlyChina................... 65
SarahMilledgeNelson
PARTII.NEWWORLD
Chapter5.ToDineSplendidly:ImperialPottery,CommensalPolitics,
andtheIncaState................................................ 93
TamaraL.Bray
Chapter6.FromStew-EaterstoMaize-Drinkers:TheChicha
EconomyandtheTiwanakuExpansion ............................ 143
PaulS.Goldstein
Chapter7.Pots,Politics,andPower:HuariCeramicAssemblages
andImperialAdministration...................................... 173
AnitaG.CookandMaryGlowacki
vii
viii Contents
Chapter8.FeastingatHome:CommunityandHouseSolidarity
amongtheMayaofSoutheasternMesoamerica..................... 203
JuliaA.Hendon
Chapter9.AztecFeasts,Rituals,andMarkets:PoliticalUsesof
CeramicVesselsinaCommercialEconomy......................... 235
MichaelE.Smith,JenniferB.Wharton,andJanMarieOlson
PARTIII.CONCLUDINGREMARKS
Chapter10.ClearingtheTable:SomeConcludingReflectionson
CommensalPoliticsandImperialStates............................ 271
MichaelDietler
PARTIV.EPILOGUE
FeastingandthePracticeofStatelyManners....................... 285
JoanM.Gero
Index............................................................ 289
1
Chapter
The Commensal Politics of
Early States and Empires
TamaraL.Bray
Foodandfeastingareincreasinglyrecognizedashavingplayedaprominentrolein
theemergenceofsocialhierarchiesandthenegotiationofpowerandidentity(Clark
andBlake1994;Dietler1996;DietlerandHayden2001;Gero1992;Goody1982;
Gummerman1997;NielsenandNielsen1998;WiessnerandShieffenhovel1996).
The notion of ‘feasting,’ as used here, refers to a communal food consumption
eventthatdiffersinsomewayfromeverydaypractice(afterDietler1996).Given
theculinarynatureoffeasts,theuseofcontainersforbothfoodpreparationand
consumptionisgenerallyinvolved,afactthatincreasesthearchaeologicalvisibility
ofsuchevents.Thepapersinthisvolumeutilizeculinaryequipmentasawindow
intothecommensalpoliticsofearlystatesandempires,focusingonthequestionof
whetherandhowfoodandfeastingfiguredinthepoliticalcalculusofarchaicstates.
UsingbothNewandOldWorldexamples,theassembledpapersofferparticular
case studies that serve as the basis for a comparative assessment of the role of
feastingintheemergenceandexpansionofearlystates.
The focus on the political implications of culinary equipment and the role
offeastinginimperialstatecraftarisesattheintersectionofseveralcurrenttrends
inarchaeology,anthropology,andsocialtheory.Withtheascentofvariouspost-
processualapproachesinarchaeology,wehaveseenanincreasedemphasisonex-
ploringthespecificityofsocialstructures,themeaningfulbasisofhumanaction,
and the active nature of material culture (e.g., Gero and Conkey 1991; Hodder
TamaraL.Bray • DepartmentofAnthropology,WayneStateUniversity,Detroit,Michigan48202
TheArchaeologyandPoliticsofFoodandFeastinginEarlyStatesandEmpires,
editedbyTamaraL.Bray.KluwerAcademic/PlenumPublishers,NewYork,2003.
1