Imported Table Wares in the Palestinian Countryside in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries and Their Integration into (and Influence on?) Local Dining Habits

Authors

  • Itamar Taxel Israel Antiquities Authority

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.25921

Keywords:

Palestine, late Ottoman and British Mandate periods, pottery, imported table wares, dining habits

Abstract

Archaeological fieldwork in Israel has testified to the presence of a variety of imported glazed table wares of the 19th and first half of the 20th century—notably from the northeast Mediterranean, Europe and the Far East—in numerous locations, including in rural sites of various ranks. The influx of import of these ceramics to the southern Levant and their widespread use reflect the intensifying commercial activity in the eastern Mediterranean and the gradual processes of globalization and quasi-Westernization or modernization among certain local populations. This article examines the extent of use of imported table wares among 19th to early 20th-century Palestinian Arab rural societies, the modes of use of these vessels in food consumption contexts, and consequently the power of foreign (culinary) objects to modify local (dining) traditions. These aspects are investigated by using archaeological materials, historical photographs and some written testimonies. This review shows, on the one hand, that imported table wares were integrated into local kitchens and functioned alongside locally-produced vessels. On the other hand, although many of these imports—specifically the European ones—were originally designated for individual eating, it is shown here that their influence on local, well-rooted traditions of communal dining was minor, especially among the great majority of the countryside population.

Author Biography

  • Itamar Taxel, Israel Antiquities Authority

    Itamar Taxel received his Ph.D. in archaeology from the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern cultures in Tel Aviv University in 2011. Currently he is the head of the Pottery Specializations Branch in the IAA Archaeological Research Department. He directed and co-director a number of excavations and surveys on behalf of Tel Aviv University, the IAA and the INPA, and authored and co-authored four books and many articles and chapters on the archaeology of Early Roman to Late Islamic Palestine.

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Published

2024-03-07

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How to Cite

Taxel, I. (2024). Imported Table Wares in the Palestinian Countryside in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries and Their Integration into (and Influence on?) Local Dining Habits. Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 10(2), 195-223. https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.25921