Abstract
Merit Hondelink studies archaeological waste contexts (cesspits) for the presence of archaeobotanical residue. These plant parts, such as seeds and fruits provide a complementary insight into the urban food supply, food preparation and consumption. For her research, she studies Early Modern Delft cesspits. An important aspect of her thesis, however, is the crossing of these results with historical data on household consumption. Better than solely income and wealth inequality, consumer inequality provides an insight into the consequences (but also to a certain extent causes) of social inequality. For her research in Antwerp she will work with institutional household accounts that provide insights into consumption patterns, living standards and real social inequality. Concrete examples of available bills are those of the Old Men's House and the Bagijnhof, as well as documents from the Monastery of the Clarissen order and the Monastery of St. Ursula. Archaeological reports are also available for these four institutions and therefore the accounts can be compared with the published archaeobotanical research. The accounts of the Old Women's House, the Girls' House and the Weeskamer (Orphan's House) can be used for an in-depth analysis in which these accounts are compared with the accounts of the Old Men's House. Thanks to the earlier work of Thera Wijsenbeek-Olthuis, we also have a unique database of inventories for Delft to enable a heuristic multi-dimensional consumption model to be obtained. The collection and interpretation of the data, as well as the writing of the article which will be included in the thesis, will be done under the supervision of Prof.dr. B. Blondé. Subsequently, if her stay is granted, a Bachelor 3-thesis class will be set up of which this research will be the center. This is a unique opportunity to give the History students a multidisciplinary practical experience.
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