Mayan food

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Contents 1 Mayan Animals and Foods 2 Mayan Interaction with Animals 3 Daily Diets of Mayans 4 References

[edit] Mayan Animals and Foods

[edit] Mayan Interaction with Animals

In contrast to the highly domesticated animal populations that could be found in ancient Europe, the Mayans in Central America had only a few domesticated creatures, and of these none were used as draught animals. The lack of beasts of burden was partly due to the terrain of the region, and partly due to the exotic, and more difficult to train species. However, due to the proximity of many of these animals, and the unavoidable interaction between the species, the Mayans adapted their way of life to incorporate many of the creatures.

The only known domesticated animals in the time of the Classic Maya were the dog, turkey and deer. It has also been noted that in the Post-Classic era, Maya domesticated doves and Muscovy duck. Dogs were thought to have accompanied the pre-historic peoples who crossed the Bering Land Bridge thousands of years before Mayan civilization sprung up. Dogs were often kept as pets or put to work as hunting dogs. In large packs dogs could round up deer and peccary (wild pig), while the hunters flung spears at the animals. Turkey and deer were harder to domesticate. Some accounts describe how the Maya would scatter maize around the outskirts of villages to keep these animals close enough for consumption.

The Mayan menu varied depending on the region of the empire a tribe occupied. Coastal groups learned how to harvest “spiny lobsters, shrimp, conch, and other shellfish from the Caribbean,” (Foster, pp. 312) while tribes inhabiting other marsh- and wetlands would net and kill crocodiles and manatees. Farther inland Maya would use blowguns and spears to kill small fowl, like quail and partridge, and also the Spider Monkeys that inhabited many of the region’s trees. Also, the Maya were big fans of trapping. They would set spiked pit traps along well-worn animal trails in hopes of catching a deer or peccary. Shells and bones have also been found that indicate the Mayan people would barbecue turtles and iguanas, and it is also known that these animal’s eggs were considered a delicacy.

Contrary to some misconceptions, the Mayans followed a vegetarian diet for the majority of their meals. Animals were not killed at an alarming rate, and the majority of creatures living alongside Maya were left untouched. However, the people of Mesoamerica did appreciate the aesthetic beauty of many animals, and even kept some as pets. Parrots and coati, which look like more friendly raccoons, were sometimes caught and kept around houses with the promise of free food as a reward. Other animals were caught and killed to use their feathers and furs for upper-class wardrobes. Jaguars, quetzals and Scarlet Macaws were all used in religious costumes, as well as for rulers’ clothes.

Millions of Mayans lived among the wild creatures of Central America, not always in peace and harmony, but not usually with hostility. Mayans displayed the importance of animals in their lives when they would pray to animal deities or dress in furs of jaguars. Aside from providing a healthy diet and warm clothes, many animals kept Mayans company in their daily lives, adding a sentimental element to the interaction between the diverse species of animals, humans included, in Mesoamerica.

[edit] Daily Diets of Mayans

It has become common knowledge that maize, the corn-like produce commonly found in Latin America, was the staple crop of Mayan society. However, in order to obtain the necessary nutrition for survival, Mayans had to incorporate other fruits, vegetables and meats into their diet. With three meals a day, the first two commonly liquid and the last a solid, the ancient Mesoamericans managed a healthy diet.

For breakfast and lunch Mayans would regularly eat a mush of maize and water, sometimes flavored with chocolate, honey, chili peppers or herbs. This gruel, known as atole, was easily transportable for individuals working in the fields and away from home, and also is said to have combated dehydration. The third meal of the day was usually more substantial, either a stew, or more regularly a tamale. Tamales consisted of maize dough mixed with ground chili sauce and black beans, wrapped inside of either a maize husk or an avocado leaf. In special instances strips of venison or poultry, and also iguana and turtle eggs, were added to these tamales.

The Mayans’ diet was a simple one, made up of mostly fruits and vegetables. It is believed that many Mayans kept small gardens by their houses where they cultivated squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, avocado, tomato, papaya, guava, and possibly cacao trees. When they cooked they usually used a three-stone hearth or sometimes simply an open fire. Any alterations to the diet were considered significant, as Munro S. Edmonson noted, “...the inclusion of meat (game or turkey), the preparation of the chocolate-based chile gravy, baked squash or special tamales made it a festival; addition of chocolate or tobacco made it an occasion; and addition of beer, [or] wine... converted it into a ceremony,” (Edmonson, pp. 192).

As aforementioned, the inclusion of meat was an occasion, but when the Mayans did eat meat they had a substantial selection. Venison, shellfish and fish (mostly salted and considered a delicacy inland), and poultry (usually turkey, small fowl, and later duck) were all considered treats. In addition, Mayans would trap, kill and cook some dog, armadillo, iguana, turtle and crocodile. Meat was often skewered and possibly rubbed with herbs before being cooked over an open flame. It has also been noted that Mayans would scatter maize near villages in order to keep turkey and deer close, and in some cases they would pen these animals in and fatten them before eating them.

In addition to cacao beans, Mayans used herbs and spices like oregano and allspice, and also vanilla and honey to add flavor to food. Honey is the only known sweetener in the Mayan diet. Sometimes they would add this natural sweetener to their fermented drinks. Those alcoholic beverages numbered in the dozens, but two commonly consumed drinks were the “Balché, made from the fermented bark of the tree of the same name and mixed with water and honey, and Chicha made of fermented maize and tasting much like beer,” (Foster, pp.313).

With this diet the Mayan people survived for centuries. Their downfall was perhaps due to the over-consumption of some of the foods mentioned here. However, during the height of Mayan opulence, the people of the empire consumed a very impressive array of fruits, vegetables and meats that rival the diet of almost any other great civilization.

[edit] References

Foster, Lynn V. Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. Facts on File, Inc. New York, NY. 2002.

Anderson, E.N.; Tzuc, Felix Medina. Animals and the Maya in Southeast Mexico. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ. 2005.

Sharer, Robert J. The Ancient Maya. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. 1994.

Houston, Stephen; Stuart, David; Taube, Karl. The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience Among the Classic Maya. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX. 2006.

Edmonson, Munro S. “Play: Games, Gossip, and Humor.” Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 6: Social Anthropology. University of Texas Press, London. 1967.