Consumption Strategies and Social Implications in Two Danish Towns in the 13th-16th Centuries

THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS a new contextual model to study the social implications of consumption strategies in an archaeological context. The model can be used to establish a baseline of consumption, against which other consumption strategies can be measured. By analysing and comparing finds from two different urban locations in medieval Denmark, we examine how these urban environments facilitated different consumption strategies, and how these strategies changed over time. We also discuss how the archaeological record can contribute to analysing the negotiation of social identities through consumption patterns and consumer choices as reflected in artefact assemblages. The analysis demonstrates that consumption strategies depend on and are related to the characteristics and social complexity of the town in terms of demographics and networks.