Meanings
- pluralplural onlyanthropologyThings (especially luxurious or sumptuous possessions) that a person owns.
Archaeologists are good at identifying chiefly societies in several orthodox ways. The primary ways highlight material patterns which indicate ranking and differential access to resources (e.g., variability in sumptuaries, better diet, elite tombs, central places, monuments, etc.).
2013, George F. Lau, “Familiar Others: Kin, Collectivity and Authority”, in Ancient Alterity in the Andes: A Recognition of Others, Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →OCLC, page 60
Origin
From sumptuary (adjective) + -ies (variant of -es (suffix forming the regular plurals of nouns)).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
sumptuaries. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sumptuaries
“sumptuaries.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sumptuaries. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sumptuaries,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sumptuaries.
Source: sumptuaries on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.