Beyond affluence: the zooarchaeology of luxury

Ervynck, Anton; Neer, Wim Van; Hüster-Plogmann, Heide; Schibler, Jörg

doi:10.1080/0043824021000026431

Cited by 77 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This material will be analysed in detail in the coming years at Ghent University. Because the site is a noble estate, we expect that the faunal remains from this assemblage will reflect a rich and luxurious diet with desirable taxa such as pigs and wild game, a large number of young animals and possible high-status elements like pig skulls (De Jong 1992;Ervynck et al 1994;Ervynck et al 2003;Van der Veen 2003;Ervynck et al 2006).…”

Section: The Hof Van Leugenhaeghe (Fourteenth-fifteenth Century)mentioning

confidence: 98%

A noble diet at the Hof van Leugenhaeghe (Steendorp, Belgium): pig skulls as a fourteenth–fifteenth century delicacy?

Aluwé

Starkovich

Vaerenbergh

2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The animal remains found at the fourteenth–fifteenth century Hof van Leugenhaeghe are crucial to reconstruct the life of the noble inhabitants, as all buildings were destroyed with the construction of a later estate on the property called the Blauwhof. The diet confirms the high social status of this nobility with the suspected consumption of pig skulls, a possible sign of wealth in late-medieval Flanders. Other signs of a noble diet are found as well: juvenile cattle, a diverse spectrum of game, partridge and grey heron. The observed pattern of a wealthy diet is consistent with the zooarchaeological assemblages found at other noble sites in late-medieval Flanders

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Section: The Hof Van Leugenhaeghe (Fourteenth-fifteenth Century)mentioning

confidence: 98%

A noble diet at the Hof van Leugenhaeghe (Steendorp, Belgium): pig skulls as a fourteenth–fifteenth century delicacy?

Aluwé

Starkovich

Vaerenbergh

2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…Taphonomically, it may be difficult to identify luxury foods because the flesh had no hard tissue remains (e.g., filets, cartilaginous fishes, organ meats, gonads, various invertebrates). Or the immature skeletal elements of animals consumed when very young (i.e., prior to prime meat age) may be fragile and not preserve well (Ervynck et al 2003). In other cases a large quantity of food can be transformed into luxury fare through elaborate and time-consuming preparation, whereby serving large volumes of foodstuffs to many functions to create inclusiveness (Leach 2003).…”

Section: Zooarchaeological Correlates Of Statusmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…For some, quality is emphasized over quantity-luxury in a diet surpasses the use of food to satisfy physiological needs, imagined needs, and perceptions of affluence (Ervynck et al 2003). Using European faunal assemblages from Roman to postmedieval periods, Ervynck et al (2003) propose that dietary luxury was achieved by acquiring rare animals or ones traded over long distances. As they note, luxury is contextually difficult to identify, requiring local comparative zooarchaeology from multiple sites.…”

Section: Zooarchaeological Correlates Of Statusmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The concept of luxury is relative and undergoes considerable change through time in relation to political shifts, commodity availability, and perceived or real ''cost'' (Ervynck et al 2003;Pohl 1994;Thomas 2007). Luxury is that which is desired by many but obtained by few (Van der Veen 2003, p. 407).…”

Section: Zooarchaeological Correlates Of Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have sought to identify opulence in the Maya region, Pacific Islands, the northern Andes, and medieval Britain (e.g., Emery 2003; Kirch and O'Day 2003;Stahl 2003;Thomas 2007). Zooarchaeology has the potential to identify extravagant foods, particularly in diachronic assemblages where we might be able to document the transition of an animal from a rare entity to one accessible to many (Ervynck et al 2003).…”

Section: Zooarchaeological Correlates Of Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Zooarchaeology in Complex Societies: Political Economy, Status, and Ideology

deFrance

2009

J Archaeol Res

154

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The zooarchaeology of complex societies provides insights into the interrelated social and economic relationships that people and animals created. I present a synthesis of zooarchaeological research published since the early 1990s that addresses political economy, status distinctions, and the ideological and ritual roles of animals in complex cultures. I address current approaches and applications as well as theoretical shifts in zooarchaeological practice. Research indicates there is great variability across space and time in how past peoples used animals to generate economic surplus, to establish status differentiation within societies, and to create symbolic meaning through sacrifices, offerings, and in feasts. The study of human/animal interactions in complex societies can contribute to fundamental questions of broad relevance regarding political and social life.

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Stable isotope evidence for sex‐ and status‐based variations in diet and life history at medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy

Reitsema

Vercellotti

2012

American J Phys Anthropol

110

111

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The medieval period in Europe was a time of unprecedented social complexity that affected human diet. The diets of certain subgroups-for example, children, women, and the poor-are chronically underrepresented in historical sources from the medieval period. To better understand diet and the distribution of foods during the medieval period, we investigated stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of 30 individuals from Trino Vercellese, Northern Italy (8th-13th c.). Specifically, we examined diet differences between subgroups (males and females, and high- and low-status individuals), and diet change throughout the life course among these groups by comparing dentine and bone collagen. Our results show a diet based on terrestrial resources with input from C(4) plants, which could include proso and/or foxtail millet. Diets of low-status males differ from those of females (both status groups) and of high-status males. These differences develop in adulthood. Childhood diets are similar among the subgroups, but sex- and status-based differences appear in adulthood. We discuss the possibility of cultural buffering and dietary selectivity of females and high-status individuals.

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Beyond affluence: the zooarchaeology of luxury

Cited by 77 publications

References 5 publications

A noble diet at the Hof van Leugenhaeghe (Steendorp, Belgium): pig skulls as a fourteenth–fifteenth century delicacy?

A noble diet at the Hof van Leugenhaeghe (Steendorp, Belgium): pig skulls as a fourteenth–fifteenth century delicacy?

Zooarchaeology in Complex Societies: Political Economy, Status, and Ideology

Stable isotope evidence for sex‐ and status‐based variations in diet and life history at medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy

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