Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface ix
4. 1. Introduction 1
5. 2. Potluck: Building Community and Feasting among the Middle Preclassic Maya 25
6. 3. A Toast to the Earth: The Social Role of Beverages in Pre-Hispanic Maya Cave Ritual at Pacbitun, Belize 47
7. 4. The Epigraphy of Ancient Maya Food and Drink 87
8. 5. Plant Foodstuffs of the Ancient Maya: Agents and Matter, Medium and Message 124
9. 6. Food, Friend, or Offering: Exploring the Role of Maya Dogs in the Zooarchaeological Record 161
10. 7. Celebrating Sihó: The Role of Food and Foodways in the Construction of Social Identities 188
11. 8. Cuisine and Feasting in the Copán and Lower Ulúa Valleys in Honduras 219
12. 9. Talking Feasts: Classic Maya Commensal Politics at La Corona 243
13. 10. Thinking (and Eating) Chichén Itzá: New Food Technology and Creating the Itzá State at Xuenkal 274
14. 11. Faunal Foods as Indices of Commoner Wealth (or Poverty) in Rural versus Urban Houselots of the Terminal Classic and Postclassic in Northwest Yucatán 297
15. 12. Human-Deity Relationships Conveyed through Balche’ Rituals and Resource Procurement 334
16. 13. Conclusion: In Maya Food Studies, Who Is Maya? What Is Food? 366
17. Index 380