Who Ordered the Shellfish? A Social and Dietary Examination of Mollusk Consumption in Highland Chiapas, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Mollusks are one of the oldest known dietary staples in Chiapas, Mexico, with direct evidence for consumption as early as 9000 BCE, and continuing to the present day. The freshwater gastropod known as Jute or Shuti (Pachychilus sp.) is one of the most widely-consumed species, while a variety of marine species were widely exchanged as currency, ornaments, and sacred objects. This paper will examine the dietary uses and social accessibility of Jute and other mollusk species at the highland Chiapas sites of Moxviquil and Tenam Puente. Both of these sites were occupied during the Classic and Early Postclassic periods (ca. 500-1100 CE), on defensible hilltops lacking easy access to major rivers. Tenam Puente’s role as important administrative center with a large central marketplace may have facilitated the importation of substantial quantities of jute, as well a diversity of marine shell species. The systematic removal of the apex from most jute specimens at both sites suggests their preparation for dietary consumption. Our paper will also consider the degree of accessibility of imported mollusk species across households of varying wealth and status at Tenam Puente and Moxviquil. Culinary preparation techniques will be considered with reference to modern-day practices in Chiapas.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52293