The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The analysis of food remains has been key to understanding the lifeways of the Caribbean’s earliest inhabitants. Drawing primarily on economic and behavioral ecology models, these studies have focused on subsistence strategies, carrying capacity, resource over-exploitation, extinctions, diet and health, and related questions such as the translocation of species. Food is integral to non-economic, social and cultural processes, though, and some anthropologists and food historians would argue that food is culture. The purpose of this forum is to discuss food-related issues such as identity and cuisine, performance, cultural taboos, status and social differentiation (i.e. the relationship between cuisine and social position), the symbolic meanings of some foods, creolization or transculturation, resistance and many others processes in the Caribbean’s ancient and recent pasts. It is our hope that this conversation will challenge us to start looking at our food data in new terms.

Other Keywords
Zooarchaeology • Ritual and Symbolism • Subsistence and Foodways • Paleoethnobotany • Colonialism • Historic • Iconography and epigraphy • Ethnohistory/History • Iconography and Art: Rock Art • Coastal and Island Archaeology 

Geographic Keywords
Republic of Panama (Country) • Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Country) • Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (Country) • Department of Martinique (Country) • Republic of El Salvador (Country) • Department of Guadeloupe (Country) • Cayman Islands (Country) • Antigua and Barbuda (Country) • Turks and Caicos Islands (Country) • Belize (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-8 of 8)

  • Documents (8)
Documents
  • Food for the Soul & Well-being: Ruminations about the Other Face of Ancient Plant Remains (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jose Oliver.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper makes the case for a greater concerted effort in archaeobotany to give equal standing to the domain of 'food' for the soul and spirit, that is, useful/edible plants for the well-being of the individual and the community in the past. All too often, the emphasis falls into concerns of staple food as a...

  • Food in Caribbean Archaeology (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only L. Antonio Curet.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The study of food has been part of modern Caribbean archaeology almost from its inception. While few researchers have tried to go beyond the material aspect of food, most of the studies have been materialist in nature emphasizing aspects such as diet, production, and ecology. This paper serves as an introduction...

  • From Frog to Bat: The Extraordinary Bestiary of the Pre-Columbians from the Caribbean (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sandrine Grouard. Sophia Perdikaris.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Zooarchaeological studies bring information on the history of the vertebrate faunas during the last 30000 years and especially on their relationships with human activities since 5000 years in the Lesser Antilles. In such an oceanic island environment, the Pre-Columbians have mainly exploited animals from the...

  • Having Reservations: A Discussion on Recognizing the Dynamic Qualities of "Food" within Archaeological Contexts from the pre-Columbian Caribbean (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Brittany Mistretta. Michelle LeFebvre.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Food is a biological necessity, but it is also created and used through culturally defined practices and perceptions, including capture, cultivation, and/or collection, preparation, consumption, disposal, and even secondary deposition. This paper challenges us to think more critically about how we identify,...

  • Indians and Africans: Food, Ethnicity and Status in Early Colonial Cuba (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Roberto Valcárcel Rojas. Lourdes Pérez.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During the first half of the sixteenth century the Spanish colonial project in the Greater Antilles was based on the intensive exploitation of Indians and Africans, who saw the transformation of all aspects of their existence, including the food issue. Using historical and archaeological data, this article...

  • Predation and Production in the Rock Art of the Middle Orinoco: Food for Thought (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kay Scaramelli.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The interpretation of rock art is fraught with difficulties, even when images may appear to be easily identified with cultural objects or elements found in nature. When considering the possible meaning of images of animals, plants, and artifacts depicted in the rock paintings and petroglyphs in the Middle...

  • Saladoid Dog Burials from the West Indies (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sophia Perdikaris. Sandrine Grouard.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Across the Caribbean, there are numerous dog burials from the Saladoid period and they warrant a closer look as to their purpose and function. Dog remains have been found both as burials associated with human graves but also in refuse middens along with other archaeofauna from prehistoric meals. This paper will...

  • What Is Good to Eat Is Good to Translocate: The Intangible Dimension of Non-Native Animal Introduction and Consumption in the Pre-Columbian Caribbean (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Christina Giovas.

    This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Despite occupying the Caribbean since ca. 6500-6000 BP, Amerindians did not introduce continental animals to the islands until approximately 2000 years ago. In most cases, non-native taxa, while consumed, did not rival local marine resources in dietary importance; yet there is limited evidence to support an...