The social context of eating and drinking at native settlements in early Roman Britain
Observation of the presence and absence of Roman-style goods and structures has guided much of the analysis of imperialism in Roman Britain and other parts of the Empire. Wealth and power have been assumed to correlate with the extent to which a group's material culture and lifestyle appeared 'Romanized'. The concept of 'Romanization' has become the primary measurement of change in the lives of the people who were conquered: and where there was only slight evidence of Romanization, there is an assumption that the lives of people were little changed and continued much as they did before the conquest. Many of the signifiers used to describe 'Romanization' are tied to the consumption of food and drink. Eating and drinking, however, is much more than the observance of particular ingredients and containers - it is also the consideration of how and where one eats and drinks, and with whom and why. Rarely is the totality of food and drink consumption in Roman Britain considered. This study challenges the inventories of 'Roman' and 'native' material culture, so as to incorporate different types of settlements and the experiences of people of different socio- economic backgrounds into discussions of Roman Britain.
Meadows, Karen Ingrid
The social context of eating and drinking at native settlements in early Roman Britain. Observation of the presence and absence of Roman-style goods and structures has guided much of the analysis of imperialism in Roman Britain and other parts of the Empire. Wealth and power have been assumed to correlate with the extent to which a group's material culture and lifestyle appeared 'Romanized'. The concept of 'Romanization' has become the primary measurement of change in the lives of the people who were conquered: and where there was only slight evidence of Romanization, there is an assumption that the lives of people were little changed and continued much as they did before the conquest. Many of the signifiers used to describe 'Romanization' are tied to the consumption of food and drink. Eating and drinking, however, is much more than the observance of particular ingredients and containers - it is also the consideration of how and where one eats and drinks, and with whom and why. Rarely is the totality of food and drink consumption in Roman Britain considered. This study challenges the inventories of 'Roman' and 'native' material culture, so as to incorporate different types of settlements and the experiences of people of different socio- economic backgrounds into discussions of Roman Britain.
social_context eat drink native settlement early roman_britain observation presence_absence roman style good structure guided much analysis imperialism roman_britain part_empire wealth_power assume correlate extent group material_culture lifestyle appear concept romanization become primary measurement change live people conquer slight evidence romanization assumption life people little change continue much conquest many signifier use_describe romanization tie consumption food drink eating drinking however much observance particular ingredient container also consideration drink why rarely totality food drink consumption roman_britain consider study challenge inventory roman native material_culture incorporate different_type settlement experience people_different socio economic_background discussion roman_britain