Identifying Nixtamalization at Formative Period Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Advances in Macrobotanical and Microbotanical Archaeobotany" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Tres Zapotes, the largest epi-Olmec site in southern Veracruz, Mexico, has an occupation history spanning 2,000 years from the Early Formative (1500 BCE) to the Classic (300 CE) periods and saw the emergence of political complexity, agricultural economies, and monumental construction in the region (Pool and Loughlin 2017; Pool et al. 2010). Previous macrobotanical analysis at the site shows a statistically significant increase in maize use over time (Peres et al. 2010), but no microbotanical studies have been performed to provide a complimentary view of maize use. Previous comparative analysis in the region (VanDerwarker and Kruger 2012) has suggested that intensity of maize use in the Early (1500–1000 BCE) and Middle (1000–400 BCE) Formative periods may be correlated to proximity to political power rather than ecological suitability, suggesting that Tres Zapotes is an ideal site at which to evaluate the impact of emerging staple maize foodways, such as nixtamalization. Nixtamalization, a cooking process that enhances maize's nutritional value, may have been key to the success of early polities increasingly reliant on maize agriculture. This research is the first attempt to identify the presence and ubiquity of maize nixtamalization over time at Tres Zapotes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Advances in Macrobotanical and Microbotanical Archaeobotany

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51105