Dig In! The Historical Archaeology of Gendered Foodways in Sulphur, Nevada, 1909-1959

Abstract

This dissertation explores the gendered foodways--the actions, materials, and thoughts that affect and reflect people's ingestion of food--of 20th-century residents of Sulphur, a former mining and railroad town in northwest Nevada. Archaeologists have long recognized the critical role that food plays in shaping social identity and that gender is an important force affecting foodways, but few researchers analyze these topics together. Building on anthropological foodways research and archaeological gender work, I develop a model to investigate the spatial, temporal, and behavioral gendered components of the five steps in the foodways process: production, distribution, preparation, consumption, and disposal. Archaeological survey, excavation, spatial analysis, historical research, and oral history inform interpretations of Sulphur's foodways, revealing the complex nature of gender's influences.