Research Feasting on fore-limbs: conspicuous consumption and identity in later prehistoric Britain Richard Madgwick & Jacqui Mulville ∗ The discovery in Llanmaes, South Wales, of a large midden dating from the Early Iron Age provided an opportunity to deepen our understanding of feasting in late prehistoric Britain. But the dominance of right fore-limbs of pigs in the faunal assemblage has raised questions about the social processes represented by this activity. The evidence suggests a move away from conspicuous consumption by an Early Iron Age elite towards a more community-focused event designed to galvanise social relations at a time when the breakdown of bronze exchange networks was challenging the social order. Keywords: Llanmaes, South Wales, later prehistory, feasting, identity, faunal assemblage, isotope analysis, pigs Introduction The study of feasting from both an archaeological and anthropological perspective has evolved gradually over the past century, and the last two decades have seen an advance in the models used to explain these practices (Hayden & Villeneuve 2011). Feasting is recognised as critical in reaffirming notions of power and identity, and it has a central role in sustaining social systems and inter-community relationships (Dietler & Hayden 2001). Anthropological research has demonstrated common features in ceremonial food sharing, with prescribed behaviours relating to consumption, movement or action (Twiss 2008). Many systematised feasting practices cannot be reconstructed archaeologically and, consequently, the identification of feasting is often based on criteria such as large quantities of remains, low-level processing (such as no marrow extraction) and a dominance of meat- bearing elements (e.g. Mercer 1985; Kelly 2001; Twiss 2012). It is, therefore, rare that ∗ School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, John Percival Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK (Email: madgwickrd3@cardiff.ac.uk) C  Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2015 ANTIQUITY 89 345 (2015): 629–644 doi:10.15184/aqy.2015.24 629