The Duality of Maize: Lessons in a Contextual Archaeology of Foodways

Summary

Historical archaeologists specialize in the evidence of daily life, including foodways, yet archaeological interpretations of food practices are often based upon the uncritical use of food histories. Archaeologists who are methodologically precise when investigating the physical evidence of foodways are often less exacting when using the secondary literature to interpret these remains. This practice poses interpretive perils for the unwary archaeologist, however. An examination of the role of maize in colonial New England shows that assumptions about grain hierarchies, poverty foods, and cultural preferences permeate food histories. It is only through a contextual archaeology of foodways and a critical reading of both primary sources and the secondary literature that archaeologists will be able to recognize the diversity of practices and the array of cultural meanings expressed through foods such as maize, whether in the context of cultural encounters, displays of status, ideologies of health or morality, or negotiations of identity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2016   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 576