Eating Identity: an Exploration of Fijian Foodways in the Archaeological Past

I argue that group identity may be used to address fundamental anthropological concepts that are critical for understanding Pacific Island peoples and their cultures from a long-term perspective. Specifically, I explore foodways as a locus of archaeological material culture through the theoretical lens of materiality. I examine archaeological and ethnographic data that illuminate foodways in the Fiji Islands. The archaeological information derives from four islands and a variety of coastal sites across the Fiji archipelago. I illustrate that in both the past and present food, zooarchaeological remains, and associated material culture may be used to understand social changes and identity as expressed in eating behaviors and patterns in archaeological fauna. By using materiality and a broad comparative frame of reference archaeologists may better understand what it means to be Fijian.