The Archaeology of Public Health and Food Sovereignty in the Pacific Islands

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Colonialism has had significant influences on lifeways across the South Pacific, including health and diet in the past and today. Colonially introduced diets have caused a loss of traditional food practices, created cultural power dynamics, and have led to contemporary public health issues. These colonial legacies not only have continued impacts on the health of islanders in the Pacific, and those in the global diaspora, but the cultural identity and economics of these islands as well. Archaeological data are critical in addressing contemporary public health issues because they can be used to understand past foodways and cultural practices, which may have been lost. By understanding colonial entanglements in traditional diets from the initial settlement of the islands to modern populations we stand to further understand the ways in which food sovereignty and cultural compromise shape past and present foodways.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36679.0