Feasting in the past was usually a much more time consuming affair than just our “Thanksgiving Day.”
In Roman times the Celtic people were known to the Romans for what archaeologists call “competitive feasting.” Wanna-be leaders had to outdo other competitors and it takes a lot of food and gifts if your competitor is skilled in acquisition.
It happened in North America too where giant earth ovens were found that were used to cook large quantities of food at once. In the northwest there were potlaches in historic times that were huge events, with food, gifts and captured slaves given away.
The practice in many cases is how some individuals in society gained prestige- by providing copious amounts of food and gifts to people they wanted to impress by their generosity. They did it abundantly to prove what good providers or useful allies they could be- who would follow a stingy clan leader?
In the ancient past the aspiring leader had to give things away with no strings attached and may even give everything away to win hearts and minds- but it paid off in the long run. The difference between then and now is that aspiring leaders had to give their own stuff away, not someone else’ as politicians do today, so the person most likely to become a leader would be an excellent hunter or trader, in other words, he would have real merit and not just a lying press.
Here’s a paper on competitive feasting:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318348427_The_Origins_of_Entrepreneurship_and_the_Market_Process_An_Archaeological_Assessment_of_Competitive_Feasting_Trade_and_Social_Cooperation
Very good info. I think a lot of people know noting about this. Virtually all of the indigenous peoples - when the Europeans arrived in the New World - were doing this.
But what we have forgotten is that even as late as the 16th century, this was done in Europe. The Spanish court was the first one to become settled and tied to a place, but before that, all courts moved around, staying not only at one of their own palaces or royal monasteries, but with unfortunate local counts or other petty nobility - who were expected to put on a massive feast for the entire countryside that would virtually bankrupt the hosts.
But that was actually part of the strategy.