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Mycenaean feasting on Tsoungiza at Ancient Nemea

Hesperia, Spring, 2004 by Mary K. Dabney, Paul Halstead, Patrick Thomas

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CONCLUSIONS

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How are we to understand the social significance of these archaeological remains? The character of the pottery and faunal remains suggests that most of the refuse was deposited shortly after use in a single event or a series of similar specialized events. The predominance of plain vessels used for serving food and drink combined with faunal remains from carcass-processing and the presence of religious display items indicates that this event was a feast. (34) The quantity of cattle consumed suggests that there were many participants in the feast, while the consumption of large animals such as adult cattle may indicate that much of the meat (and perhaps drink) for the feast was provided by a single sponsor or, at most, a very restricted number of sponsors. (35) Thus, there are grounds for interpreting the feast(s) at Ancient Nemea in terms of conspicuous generosity by the high-ranking sponsor(s), rather than collectively organized commensality. The large quantity of meat consumed, the small size of the settlement, and the "missing" parts of the cattle also highlight the possibility of a regional feast, involving participants from a number of different settlements. At regional feasts, the elite guests typically take away large portions of food to redistribute in their own villages. (36) The presence of the female figure and other distinctive figurines suggests that this feast was associated with a religious activity. The disposal of the figure along with the remains of feasting may point to a different ceremonial role for this figure than for later figures found in cult centers elsewhere.

The ceremonial feasting deposit described above provides information about the relationship of Ancient Nemea to external social and economic systems. This deposit marks a turning point in the settlement's history, coinciding with the beginning of a period of extensive growth. The person or people who provided the resources for this ceremonial feast created an obligation of reciprocity in those who partook of the feast. The provider(s) not only provided the food and drink but also the containers in which the food and drink were served. This required also acquiring and transporting the vessels from the point of production. Kim Shelton has suggested that the Petsas House at Mycenae, which contained a figure and pottery similar to the material in the Tsoungiza deposit, was a warehouse from which such ceramics were distributed. (37) The feast may have been conducted in such a way that the containers as well as their contents were removed from circulation in the community by their disposal. The disposal of the feasting vessels prevented the participants from reciprocating in kind. The provider(s) would thereby have created a situation entailing reciprocity in other spheres such as consolidation of obligations as trading partners or political allegiance. (38)

By inviting people to partake of the feast, the provider was able to bring affiliated people in the region into a closer social relationship. In studying the use of feasts to mobilize collective labor, Michael Dietler and Ingrid Herbich found that feasts act as a means of converting the raw materials of the feast, agrarian wealth, into social and economic prestige. (39) Providing a feast is a powerful means of expanding political power, one not lost on modern-day politicians and lobbyists. To this one must add the provider's control over a potentially even more significant aspect of social relations, the symbolic belief system as represented by the female figure. The provider's act of introducing and then disposing of the female figure heightens the meaning of the event represented by this deposit. In the context of relations between Ancient Nemea and the closest larger center, Mycenae, the feasting deposit at Tsoungiza might be evidence of the forging of closer social and economic relations that contributed to the growth of the relative importance of both sites within the region during the Mycenaean era.

Mycenaean feasting on Tsoungiza at Ancient Nemea

Hesperia, Spring, 2004 by Mary K. Dabney, Paul Halstead, Patrick Thomas

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