Examining the Bread-Basket Model: Puuc Intra and Inter-Site Diversity in Plant Foods

Summary

The Puuc mountains in the northwestern Maya lowlands have proven themselves to be double-faced in regard to pre-Columbian human settlement. On one side, the valleys exhibit the region's most fertile soils. On the other hand, rainfall is scarce and access to the underground water table is comparatively difficult. Nonetheless, authors such as Smyth (1991) have long suggested that the Puuc represented some of the bread-basket for the wider northwestern lowlands. As part of a broader study, in this paper I will present microbotanical data gathered from food consumption areas corresponding to different buildings located at the sites of Kabah, Sayil, and Oxkintok. Starch grain analyses are particularly helpful when evaluating the dietary contributions of carbohydrate-rich staple foods. Among the pre-Columbian Maya this list includes, of course, maize and beans. However, in the past different tubers as well as tree crops have been proposed as supplementary staples or famine foods.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20269