Classic Maya Food Systems and the Sociality of Diet in the Usumacinta Region

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The ancient Maya utilized a range of landscape modifications for agricultural production, including terraces and raised fields. These agricultural strategies were tied into food systems that also included taxation and tribute, all significant components of a political economy that may have reflected autonomy, exploitation, or both. Using a paleoethnobotanical approach, here I investigate evidence of agricultural production in the Usumacinta region. I also focus on social aspects of food practices, and the ways in which such practices may have been altered as smaller sites became subject to the rule of Piedras Negras. This results in a contribution to current understandings of Classic Maya agricultural production and food systems. I frame my research relative to contemporary and historical data on farming, diet, and food plants, including present-day discussions of food sovereignty.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25613