Experimental Archaeology as Participant Observation: A Perspective from Medieval Food

Abstract

Central to anthropology is the concept of participant observation, where a researcher engages in immersive learning through ethnographic fieldwork. This concept is also important for archaeologists as immersive learning provides an avenue for more robust interpretation and the development of better research questions. Participant observation is not directly possible in the study of medieval archaeology, but replication studies of food culture can serve as one avenue toward immersive learning in archaeology. Replication studies of medieval food, notably the use of medieval cookbooks and replicated medieval vessels, offer insights into medieval life and everyday practice. This paper will discuss two specific examples: replicating a medieval beverage from a fourteenth century cookbook and replicating possible foods cooked in pots from a fifteenth-century tavern in Nuremberg.

Keywords

• cookery
• experimental archaeology
• ceramics
• late middle ages
• usa