¿CARNE, DROGAS O ALCOHOL? CALDEROS Y BANQUETES EN EL BRONCE FINAL DE LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA

Abstract

This paper provides an assessment of the Atlantic Late Bronze Age riveted cauldrons from the Iberian Peninsula, as the starting point for an analysis of the role of feasting in the societies of this period. Though the Iberian material is fragmentary, special attention is paid to new information about the chronology, technology and contexts of these metal vessels. There is no clear evidence for Irish-British influence on the earliest Iberian cauldrons and their archaeological contexts are also different, since the latter often occur in settlements and, to a lesser degree, caves. However, despite these differences, cauldrons —and other prestige items, such as flesh-hooks and rotary spits— show a shared symbolic code in the Atlantic area, emphasizing the role of feasting and meat consumption in creating and negotiating social inequalities.