Mike Richards

Outline of lecture
• Why study diet in archaeology and anthropology?
• Theoretical approaches to understanding diet and subsistence (materialism, structuralism, cultural)
• Food taboos
• What can we determine about diet from the archaeological record?
• Concepts to keep in mind throughout the course

Why study past diets?
• Diet and subsistence are key concepts underlying Archaeology and Anthropology
• The need to for food is a universal, but the way we obtain food, process food and consume food varies throughout the world and between cultures.
• There is a deep time depth to our food traditions

Diet in Archaeology
• The way that people obtained food is the main factor in classifying that society in archaeology
• We have early hunter-gatherer societies
• Wild plants and animals were obtained through active hunting, or scavenging, as well as collecting

Diet in Archaeology
• The way that people obtained food is the main factor in classifying that society in archaeology
• We then have intensification of the use of certain foods
• Repeat use of a resource in a specific area, such as seasonal dependence on fish, or wild plants

Diet in Archaeology
• The way that people obtained food is the main factor in classifying that society in archaeology
• We then have the first steps of the adoption of agriculture and animal husbandry
• Humans control the access to these resources, as well as the means of reproduction for these organisms

Diet in Archaeology
• The way that people obtained food is the main factor in classifying that society in archaeology
• Intensification of the use of resources leads to state societies
• Social differentiation in access to these foods
• Separation between production and consumption.

Diet in Archaeology
• The way that people obtained food is the main factor in classifying that society in archaeology
• These time periods are generally referred to as the Palaeolithic (hunter-gatherers)
• The Epi-Palaeolithic/Mesolithic (specialisation of wild resources)

Diet in Archaeology
• The way that people obtained food is the main factor in classifying that society in archaeology
• The Neolithic (adoption of agriculture and animal husbandry)
• The Bronze/Iron ages, as well as ‘civilisation’
(social differentiation, separation between production and consumption)

Diet in Archaeology
• The way that people obtained food is the main factor in classifying that society in archaeology
• The reason for the focus on diet and subsistence is that these are the ‘means of production’
• The underlying concepts for archaeology are essentially marxist

Diet in Anthropology
• In the study of living peoples food and the means of food production is also a key way of initially classifying cultures and societies (and sub-cultures)
• Much more information about social concepts of the importance of food
• Who can eat the food, and what foods can’t be eaten?

How to explain food choices?
• There are essentially two theoretical approaches used in archaeology/anthropology to understand the food choices and subsistence strategies that modern and past peoples made and used.
• Materialist, Structuralist and Cultural

Materialist approaches
• Usually uses the baseline dietary needs for humans as a starting point
• Then tries to explain human adaptations and even social rules about food using this as a starting point – looking for a ‘practical’ explanation.

Materialist approaches
• Seeks to explain the reason behind food choices, and even food taboos through practical, ‘scientific’ means.
• Often borrows from biology, and also includes evolutionary theory.

Materialist approaches
• A key concept used in materialist approaches is
Optimal Foraging Theory
• First proposed in 1966 (MacArthur, R. H. and Pianka, E.
R. (1966). On the optimal use of a patchy environment.
American Naturalist, 100)
• Models predator behaviour
• E/h (energy/handling time)
• Predators choose prey with maximum E/h (most calories per handling unit) which is therefore the most
profitable.

Materialist approaches
• Optimal Foraging Theory is one of the main concepts used in archaeology, especially in hunter-gatherer studies.
• Determine the calories that an average person needs in a day
• Determine the food resources available
• Calculate the minimum effort needed to obtain the maximum amount of calories (min-max)

Materialist approaches
• Evolutionary theory
• Explains human behaviour, and dietary adaptations, using Darwinian concepts of natural selection.
• Especially predominant in prehistory and palaeoanthropology (huntergatherers)
• Less successful in explaining dietary choices and behaviour in living peoples

Materialist approaches
• An extreme example of the use of materialism is to explain Aztec human sacrifice.

Materialist approaches
• Aztec human sacrifice:
• Cannibalism widely practiced. Some estimates put this at 1% of the population, which could be
1000 to 3000 people a year at the largest temples
(Harner 1977).
• Michael Harner (1977) and others (Arens 1979) have applied a materialist approach to understand this phenomenon

Materialist approaches
• Aztec human sacrifice and cannibalism
• Aztecs nutritionally stressed, especially for protein
• This is because maize is deficient in some essential amino acids
• Therefore, human flesh could satisfy this nutritional deficiency

Materialist approaches
• Aztec human sacrifice and cannibalism
• Counter-arguments:
• Other sources of protein!
• Was cannibalism exaggerated by European chroniclers?

Materialist approaches
• Aztec human sacrifice and cannibalism
• Alternative explanations:
• Ecological argument – need to limit population size so did not exhaust resources (also an argument for why there is widespread warfare at this time)
• Or, was it a form of social control, showing how the state had the ultimate power over the masses?

Structuralism
• Claude Levi-Strauss a key proponent
• Levi-Strauss (1966) The culinary triangle.
Partisan Review 33: 586-595
• A structuralist, borrowing ideas from linguistics, looking for a universal underlying structure in all human behaviour

Structuralism
• Applied structuralism to diet and subsistence.
• Foods and food choices are social codes
• Identified three underlying, and universal, concepts that all humans use to describe food.
• These are ‘Raw’, ‘Cooked’, and ‘Rotted’

Raw
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Natural Transformation Cultural Transformation
Cooked
Natural Transformation
Rotten
Beardsworth & Keil, 1997

Unprepared
Raw roasted Structuralist Approach looking at "deep structures": universal principles underlying human behaviour
Prepared
Cooked smoked
Rotten boiled/steamed

Structuralism
• With this ‘culinary triangle’ one can then explore how different societies subsistence practices fit within this model
• This can then be linked with other underlying structures, such as culture/nature, male/female to explain the nature of each society
• Food is not good to eat, but good to think

Cultural approaches
• Seeks to explain food choices and dietary adaptations in terms of social constructs
• Explores the role of ideology on food choices
• Symbolism is key to understanding the social roles and constructs
• People choose food not for practical reasons, but cultural reasons following elaborate social codes

Food Taboos
• Food taboos are universal, and a number of theoretical approaches have been used to try and explain them

Food Taboos
• Example of the avoidance of the consumption of beef by Hindus in India.
• Cattle are sacred in
Hinduism and slaughter and consumption of cattle is outlawed in many parts of India.
• Why?

Food Taboos
• Historical background
• Earlier texts (The Vedas, from 2000
BC) describe the slaughter of cattle, but mainly for religious purposes, but it is not outlawed.
• The Brahmins, the elite priestly class, specifically avoid killing cattle, and this practice becomes widespread in the population ca. 200 AD.
• By 1000 AD eating beef is forbidden for all Hindus.

Food Taboos
• However, foreigners and Muslims can eat beef
• The untouchables must remove dead cattle carcasses, as higher castes cannot touch the dead animal, or else they need to go through a purification rite

Food Taboos
• Marvin Harris is a key proponent of materialism and addressed this specific issue in a 1978 article in Human Nature.
• He rejects religious or even historical arguments in favour of an ecological approach.

Food Taboos
• The specific cattle in India are zebu (Bos indicus) which are much better at surviving drought and subsisting on poor quality plants than European cattle.
• Therefore, they survive the dry periods in India well

Food Taboos
• Cattle provide milk and milk products that are widely used in Hindu cooking
• However, this is not the main reason for the taboo on eating cattle.
• Instead, Harris considers their use as traction animals as their main importance, as they can survive on poor food and in the dry periods
• Additionally their dung is a source of fuel and the manure helps to fertilise the fields
• Therefore, they provide more in terms of calories and production as traction animals, sources of manure and milk than their meat can provide

Food Taboos
• In the 8 th century AD there was an Islamic invasion of India.
• Muslims also consume beef, while Hindus eat pork, so there is likely a form of differentiation between these two groups manifested in food choices (the ban on beef consumption by
Hindus occurred in 1000 AD).

Food Taboos
• Is this an example of social differentiation to separate out different sections of society? Does this help to reinforce the caste system?
• Was it originally instituted to show and reinforce the power and control that the Brahmin caste had?
• Muslims also consume beef, while Hindus (sometimes) eat pork, so there is likely a form of differentiation between these two groups manifested in food choices.

Understanding diet in archaeology
• The study of living peoples allows us to see the rich social rules and constructs around food
• This is mainly invisible to archaeology, but these two main concepts are still applied regularly to try and explain and understand diet in the archaeological record

Understanding diet in archaeology
• Indirect measures of diet
• Zooarchaeology (archaeozoology)
• Palaeoethnobotany (archaeobotany)

Understanding diet in archaeology
• Indirect measures of diet
• Textual evidence
• Artifact studies
• Chemical analysis

Understanding diet in archaeology
• Direct measures of diet
• Human osteology

Stable Isotope analysis
•Bone protein carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis.
•Long-term record of dietary protein.
20
18 Marine mammals
16
14
12
Fish consumers
Piscivore fish
Piscivore fish
Fish
10
8
6
Freshwater Carnivores
Omnivores
Herbivores
Shellfish
Marine
4
2
Terrestrial
0
-24.0
-23.0
-22.0
-21.0
-20.0
-19.0
-18.0
-17.0
 13
C
-16.0
-15.0
-14.0
-13.0
-12.0
-11.0
-10.0
•Carbon – marine vs. terrestrial foods.
•Nitrogen – source of protein, animal vs. plant.

Concepts to keep in mind
• Humans generally need the same amount and type of calories and nutrients, so why are some foods considered to be worth more than others?

Concepts to keep in mind
• Foie gras
• Is this expensive and highly prized because it is very fatty and calorie dense?
• Have we evolved to want foods like this, as they are so rare naturally?

Concepts to keep in mind
• Foie gras
• Or is it expensive and highly prized because it is rare and difficult to produce?
• Does it show your wealth and social position if you can afford to eat it?

Concepts to keep in mind
• McDonald’s french fries
• Why are they so popular with children?

Concepts to keep in mind
• McDonald’s french fries
• Is it because they are very high in fat and calories and growing children need both? (materialist and evolutionary model)
• Or is it because of advertising and peer group pressure?
(needing to fit in, cultural model)

Concepts to keep in mind
• Fugu (Pufferfish)

Concepts to keep in mind
• Food is an essential, so unlike other aspects of social behaviour there must be underlying biological constraints on the food choices we make
• This must have evolved
• So optimal foraging theory and evolutionary theories are good starting points…

Concepts to keep in mind
• …however there are many examples where these theories cannot explain food choices and subsistence strategies
• So, think about both of these approaches through the course

Eating Christmas in the Kalahari
• Richard Lee’s fieldwork with the San in
Southern Africa
• Led to the ‘Man the Hunter’ monograph and concept
• Also, the idea of the ‘affluent hunter-gatherer’