Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet

TThe collapse of classic Maya civilization at the end of the eighth century AD is still an enigma, but the reason behind it is likely more than a clash of warring city-states. New research indicates that ecological degradation and nutritional deficiency may be as important to our understanding of Maya cultural processes as deciphering the rise and fall of kings. Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet integrates data from bone-chemistry research, paleopathology, paleobotany, zooarchaeology, and ethnobotany to show what the ancient Maya actually ate at various periods (as opposed to archaeological suppositions) and how diet affected the quality of their lives. Maya subsistence has been probed intensively for the last decade, but this is the first volume to unite work across the spectrum of Maya bioarchaeology.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction: Ancient Maya Diet ~ Christine D. White PART I: Botanical and Faunal Analyses 1. Plant Resources of the Ancient Maya: The Paleoethnobotanical Evidence ~ David L. Lentz 2. Classification of Useful Plants by the Northern PetÉn Maya (Itzaj) ~ Scott Atran 3. Continuity and Variability in Postclassic and Colonial Animal Use at Lamanai and Tipu, Belize ~ Kitty F. Embry 4. Social and Ecological Aspects of Preclassic Maya Meat Consumption at Colha, Belize ~ Leslie C. Shaw PART II: Paleopathology 5. Coming Up Short: Stature and Nutrition among the Ancient Maya of the Southern Lowlands ~ Marie Elaine Danforth 6. Land Use, Diet,and Their Effects on the Biology of the Prehistoric Maya of Northern Ambergris Cay, Belize ~ David M. Glassman and James F. Garber 7. Dietary Change of the Lowland Maya Site of Kichpanha, Belize ~ Ann L. Magennis 8. Caries and Antemortem Tooth Loss at CopÁn: Implications for Commoner Diet ~ Stephen L. Whittington 9. Late Classic Nutrition and Skeletal Indicators at CopÁn, Hondoras ~ Rebecca Storey PART III: Bone Chemistry 10. Cuisine from Hun-Nal-Ye ~ David Millard Reed 11. The Elements of Maya Diets: Alkaline Earth Baselines and Paleodietary Reconstruction in the PasiÓn Region ~ Lori E. Wright 12. Dietary Carbonate Analysis of Bone and Enamel for Two Sites in Belize ~ Shannon Coyston, Christine D. White, and Henry P. Schwarcz Glossary Contributors Index  

About the Author :
Christine White is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Western Ontario.

Review :
“An exemplar of multidisciplinary research.... This volume shows how much can be gleaned through a holistic approach to dietary reconstruction.”—International Journal of Osteoarchaeology   “White argues that this volume is a starting point for additional investigations on food behavior and food as a metaphor for culture. It is, indeed, an impressive beginning.”—Journal of Anthropological Research   “The chapters in this edited volume are very valuable contributions to studies of ancient Maya nutrition.”—Latin American Antiquity   “White has the strong editorial vision it takes to make a volume like this cohere and sum to a whole greater than its parts.... This is a fine example of the value of exploring multiple lines of evidence that should be of interest to anyone who appreciates a multidimensional approach to archaeological problem solving.”—American Journal of Human Biology