Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet

Christine White is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Western Ontario.

Table of Contents:Acknowledgments Introduction: Ancient Maya Diet ~ Christine D. White PART I: Botanical and Faunal Analyses 1. Plant Resources of the Ancient Maya: The Paleoethnobotanical Evidence ~ David L. Lentz 2. Classification of Useful Plants by the Northern PetEn Maya (Itzaj) ~ Scott Atran 3. Continuity and Variability in Postclassic and Colonial Animal Use at Lamanai and Tipu, Belize ~ Kitty F. Embry 4. Social and Ecological Aspects of Preclassic Maya Meat Consumption at Colha, Belize ~ Leslie C. Shaw PART II: Paleopathology 5. Coming Up Short: Stature and Nutrition among the Ancient Maya of the Southern Lowlands ~ Marie Elaine Danforth 6. Land Use, Diet,and Their Effects on the Biology of the Prehistoric Maya of Northern Ambergris Cay, Belize ~ David M. Glassman and James F. Garber 7. Dietary Change of the Lowland Maya Site of Kichpanha, Belize ~ Ann L. Magennis 8. Caries and Antemortem Tooth Loss at CopAn: Implications for Commoner Diet ~ Stephen L. Whittington 9. Late Classic Nutrition and Skeletal Indicators at CopAn, Hondoras ~ Rebecca Storey PART III: Bone Chemistry 10. Cuisine from Hun-Nal-Ye ~ David Millard Reed 11. The Elements of Maya Diets: Alkaline Earth Baselines and Paleodietary Reconstruction in the PasiOn Region ~ Lori E. Wright 12. Dietary Carbonate Analysis of Bone and Enamel for Two Sites in Belize ~ Shannon Coyston, Christine D. White, and Henry P. Schwarcz Glossary Contributors Index

"An exemplar of multidisciplinary research.... This volume shows how much can be gleaned through a holistic approach to dietary reconstruction."-International Journal of Osteoarchaeology "White argues that this volume is a starting point for additional investigations on food behavior and food as a metaphor for culture. It is, indeed, an impressive beginning."-Journal of Anthropological Research "The chapters in this edited volume are very valuable contributions to studies of ancient Maya nutrition."-Latin American Antiquity "White has the strong editorial vision it takes to make a volume like this cohere and sum to a whole greater than its parts.... This is a fine example of the value of exploring multiple lines of evidence that should be of interest to anyone who appreciates a multidimensional approach to archaeological problem solving."-American Journal of Human Biology