Lexington Books Food and Gender in Fiji: Ethnoarchaeological Explorations

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. Review This book is an engaging and informative piece of work. Jones accomplishes what many of us would like to do: live and work within a close-knit community to gain greater insight into traditional behaviors and then examine how this information can be extrapolated and compared to the archaeological record. This ethnoarchaeological approach to understanding Fijian lifeways, particularly as it relates to subsistence strategies, will be a useful resource for anthropologists and archaeologists alike--not just in the Pacific--but elsewhere in contexts where researchers are looking for novel ways to integrate human-environmental interactions across a diachronic spectrum.--Scott M. Fitzpatrick, NC State University, Co-Editor, Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology About the Author Sharyn Jones is assistant professor in anthropology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.