Cheap Beer and Generic Weenies vs. Craft Brews and Artisan Sausages – The Archaeology of Tailgating at Penn State University

Summary

Although arriving early to an event and consuming food and beverages outside of an arena arguably has its origins in ancient Rome and Greece, the popular and ritualized tailgating associated with American college football is a behavior that warrants archaeological investigation. The Tailgating Behavior Project is attempting to better understand these communal events through ethnographic interviews and garbological/archaeological surveys at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium at University Park, Pennsylvania. Interviews of tailgaters were conducted on game days at multiple locations that were selected based on parking price ($20 - $500 per game). The following morning a crew of undergraduates returned to the same areas to record the refuse left behind. The project offers valuable data on consumer behavior while providing a unique opportunity to demonstrate the basics of archaeological research to students.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21083