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

From The Ancient Near East To Modern-day North America, Communal Consumption Of Food And Drink Punctuates The Rhythms Of Human Societies. Feasts Serve Many Social Purposes, Establishing Alliances For War And Marriage, Mobilizing Labor, Creating Political Power And Economic Advantages, And Redistributing Wealth. This Collection Of Fifteen Essays Combines Ethnographic And Archaeological Perspectives To Examine The Cultural, Economic, And Political Importance Of Feasts, Considering Traditional And Modern Practices From Africa, Southeast Asia, The Near East, Polynesia, New Guinea, And The Americas. Recording Types And Quantities Of Food, Preparation Techniques, And Numbers Of Participants, The Ethnographers Provide A Much-needed Behavioral Context And Theoretical Framework For These Intricate Social Interactions And Attempt To Link Feasting Practices To Physical Evidence. The Archaeologists Examine The Locations Of Roasting Pits, Hearths, And Refuse Deposits Or The Presence Of Special Decorative Ceramics And Infer The Ways In Which Feasting Traditions Reveal Social Structures Of Lineage, Clan, Moiety, And Polity. As Practices For Organizing Ancient And Modern Societies, Feasts Are Intimately Implicated In The Processes Of Social And Cultural Change. This Book Makes These Rituals More Accessible To Archaeological Analysis And Interpretation. Book Jacket.--jacket. Fabulous Feasts : A Prolegomenon To The Importance Of Feasting / Brian Hayden -- Theorizing The Feast : Ritiuals Of Consumption, Commensal Politics, And Power In African Contexts / Michael Dietler -- Of Feasting And Value : Enga Feasts In A Historical Perspective (papua New Guinea) / Polly Wiessner -- Akha Feasting : An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective / Michael J. Clarke -- Polynesian Feasting In Ethnohistoric, Ethnographic, And Archaeological Contexts : A Comparison Of Three Societies / Patrick V. Kirch -- Feasting For Prosperity : A Study Of Southern Northwest Coast Feasting / James R. Perodie -- The Big Drink : Feast And Forum In The Upper Amazon / Warren R. Deboer. Feasts And Labor Mobilization : Dissecting A Fundamental Economic Practice / Michael Dietler And Ingrid Herbich -- The Evolution Of Ritual Feasting Systems In Prehispanic Philippine Chiefdoms / Feasting And The Emergence Of Platform Mound Ceremonialism In Eastern North America / Vernon James Knight -- A Case Of Ritual Feasting At The Cahokia Site / Lucretia S. Kelly -- Feasting On The Periphery : The Production Of Ritual Feasting And Village Festivals At The Cerén Site, El Salvador / Linda A. Brown -- Feasting In The Ancient Near East / Denise Schmandt-besserat -- Garbage And The Modern American Feast / Douglas C. Wilson And William L. Rathje. Edited By Michael Dietler And Brian Hayden. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.