New archaeological insights into food and status: a case study from pre-contact Hawaii

Abstract

Social differentiation and hierarchy were more highly developed in protohistoric Hawaii than in any other Polynesian culture. In this paper we draw upon both ethnohistoric and archaeological evidence in order to examine the correlations between social status and consumption of ‘luxury’ foods. We examine the concept of ‘luxury food’ from an indigenous, emic perspective, finding that in protohistoric Hawaii the concept most closely correlates to fatty or greasy flesh foods, which were prized both by elites and for ceremonial use (ritual presentation). The zooarchaeological record of four household clusters in Kahikinui, Maui, is then examined in order to test and refine predictions from the ethnohistoric record. While our data confirm differential access to and consumption of prestige flesh foods by elite households, the archaeological data also add new insights. In particular, a pattern of consumption of the indigenous Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) by commoner households is a finding not indicated ethnographically.

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