Food and Gender in Fiji: Ethnoarchaeological Explorations

Sharyn Jones

doi:10.5771/9780739134825

Summary

Food and Gender in Fiji is an ethnoarchaeological investigation of the social relations surrounding foodways on the island of Nayau in Fiji. Writing from the perspective of an archaeologist, Jones answers questions raised by her archaeological research using original ethnographic data and material culture associated women and fishing, the intersection that forms the basis of the subsistence economy on Nayau. She focuses on food procurement on the reef, domestic activities surrounding foodways, and household spatial patterns to explore the meaning of food amongst the Lau Group of Fiji beyond the obvious nutritional and ecological spheres. Jones presents her findings alongside original archaeological data, demonstrating that it is possible to illuminate contemporary food-related social issues through historical homology and comparison with the lifeways of the Lauan people. Offering a comprehensive and rigorous example of ethnoarchaeology at work, this book has major implications for archaeological interpretations of foodways, gender, identity, and social organization in the Pacific Islands and beyond.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2009
Copyright Year: 2009
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7391-3480-1
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7391-3482-5
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 206
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. Preface No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
Chapter 1. Fieldwork: Motivations, Plans, and Realities No access Pages 1 - 15
Chapter 2. The Environmental and Social Landscape: The Lau Islands, Fiji No access Pages 16 - 44
Chapter 3. Foodways and Social Relations in the Past and Present No access Pages 45 - 101
Chapter 4. Food Consumption Patterns and Refuse Disposal No access Pages 102 - 115
Chapter 5. Lauan Fishing No access Pages 116 - 136
Chapter 6. Food in the Lau Islands and Its Implications for Ethnoarchaeology and Archaeology No access Pages 137 - 150
Appendix A: Archaeological Methods No access Pages 151 - 154
Appendix B: Structured Ethnographic Interviews Conducted on Nayau, October and November 2003 No access Pages 155 - 190
Bibliography No access Pages 191 - 200
Index No access Pages 201 - 204
About the Author No access Pages 205 - 206