THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD

INSTRUCTOR: Matthew Piscitelli

TELEPHONE.: (203) 687-7725 E-MAIL: matthew.piscitelli@gmail.com

Course Description: We are what we eat, literally. Food constitutes a fundamental aspect of all
human societies. Cultural anthropologists and archaeologists have studied food for decades, but
up until quite recently they have done so in an unsystematic, haphazard fashion. Originally
concerned with nutrition and economics, anthropologists now recognize that research into the
production, distribution, and consumption of foodstuffs has the potential to reveal much
information about the ideology and structure of societies. This course introduces a broad range of
issues and analytical perspectives concerning the anthropology of food. We explore how people
have obtained and processed a wide variety of foods through time, beginning with early humans.
We examine the mechanics of domestication and intensification as well as the different modes of
subsistence exhibited by various cultural groups. In addition, we consider how certain foods
such as wine have played a significant role in culture beyond basic dietary needs. Lastly, we
discuss how particular foods have undergone commodification and thus transcended their role as
a means of sustenance in our modern world. Although the course focuses on archaeology, it
presents theoretical approaches, case studies, and methods that would be of interest to cultural
anthropology, sociology, and medical anthropology students.

Course Grading Policy: Students’ grade for the course is based on his/her performance on two
exams (midterm and final), one major research paper, one class presentation on an assigned set
of readings, and class participation.

Exams:
There will be two exams. The midterm and final exams will feature an essay format that will test
your comprehension of the readings discussed in class as well as your ability to think critically
about the topics presented in the course. The exams are not cumulative. Each exam is worth
20% of the final course grade.

Research Paper:
For this paper, students have to choose a case study or topic on food and discuss it in detail. The
paper should be based on an intensive and extensive library or primary data research and it has to
discuss the topic in depth (should be about 15-20 typed pages). Students have to consult with the
instructor ahead of time in order to make sure that the topic is an acceptable one and/or no other
student has taken it. Short, half-page topic proposals must be submitted to the instructor one
month into the semester. Once approved, students may begin compiling a bibliography of
sources that will be due a month later. The final paper is due the last day of class and is worth
40% of the final course grade.

Class Presentation:
Students will be paired up and assigned one single set of readings from the topic list (below) in
order to prepare talking points. Students can collaborate in any way they see fit including the use
of PowerPoint visuals for their presentation (although they are not required). Students will be
evaluated individually and graded according to their comprehension of the readings and their
ability to stimulate discussion amongst their classmates. Students are not, however, meant to be
lecturers but rather moderators in a debate or conversation among their peers. The presentation
is worth 10% of the final course grade.

Class Participation:
The assigned readings are scheduled to conform closely to the lecture’s topics and class
discussion. You are expected to read all assigned readings before the class to enhance your
understanding and ability to participate in class. It is your responsibility to read the assignments
for the class. If you have problems understanding the readings please do not hesitate to contact
me via e-mail, or call me on the phone. Try not to get behind in your reading assignments.

Your participation in this seminar is crucial to its success, not only for you, but for me and other
students. Long lectures can be boring for both you and me, so I encourage you to interrupt at
any time with questions, comments, criticisms, or observations you wish to make about the
course material and topics. I will begin each class by presenting different perspectives on one
particular point through a PowerPoint presentation in order to orient the discussion and then I
would like to open a debate on the different opinions of the students. Student's participation will
be worth 10% of the final course grade.

All projects are due by the TIME OF CLASS. Grades of projects turned in after the due date
will be reduced by 10% PER DAY (INCLUDING SATURDAY AND SUNDAY). For
quotations and format of bibliographies follow the American Antiquity format. (see “Editorial
Policy, Information for Authors, and Style Guide for American Antiquity and Latin American
Antiquity,” which appeared in the October 1992 issue, 57:749-770) Any kind of plagiarism (e.g.,
direct copy of text from references without proper quotation) will be an automatic ZERO in the
project.

Grading Policy Summary:

Research Paper 40%

Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 20%
Class Presentation 10%
Class Participation 10%
Total 100%

Workshops: Periodically throughout the course we will participate in hands-on group activities
that will provide an interactive approach to learning about the topic of the week. Some
workshops will take the form of experimental archaeology (e.g. butchering chicken pieces or
making Maya chocolate) while others will be more participatory (e.g. a potluck). Students will
be notified in advance about the requirements and precautions for the workshops and their
tentative scheduled times are listed on the topic list.
 SCHEDULE OF TOPICS
Topic 1: The Anthropology of Food
Topic 2: Biology, Health, and Nutrition
Topic 3: Food among Hunters and Gatherers (workshop)
Topic 4: Domestication and Intensification
Topic 5: Food and Technology (workshop)
Topic 6: Food and Social Organization
Topic 7: Feasting (workshop)
Topic 8: Food and Cultural Complexity
Topic 9: Food and Gender
Topic 10: Food and Social Stratification
Topic 11: Beverages (workshop)
Topic 12: Food and the Dead
Topic 13: Ideology and Symbolism of Food
Topic 14: Commodification
 TOPICS AND READINGS

Topic 1: The Anthropology of Food

Dietler, Michael
2007 Culinary Encounters: Food, Identity, and Colonialism. In The Archaeology of
Food and Identity, ed. by K. C. Twiss. Center for Archaeological Investigations,
Occasional Paper No 34, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, pp. 218-242.

Gosden, C.
1999 Introduction. In C. Gosden and J. Hather, The Prehistory of Food: Appetites of
Change. Routledge, London, pp. 1-10.

Mintz, S. W., and C. M. Du Bois

2002 The Anthropology of Food and Eating. Annual Review of Anthropology 31:99-
119.

Topic 2: Biology, Health and Nutrition

Balikci, Asen
1970 The Netsilik Eskimo. Garden City: Natural History Press. SELECTED PAGES
TBA.

Brenton, B. P.
2000 Pellagra, Sex and Gender: Biocultural Perspectives on Differential Diets and
Health. Nutritional Anthropology 22:20-24.

Caraher, M. and J. Coveney

2004 Public Health Nutrition and Food Policy. Public Health and Nutrition 7(5): 591-
8.

Hackett, Bryan and Jonathan Haws

2003 Nutritional Ecology and Diachronic Trends in Paleolithic Diet and Health.
Evolutionary Ecology 12:211-216

Smith, G. D. and E. Brunner

1997 Socio-economic Differentials in Health: The Role of Nutrition. Proceedings of
the Nutrional Society 56(1A): 75-90.

Travers, K. D.
1996 The Social Organization of Nutritional Inequities. Social Science & Medicine
43(4): 543-53.

Topic 3: Food among Hunter and Gatherers

Cordain, Loren, J. B. Miller, S. B. Eaton, N. Mann, S.H.A. Holt, and J. D. Speth
2000 Plant-animal Subsistence Ratios and Macronutrient Energy Estimations in
Worldwide Hunter-Gatherer Diets. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71: 682-92.
Friesen, T. Max
1999 Resource Structure, Scalar Stress, and the Development of Inuit Social
Organization. World Archaeology 31(1): 21-37.

Kaplan, Hillard, et al.

1985 Food Sharing Among Ache Foragers: Tests of Explanatory Hypotheses. Current
Anthropology 26(2): 223-246. READ ONLY PAGES 223-239.

Kent, Susan
1991 Cause and Effect of Dental Health, Diet, and Status among Foragers. American
Anthropologist 93(4): 942-943.

McGrew, W. C.
1996. Dominance status, food sharing, and reproductive success in Chimpanzees. In
Food and the Status Quest: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, ed. P. Wiessner and W.
Schiefenhövel, 39-46. Providence: Berghahn.

Walker, Phillip L., and Barry S. Hewlett

1990 Dental Health Diet and Social Status among Central African Foragers and
Farmers. American Anthropologist 92(2): 383-398.

Walker, Phillip L., and Jeffrey C. Long

1977 An Experimental Study of the Morphological Characteristics of Tool Marks.
American Antiquity 42(4): 605-616.

Topic 4: Domestication and Intensification

Hastorf, Christine A.
1992 Cultural implications of crop introductions in Andean prehistory. In The
Prehistory of Food: Appetites for Change, ed. C. Gosden and J. Hather, 35–58. London:
Routledge.

Hodder, Ian
1992 The Domestication of Europe. In I. Hodder (ed.), Theory and Practice in
Archaeology. Routledge, London. Pp. 241-253.

Smith, Bruce D.
2001 Low-Level Food Production. Journal of Archaeological Research 9: 1-43.

Terrell, John E., John P. Hart, Sibel Barut, Nicoletta Cellinese, Antonio Curet, Tim Denham,
Chapurukha M. Kusimba, Kyle Latinis, Rahul Oka, Joel Palka, Mary E. D. Pohl, Kevin
O. Pope, Patrick Ryan Williams, Helen Haines, and John E. Staller,
2003 Domesticated Landscapes: The Subsistence Ecology of Plant and Animal
Domestication." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 10:323-368. READ
ONLY PAGES 323-350.
 Topic 5: Food and Technology
Forbes, R. J.
1997 Studies in Ancient Technology. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers. SELECTED
READINGS TBA.

Topic 6: Food and Social Organization

Appadurai, A.
1981 Gastro-Politics in Hindu South Asia. American Ethnologist 8:494-511.

Rodríguez-Alegría, Enrique
2005 Eating Like an Indian: Negotiating Social Relations in the Spanish Colonies.
Current Anthropology 46: 551-573.

Turkon, Paula
2004 Food and Status in the Prehispanic Malpaso Valley, Zacatecas, Mexico. Journal
of Anthropological Archaeology 23: 225-251.

Topic 7: Feasting
Adams, Ron L.
2004 An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Feasting in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of
Anthropological Archaeology 23: 56-78.

Bray, T. L.
2003 The Commensal Politics of Early States and Empires. In The Archaeology and
Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empires, ed. T. L. Bray, 1-13. New

Dietler, M., and B. Hayden

2001 Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics, and
Power. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Leach, Helen
2003 Did East Polynesians Have a Concept of Luxury Foods? World Archaeology
34(3): 442-457.

Pauketat, Timothy R., et al.

2002 The Residues of Feasting and Public Ritual at Early Cahokia. American Antiquity
67(2): 257-279.

Rosenwig, Robert M.
2007 Beyond Identifying Elites: Feasting as a Means to Understand Early Middle
Formative Society of the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Journal of Anthropological
Archaeology 26: 1-27.

Topic 8: Food and Cultural Complexity

Childe, V. Gordon
1936 Man Makes Himself. New York: Mentor Books. SELECTED PAGES TBA.
Haas, J. and W. Creamer
2006 Crucible of Andean Civilization: The Peruvian Coast from 3000 to 1800 BC.
Current Anthropology 47(5):745-775.

Moseley, Michael
1975 The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization. Menlo Park: Cummings
Publishing Company. SELECTED PAGES TBA.

Quilter, J. et al.
1991 Subsistence Economy of El Paraíso, an Early Peruvian Site. Science
251(4991):277-283.

Wilson, D. J.
1981 Of Maize and Men: A Critique of the Maritime Hypothesis of State Origins on the
Coast of Peru. American Anthropologist 83(1):93-120.

Topic 9: Food and Gender

Hastorf, C. A.
1991 Gender, Space, and Food in Prehistory. In Engendering Archaeology: Women and
Prehistory, ed. M. Conkey and J. M. Gero, 132-163. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Lukacs, J. R.
1996 Sex Differences in Dental Caries Rates With the Origin of Agriculture in South
Asia. Current Anthropology 37:147-153.

Weismantel, M. J.
1988. Food, Gender, and Poverty in the Ecuadorian Andes. Prospect Heights: Waveland
Press. Chapter 6.

White, C. D.
2005 Gendered food behaviour among the Maya: Time, place, status and ritual. Journal
of Social Archaeology 5:356-382.

Topic 10: Food and Social Stratification

Danforth, M. E.
1999. Nutrition and Politics in Prehistory. Annual Review of Anthropology 28:1-25.

Ervynck, A., W. V. Neer, H. Huster-Plogmann, and J. Schibler

2003 Beyond Affluence: The Zooarchaeology of Luxury. World Archaeology 34:428-
441.

Jackson, H. E. and Scott, S. L.

2003 Patterns of Elite Faunal Utilization at Moundville, Alabama. American Antiquity
68:552-572.
Haller, Mikael J., Gary M. Feinman, and Linda M. Nicholas
2006 Socioeconomic Inequality and Differential Access to Faunal Resources at El
Palmillo, Oaxca, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 17: 39-56.

Hastorf, Christine A., and Sissel Johannessen

1993 Pre-Hispanic Political Change and the Role of Maize in Central Andes of Peru.
American Anthropologist 95(1): 115-138.

Van der Veen, M.

2003 When Is Food a Luxury? World Archaeology 34:405-427.

Topic 11: Beverages

Arthur, John W.
2003 Brewing Beer: Status, Wealth and Ceramic Use Alteration Among the Gamo of
South-Western Ethiopia. World Archaeology 34:516-528.

Dietler, Michael
2006 Alcohol: Anthropological/Archaeological Perspectives. Annual Review of
Anthropology 35:229-49.

Hamilakis, Yannis
1999 Food Technologies/Technologies of the Body: The Social Context of Wine and
Oil Production and Consumption in Bronze Age Crete. World Archaeology 31(1): 38-54.

Jennings, J., Antrobus, K.L., Atencia, S.J., Glavich, E., Johnson, R., Loffler, G., and Luu, C.
2005 Drinking Beer in a Blissful Mood: Alcohol Production, Operational Chains, and
Feasting in the Ancient World. Current Anthropology 46:275-303.

Topic 12: Food and the Dead

Bloch-Smith, E. M.
1992 The Cult of the Dead in Judah: Interpreting the Material Remains. Journal of
Biblical Literature III/2: 213-224.

Metcalf, Peter and Richard Huntington

2008 Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. SELECTED READINGS TBA.

Pearson, Mike Parker

2001 “ Learning from the Dead.” In The Archaeology of Death and Burial. College
Station: Texas A&M University Press. Pp. 1-20.
 Topic 13: Ideology and Symbolism of Food

Bourdieu, Pierre
1984 Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. London: Routledge.
SELECTED PAGES TBA.

Fausto, Carlos
2007 Feasting on People: Eating Animals and Humans in Amazonia. Current
Anthropology 48(4): 497-539. READ ONLY PAGES 497-513.

Masson, Marilyn A.
1999 Animal Resources Manipulation in Ritual and Domestic Contexts at Postclassic
Maya Communities. World Archaeology 31(1): 93-120.

Topic 14: Commodification

Kendall, Laurel
2008 Of Hungry Ghosts and Other Matters of Consumption in the Republic of Korea:
The Commodity Becomes a Ritual Prop. American Ethnologist 35(1): 154-170.

Mintz, Sidney
1985 Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. New York:
Viking. SELECTED PAGES TBA.

Nash, June
2007 Consuming Interests: Water, Rum, and Coca-Cola from Ritual Propitiation to
Corporate Expropriation in Highland Chiapas. Cultural Anthropology 22(4): 621-639.