Cooking in the Iberian Culture (Sixth–Second Century bc)

Private or Public?

Authors

  • Maria Carme Belarte Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC)
  • Pilar Camañes Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC)
  • Meritxell Monrós Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC)
  • Jordi Principal Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v29i2.32571

Keywords:

collective facilities, cooking features, domestic architecture, food processing, Iberian culture, Iberian Peninsula, social organisation

Abstract

In this article we analyse the structures and features related to food processing or preparation and their social and economic implications among the protohistoric communities of the Iberian culture during the Iron Age (sixth–second century bc). Different types of facilities are considered, including ovens, hearths, fireplaces and grinding areas, according to their specific location within the settlements (indoor or outdoor areas). We also look at the evidence from the artefacts involved in these processes and the contextualisation of their functional need within the urban structure/planning. The presence of collective facilities located outside the houses implies, on the one hand, an organised collaborative practice and management network and, on the other, the transfer of certain specific household activities to the public sphere. The organisation of management and use of those facilities would have affected various aspects of Iberian societies, such as the dynamics and routine of everyday life, not only through arranging and scheduling the availability of the facility, but also by operating as a mechanism of social interaction among both equals and persons of different statuses.

Author Biographies

  • Maria Carme Belarte, Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC)
    Maria Carme Belarte is an ICREA Research Professor based at the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC) in Tarragona, Catalonia. Her research interests include domestic architecture, social use of space and hierarchy in Catalonia and the south of France during the Iron Age, the study of funerary rituals in Iron Age Catalonia, and protohistoric societies in North Africa.
  • Pilar Camañes, Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC)
    Pilar Camañes holds a PhD in archaeology from the University Rovira i Virgili, and she is currently an associated researcher at the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC). Her research focuses on the analysis of spaces of consumption as well as the artefacts related to culinary and consumption activities among the Iron Age societies of the Iberian Peninsula.
  • Meritxell Monrós, Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC)
    Meritxell Monrós holds a PhD in archaeology from the University Rovira i Virgili, and she is currently an associated researcher at the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC). Her research focuses on the study of urbanism, and the spatial distribution and uses of public spaces in the eastern Iberian Iron Age, as well as the study of social hierarchy on the basis of architecture and urban planning.
  • Jordi Principal, Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya
    Jordi Principal is curator of the Classical collections at the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia (MAC) in Barcelona, Catalonia. His research interests include the study of trade and economy in the ancient Mediterranean during the Classical and Hellenistic periods, the Romanization of Iron Age communities in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula and the archaeology of the Roman Republican army.

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Published

2016-12-22

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 2 (2016)

Section

Articles

License

© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

For information regarding our Open Access policy, click here.

How to Cite

Belarte, M. C., Camañes, P., Monrós, M., & Principal, J. (2016). Cooking in the Iberian Culture (Sixth–Second Century bc): Private or Public?. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 29(2), 173-196. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v29i2.32571