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The Nature of Feasting at Feltus (and Beyond): A Response to Hayden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2020

Megan C. Kassabaum*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, American Section, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South St., Room 325, Philadelphia, PA19139, USA
*
([email protected], corresponding author)

Abstract

My recent article offered a model by which to better classify feasts by distinguishing between archaeological correlates of group size and sociopolitical competition. Applying this model to remains from a precontact mound site, I highlighted feasting's role in promoting group solidarity in the American South. Hayden's comment argues that my scheme does not accommodate certain types of events, and it questions my noncompetitive interpretation. I address both critiques here by citing further data from the Southeast, emphasizing the importance of interpreting feasts within their cultural and historical contexts, and highlighting Hayden's continued reliance on long-standing assumptions about feasting and monumental architecture.

Mi artículo reciente ofreció un modelo para mejorar la clasificación de festines al distinguir entre correlatos arqueológicos del tamaño de grupo y la competencia sociopolítica. Al aplicar este modelo a los restos de un sitio túmulo precontacto, recalqué el papel de festines en la promoción de la solidaridad grupal en el sur de los Estados Unidos. El comentario de Hayden argumenta que mi esquema no se adapta a ciertos tipos de eventos y cuestiona mi interpretación que falta de competición. Aquí, abordo ambas críticas citando mas datos del sudeste, enfatizo la importancia de interpretar los festines dentro de sus contextos culturales e históricos, y recalco la dependencia continua de Hayden en suposiciones de larga duración sobre festines y arquitectura monumental.

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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of by the Society for American Archaeology

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References

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