Italian immigrants used to be accused of clinging too tightly to the Old World. Today, millions gather in Little Italy to celebrate the food, faith and traditions they brought with them.
Articles on Feasts
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Guilt and discomfort around food can be especially challenging during the holidays. But trusting your body and remembering the social value of sharing meals can help you enjoy yourself.
Humans have feasted since the dawn of agriculture – but a new find suggests the practice of bringing exotic food to a communal gathering is even older.
Whether it was spent feasting or plotting escapes, the week between Christmas and the new year offered a rare opportunity for enslaved men, women and children to reclaim their humanity.
Athletes and spectators were lured to Olympia by a longing for contact with their compatriots and their gods.
How did civilization emerge from small groups of hunter-gatherers? Some archaeologists focus on cooperation as the vital ingredient – and find evidence for it in the form of feast-related artifacts.
Ritual feasting emerged around the time humans were beginning to farm. It came to play an important role in societal bonding, much as it does today.
Top contributors
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Exec. Director, Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment; Professor of Anthropology, University of South Florida
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Professor, University of Connecticut
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Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Professor of History, Howard University
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Lecturer in Archaeological Science, Australian National University
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Visiting Instructor in Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health, Miami University
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PhD Candidate in Medieval History, University of Oxford