{"id":2803,"date":"2012-10-17T01:16:21","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T06:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gastronomyatbu.com\/?p=2803"},"modified":"2018-03-28T17:53:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T21:53:08","slug":"spooniness-mary-beaudry-serves-up-spoons-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/2012\/10\/17\/spooniness-mary-beaudry-serves-up-spoons-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Spooniness: Mary Beaudry Serves Up Spoon’s History"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Lucia Austria<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Mary Beaudry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Forged metal, seven inches, thin and slender, teardrop shaped bowl.
\nWood, round bowl, letters \u201cKP\u201d carved into the handle.
\nSterling Silver, embossed flowers, bowl with diamond shaped perforations.<\/p>\n

Each of the three objects described above are as unique as the purposes they serve, yet all three are known by one name–spoon. On September 24th<\/sup>, department of Archaeology chair at BU, Mary Beaudry, presented the evolution and myriad uses and designs of the spoon in a lecture called, \u201cThere’s a Spoon for That! The Lives and Times of a Ubiquitous Utensil.\u201d Beaudry\u2019s lecture kicked off this academic year\u2019s P\u00e9pin Lecture Series<\/a><\/em>\u00a0hosted by Metropolitan College\u2019s office of Lifelong Learning.<\/p>\n

What started as a graduate school assignment at Brown University, Mary Beaudry shared her vast knowledge and fondness of the seemingly quotidian spoon. Some of the oldest, spoon-like tools date back to the Paleolithic period made of animal tusk and bone. Since then, spoons have evolved into highly customized eating utensils, with spoons made for infinite uses like steeping tea, eating olives, or drinking absinthe.<\/p>\n

Beyond the breadth of functions a spoon serves, Beaudry discussed its cultural representation as a personal artifact. Since medieval Europe, it was customary to engrave initials in one’s own spoon. Personal spoons were rarely shared with others and used throughout life. The gifting of \u201capostle spoons\u201d to newly christened babies was a common Christian tradition during the English Tudor period. Mini representations of Jesus\u2019 twelve apostles adorned the handles of these silver spoons. From this design, you can infer that each use of an apostle spoon reminded its owner that it is God that nourishes and sustains the human body. This integration of religious beliefs and utility within the design of a spoon supports an archaeological value of analyzing the mundane: achieving a broader understanding of the cultural ideals of past societies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Wooden spoon found on board the 16th century carrack Mary Rose. Photo credit the Mary Rose Trust.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, Beaudry took a brief, semiotic analysis of the word \u201cspoon.\u201d From the Anglo-Saxon word spon<\/i>meaning \u201csliver\u00a0of wood,\u201d the term signifies a number of different ideas today. Beaudry investigated the idea of \u201cspooniness,\u201d that which has spoon-like qualities. To be \u201cspoony\u201d is to act silly or foolishly. A person who \u201cspoons\u201d for another openly shows their love and affection. And of course, the act of \u201cspooning\u201d involves close, full-body contact, similar to two spoons nestled neatly together.<\/p>\n

Mary Beaudry\u2019s analysis of the ubiquitous spoon was an opportunity to engage in a fun, light-hearted discussion about culture and technology. Her research was not just about the spoon, but also of the individuals who used them, for a culture\u2019s beliefs and ideals manifest in the objects they create.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Dr. Mary Beaudry’s research here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Lucia Austria Forged metal, seven inches, thin and slender, teardrop shaped bowl. Wood, round bowl, letters \u201cKP\u201d carved into the handle. Sterling Silver, embossed flowers, bowl with diamond shaped perforations. Each of the three objects described above are as unique as the purposes they serve, yet all three are known by one name–spoon. On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14625,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14625"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8419,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2803\/revisions\/8419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}