The Menial Art of Cooking: Archaeological Studies of Cooking and Food Preparation

Acknowledgments

xiii This project took a great deal of time and effort to complete. It began as an idea that Enrique had for a conference panel. We discussed it at length and then organized the session, “Archaeological Studies of Cooking and Food Preparation,” at the Society for American Archaeology conference in 2005. The panel was very successful, and many who attended asked us to consider turning it into an edited volume. At the time, I was still a graduate student and did not realize how difficult it would be to bring all the papers together into a publication. Some of the original panelists, who had excellent papers, declined to participate in the publication for a variety of reasons. Others who originally did agree to contribute a chapter pulled out as the process dragged on. These changes created a predicament, delaying the process even further. Finally we reinvigorated the project by inviting new contributors, and thus the manuscript bloomed into an edited volume. I would like to acknowledge Christine Hastorf, Nerissa Russell, Louise Martin, and Gil Stein, who participated in the original SAA session, for their patience. I would also like to thank all the contributors to this book for their willingness and diligence throughout the publication process. Acknowledgments xiv Acknowledgments While working on this book, I completed my dissertation and spent four years as an assistant professor in the Social Sciences Division and Harper Fellow at the University of Chicago. I also became a mom. A lot my time was spent teaching and taking care of my little one. However, I was fortunate to receive fellowships that gave me the time and support necessary to complete this work. I had an American Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) during 2010–2011 and was given a Postdoctoral Research Associate position in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago for the fellowship year. Kathy Morrison provided significant support throughout my research and the production of this book. She always found time to lend an ear, read a draft, or give advice. Rudy Dornemann has also been extremely supportive of my work in more ways than one and has helped me tremendously. Many of my colleagues in the Society of Fellows were also very helpful in a variety of ways, including Karin Zitzewitz, who introduced me to Brad Chase, Richard Westerman, Naomi Beck, Nancy Luxon, Desirae Matherly, and all the fellows who taught in “Power.” Krista Lewis always found time to discuss ideas, read drafts, and share cooking tips. My coeditor, Enrique, needs to be acknowledged not only for seeing this project through to completion but also for helping me so much along the way. We spent countless hours on the phone discussing this book and our contributions, and sent each other an equal number (if not more) of e-mails. This book would never have been published if it weren’t for his commitment to the project, his belief in me, and his friendship throughout the years. I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers who provided substantial comments on each chapter and on the book as a whole. I would also like to thank Darrin A. Pratt, Director of the University Press of Colorado, and Jessica d’Arbonne, Assistant Editor at the University Press of Colorado, for their unfailing support in seeing this book from rough manuscript to final publication. Finally, I would like to thank friends and family, who, during the course of writing and editing, had to put up with me. I am especially grateful to my dearest daughter, who luckily likes my cooking. Sarah R. Graff I would like to acknowledge, first of all, Kathy Morrison for years of support, encouragement, and engagement. Her advice helped improve this project immensely, and her contributions are many, beyond providing the concluding remarks for the volume. Elizabeth Brumfiel also provided valuable advice during the development of this project, and her work on cooking among Aztec women was one of the inspirations for this volume. I also thank her for taking me to Xaltocan and for years of fun in the field. It was during those summers spent in xv Acknowledgments Xaltocan that I started talking to our local friends about cooking and developed some of the ideas for this volume and for my own chapter. I thank the people of Xaltocan for welcoming us every summer, for their interest in our fieldwork, and for providing great...