Eating in the Side Room - (Cultural Heritage Studies) by Mark S Warner (Paperback)

About the Book

In Eating in the Side Room, Mark Warner uses the archaeological data of food remains recovered from excavations in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Chesapeake to show how African Americans established identity in the face of pervasive racism and marginalization.

Book Synopsis

An archaeological study of African American foodways in nineteenth-century Annapolis

In Eating in the Side Room, Mark Warner uses the archaeological data of food remains recovered from excavations in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Chesapeake to show how African Americans established identity in the face of pervasive racism and marginalization.

By studying the meat purchasing habits of two African American families--the Maynards and the Burgesses--Warner skillfully demonstrates that while African Americans were actively participating in a growing mass consumer society, their food choices subtly yet unequivocally separated them from white society. The "side rooms" where the two families ate their meals not only satisfied their hunger but also their need to maintain autonomy from an oppressive culture. As a result, Warner claims, the independence that African Americans practiced during this time helped prepare their children and grandchildren to overcome persistent challenges of white oppression.



Publication of the paperback edition made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Review Quotes

"A
timeless publication and significant contribution to the discipline. . . . Students
of African America will find Warner's book an illuminating study, and a strong
example to follow."--Historical Archaeology

"A
striking interdisciplinary analysis. . . . Underscores the value of
zooarchaeological analysis in informing our understanding of the past,
especially of people devalued and muted in our mainstream historical texts." --American
Anthropologist

"Rooted
in a meticulous study of the faunal remains excavated at an Annapolis,
Maryland, house, Mark S. Warner's book addresses sweeping questions about race,
resistance, and identity."--Journal of Southern History

"A
timely and welcome addition to the literature on African American identity
studies and to foodways more generally. . . . Mandatory reading for any courses
concerned with the archaeology and anthropology of African Americans."--Northeast
Historical Archaeology

"Demonstrates
the influence of mass consumer culture on African-American diets and

the
role played by food in establishing African-American identity and resistance to
racism and

oppression."
--Civil
War Book Review

"Raises critical, important questions concerning
African-American food consumption. . . . Eating in the Side Room asks
readers to . . . consider the ways African-American families have exhibited
agency even when alleviation of inequalities seemed nearly impossible." --FoodAnthropology

About the Author

Mark S. Warner is professor of anthropology at the University of Idaho and coeditor of Annapolis Pasts: Historical Archaeology in Annapolis, Maryland.