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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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FOOD AND GENDER IN FIJI Ethnoarchaeological Explorations SHARYN JONES Food and Gender in Fiji Food and Gender in Fiji Ethnoarchaeological Explorations Sharyn Jones LEXINGTON BOOKS A division of ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK Published by Lexington Books A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 http://www.lexingtonbooks.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright © 2009 by Lexington Books All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jones, Sharyn, 1974– Food and gender in Fiji : ethnoarchaeological explorations / Sharyn Jones. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7391-3480-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7391-3482-5 (electronic) 1. Food habits—Fiji—Lau Province. 2. Food consumption—Fiji—Lau Province. 3. Women—Fiji—Lau Province—Social conditions. 4. Sex role—Fiji—Lau Province. 5. Ethnoarchaeology—Fiji—Lau Province. 6. Plant remains (Archaeology)—Fiji—Lau Province. 7. Fish remains (Archaeology)—Fiji—Lau Province. 8. Lau Province (Fiji)—Antiquities. 9. Lau Province (Fiji)—Social life and customs. I. Title. GT2853.F3J66 2009 394.1'2099611—dc22 2009017860 ⬁™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments xv 1 Fieldwork: Motivations, Plans, and Realities 1 2 The Environmental and Social Landscape: The Lau Islands, Fiji 16 3 Foodways and Social Relations in the Past and Present 45 4 Food Consumption Patterns and Refuse Disposal 102 5 Lauan Fishing 116 6 Food in the Lau Islands and Its Implications for Ethnoarchaeology and Archaeology 137 Appendix A: Archaeological Methods 151 Appendix B: Structured Ethnographic Interviews Conducted on Nayau, October and November 2003 155 Bibliography 191 Index 201 About the Author 205 <