The social role of food in the Natufian cemetery of Raqefet Cave,Mount Carmel,Israel

The archaeology of mortuary practices and related foodways in the Late Natufian (LN; ca. 14,000/13,500–11,700 BP) sheds light on the communal activities of the last hunter–gatherers in the Mediterranean Levant. We present a detailed analysis of the fauna from the LN cemetery of Raqefet Cave (Mount Carmel, Israel). Taphonomic evidence indicates that the animal bones are butchery and consumption leftovers. While the patterns of animal exploitation are reminiscent of Natufian habitation sites, the remains do not reflect the typical recurring post-discard damage resulting from continuous or repeating habitations in those sites. Hence the fauna is interpreted as the leftovers of punctuated, short-term events, rather than ‘ordinary’ Natufian household trash. Taking into account the special depositional context and site characteristics, we interpret the fauna as the intentionally-gathered and buried remains of simple funerary feasts. Elaborate mortuary behavior and symbolic role of food refuse were recently suggested at the contemporaneous cave of Hilazon Tachtit (Israel). The new data from Raqefet Cave probably reflect a somewhat different type of communal meals, adding to the diversity and complexity of pre-agricultural life-ways in the Levant.     

A Boarder,a Widow,and a Tenant Sit Down for Dinner: Foodway Comparisons in the Goose Hill Neighborhood,East St. Louis,Illinois

During the turn of the twentieth century, the Goose Hill neighborhood in East St. Louis, Illinois, was predominantly a working-class population largely employed at the National Stockyards and its related industries. Many people in Goose Hill lived in multifamily homes or rentals, though a few did own homes. In this study, foodways comparisons between inhabitants of a boardinghouse, a long-term stable household, and a high-turnover tenancy highlight differences and similarities between such divergent types of households. It also illustrates and provides a discussion of priorities and consumer preferences within each household. This case study presents one viable way in which such a methodological framework can be used to approach interpretation of turn-of-the-twentieth-century urban archaeological sites and assemblages. It also highlights the strengths and shortcomings of such a multi-evidentiary approach.     

Animal Use and the Urban Landscape in Colonial Charleston, South Carolina, USA

The quantity and variety of animals contributing to foodways and landscapes are often overlooked in studies of urban colonial experiences. In colonial Charleston, South Carolina (USA), wild and domestic animals contributed to a unique lowcountry cuisine. Some of these animals lived in the city where their activities shaped, and were shaped by, the urban landscape. Many aspects of the environment were designed to accommodate and restrict these animals. Excavations at two eighteenth-century sites provide more detailed views of the changing role of animals in the lowcountry foodways and landscape from 1720 into the 1800s.