This paper focuses on the recovery of archaeological starch grains from building interiors at pre-Columbian Maya sites in southern Mexico. In an effort to render analytical protocols more effective, ...it examines the performance of chemical residue tests as prospective tools, proposes a customized extraction procedure for lime-plaster floors, and compares the efficacy of two mounting techniques. While the alleged predictive power of proxies like phosphate and carbohydrate tests could not be confirmed, the customized plaster processing protocol not only simplifies the extraction process but also results in the recovery of dense assemblages of individual starches as well as grain clusters. However, despite increases in protocol efficacy, architectural context and building history continue to be factors of utmost importance for microbotanical analyses.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A particular type of miniature ceramic vessel locally known as "veneneras" is occasionally found during archaeological excavations in the Maya Area. To date, only one study of a collection of such ...containers successfully identified organic residues through coupled chromatography-mass spectrometry methods. That study identified traces of nicotine likely associated with tobacco. Here we present a more complete picture by analyzing a suite of possible complementary ingredients in tobacco mixtures across a collection of 14 miniature vessels. The collection includes four different vessel forms and allows for the comparison of specimens which had previously formed part of museum exhibitions with recently excavated, untreated containers. Archaeological samples were compared with fresh as well as cured reference materials from two different species of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica). In addition, we sampled six more plants which are linked to mind-altering practices through Mesoamerican ethnohistoric or ethnographic records. Analyses were conducted using UPLC-MS metabolomics-based analytical techniques, which significantly expand the possible detection of chemical compounds compared to previous biomarker-focused studies. Results include the detection of more than 9000 residual chemical features. We trace, for the first time, the presence of Mexican marigold (Tagetes lucida) in presumptive polydrug mixtures.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Biocultural heritage preservation relies on ethnobotanical knowledge and the paleoethnobotanical data used in (re)constructing histories of human–biota interactions. Biocultural heritage, defined as ...the knowledge and practices of Indigenous and local peoples and their biological relatives, is often guarded information, meant for specific audiences and withheld from other social circles. As such, these forms of heritage and knowledge must also be included in the ongoing data sovereignty discussions and movement. In this paper we share the process and design decisions behind creating an online database for ethnobotanical knowledge and associated paleoethnobotanical data, using a content management system designed to foreground Indigenous and local perspectives. Our main purpose is to suggest that the Mukurtu content management system, originally designed for physical items of cultural importance, be considered as a potential tool for digitizing and ethically circulating biocultural heritage, including paleoethnobotanical resources. With this database, we aim to create access to biocultural heritage and paleoethnobotanical considerations for a variety of audiences while also respecting the protected and sensitive natures of Indigenous and local knowledges.
In the Mexican state of Yucatán, the Industrial Revolution is intimately linked to the cultivation and commercialization of henequen (Agave fourcroydes). The second half of the nineteenth and the ...first decade of the twentieth century are most often referred to as the region’s Gilded Age. Some local families accrued immense wealth, while many peasants were essentially enslaved. The city of Mérida saw the construction of magnificent mansions, and the new port of Progreso was connected through thousands of kilometers of railroads. At the same time, the rural landscape experienced the foundation of countless new and the expansion of existing haciendas. In this article, we provide a comparison of the relational memory of local communities regarding three of these historical settlements: San Pedro Cholul, San Antonio Nohuayún, and San Antonio Sihó. We present the circumstances leading to the historical archaeology project at San Pedro and recount our efforts at involving its descendant community. In the face of the recent destruction of San Pedro’s core buildings, we end with a discussion about the potential fates of Yucatan’s henequen haciendas and a series of suggestions on how to safeguard related material remains, while allowing stakeholders to benefit from historic preservation.
We examine how beekeeping and the production of honey and wax on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula was transformed in the wake of the sixteenth-century Spanish invasion and industrial revolution. Honey and ...wax produced from stingless bees (
Melipona beecheii
) were key commodities circulated throughout the prehispanic, colonial, and postcolonial periods. European honeybees (
Apis mellifera
) were introduced by the late nineteenth century, as demand for honey and wax transformed ecologies, technology, vegetative communities, and beekeeping practices. We compare archaeological, paleoethnobotanical, and soil chemical evidence of an apiary, likely for
Apis mellifera
, with documentary evidence for mixed species beekeeping at Hacienda San Pedro Cholul, a henequen plantation situated on the outskirts of Mérida.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Today, food security and food adequacy are problems at a global scale. On the Yucatan Peninsula, Maya farming communities do not produce enough maize to sustain themselves and the major cities in the ...area. However, during the pre-Columbian Classic period (250-850 AD) a considerable number of urban centers housed tens of thousands of inhabitants with overall population numbers likely surpassing present-day levels. A lasting debate has centered around the role of maize and its cultivation as the foundation of ancient Maya civilization. Theoretical models focus on intensification and extensification of agricultural practices, but crop diversity and sustainable use of alternative staples are seldom discussed. This situation is complicated by the fact that direct botanical evidence for ancient Maya farming and/or diet remains scarce. However, microbotanical proxies such as starch grains offer a means to retrieve key data about plant food use by past societies. This is particularly true for a study area with precarious taphonomic circumstances like the Yucatan Peninsula, where the preservation of organic remains is hindered by its neotropical climate and alkaline soils. In response, this study employs chemical residue analyses of lime-plaster floors in the detection of food-related activity areas to guide sampling for microbotanical analyses. Collections were recovered from residences at pre-Columbian cities like Chichen Itza, Oxkintok, and Calakmul, thereby covering three different physiographic districts and time periods. In a single scenario, micro and macrobotanical assemblages were contrasted. The results shed new light on the contribution of maize as well as several alternative staple crops to ancient Maya diet. The primary datasets demonstrate the coexistence of at least five different staples: maize, beans, sweet potato, manioc, and arrowroot. Further statistical analyses allow for the observation of context-dependent and diachronic variation. Strategies for publicizing the newly gained insights beyond the academic sphere to achieve a broader societal impact are also discussed. Suggested target audiences include the descendant communities of Maya farmers, elementary-school children, and social media consumers. Clearly, the potential of this type of archaeological research to contribute to contemporary debates on sustainability, food security, and food adecuacy is significant.
The structure of power underlying the hegemonic control Chichen Itza held over the Northern Maya Lowlands has been debated for decades. In this article, we present the idea of a dominant discourse on ...masculinities, which played a fundamental role in both practice and on a symbolic level among the strategies designed to support this emblematic pre-Columbian capital. Our discussion of archaeological evidence will focus on spaces where men are represented, where they would meet and carry out rituals. We contend that gallery-patios such as Structure 2D6 served as instruction and socialization locales for groups of warriors. The architectural configuration of this building is very similar to a series of venues at Chichen Itza and other Mesoamerican cities. In these spaces, associated iconography depicts male individuals in processions and ritual practice, including sacrifice and self-sacrifice. We argue that the gallery of Structure 2D6 was a semi-public, performative space, whose theatricality combined the central alignment of a sacrificial stone and a throne or altar with the presence of several patolli boards carved into the building's plaster floor. Chemical analyses of plastered surfaces testify to intense activities taking place around all three of these features.
The health of humans is intricately linked to the substances we ingest—both food and nondietary items. Adverse health outcomes related to smoking of such products as tobacco and other psychoactive ...substances are clearly established in modern populations but are less well understood for ancient communities. Grasping these dynamics is further complicated by the curative, religious, and medicinal context of many of these substances, which have often been commodified, refined, and altered in recent history. As part of a larger collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe dedicated to understanding medicinal plant use among Native Californians, this article summarizes new metabolomic data from three Middle- and Late-Period ancestral heritage Ohlone sites: Thámien Rúmmeytak (CA-SCL-128), ’Ayttakiš ’Éete Hiramwiš Trépam-tak (CA-ALA-677/H), and Síi Túupentak (CA-ALA-565/H). The authors used an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry platform to analyze chemical residues from 95 human dental calculus samples from 50 burials. Using multivariate statistics, they coanalyzed demographic and skeletal pathology data with chemical residue profiles and considered skeletal markers for a series of oral and postcranial health conditions. Results indicate sex and age biases in consumption patterns. Periodontitis stands out as the most significant local factor for changes in the oral metabolome. However, while chemical markers of oral diseases may be related to pathogen activity, associations between residues and postcranial conditions such as osteoarthritis suggest traditional curative practices and the ingestion of medicinal substances. Hence, this study yields new insights into the broader context of illness and healing in the past.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
For the ancient Maya, food was both sustenance and a tool for building a complex society. This collection, the first to focus exclusively on the social uses of food in Classic Maya culture, deploys a ...variety of theoretical approaches to examine the meaning of food beyond diet—ritual offerings and restrictions, medicinal preparations, and the role of nostalgia around food, among other topics. For instance, how did Maya feasts build community while also reinforcing social hierarchy? What psychoactive substances were the elite Maya drinking in their caves, and why? Which dogs were good for eating, and which breeds became companions? Why did even some non-elite Maya enjoy cacao, but rarely meat? Why was meat more available for urban Maya than for those closer to hunting grounds on the fringes of cities? How did the molcajete become a vital tool and symbol in Maya gastronomy?These chapters, written by some of the leading scholars in the field, showcase a variety of approaches and present new evidence from faunal remains, hieroglyphic texts, chemical analyses, and art. Thoughtful and revealing, Her Cup for Sweet Cacao unlocks a more comprehensive understanding of how food was instrumental to the development of ancient Maya culture.
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