Breaking the Mould: Edibility and Materiality in Enlightenment England

Paper given at Chacmool 2007, Calgary, Canada, 10-12th November 2007.
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Abstract:
Archaeologists are increasingly realising the potential of data derived from food and dining to consider the material realisation of social and cultural tension. In the period c.1700-1800 A.D., the influence of the Enlightenment permeated society as much through everyday objects as through philosophical tracts, debates and literature. Moving beyond the models of James Deetz, this paper will examine English dining in the eighteenth century to demonstrate how concepts of edibility changed as Enlightenment discourse was negotiated through active involvement with the material culture of eating. Food is, by its very nature, ephemeral, and its form and structure can alter more quickly than almost any other type of material culture. However, preparation and serving vessels as well as recipe and etiquette books can throw light on the materiality of changing social structures and gender roles with the rise of Rationality.