Fine Dining and Social Position among the Classic period Maya and their Neighbors in Honduras

Summary

Drawing on the substantial body of information that has accumulated over decades of research on the kingdom of Copan and its southern and eastern neighbors, I address the question, What were the key components of Maya meals that turned dining into an important, flexible, and subtle way to embody status? This paper draws together information from a range of methods and bodies of data including ethnobotanical and archaeozoological studies, chemical analyses, research on human skeletal remains, visual imagery, text, artifacts, and architecture. No one approach can answer the question posed in this abstract but collating the many specific studies may provide a way to construct a more complete picture of the relationship between Maya cuisine (including such topics as what was served, how, and when) and social identity, including class and gender, as well as political authority.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• The Social Uses of Food in Ancient Maya Culture

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15405