Pre-Columbian Foodways: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Food, Culture, and Markets in Ancient Mesoamerica

edited by John Edward Staller & Michael Carrasco (Springer, 694 pp., $189)

This collection of interdisciplinary essays is an unparalleled source for up-to-date research on the foodways of ancient Mesoamerica, including Day of the Dead and other forms of ancestor worship, from some of its brightest and most prolific students and proponents. While it’s true that its scholarly nature and prohibitive price don’t make it a likely candidate for everyone’s reading list, I found enough Austin connections in its pages to justify a heartfelt recommendation. Editor Michael Carrasco, an assistant professor of pre-Columbian art, architecture, and Maya epigraphy at Florida State University, has a doctorate in art history from UT-Austin and was a student of the late Linda Schele. His keen attention to detail shines as co-editor, and he compiled work from specialists in a wide range of fields to shed light on the latest research related to foodstuffs, feasting, and markets in Mesoamerica.

Texas is well-represented among the illustrious authors, including Southern Methodist University’s David Freid­el and Texas State’s F. Kent Reilly III, who discuss cosmology, food, and the origins of political power in ancient Southeast­ern Mesoamerica, and anthropologist and UT alum Allen Christen­sen on modern ritual feasting in the Maya highlands. Many regulars from the University of Texas Maya meetings are present, including Judith Strupp Green’s accessible and beautifully illustrated essay on cacao- and maize-based ceremonial beverages, Kerry Hull’s epigraphic analysis of classic Maya foodstuffs, and Alexandre Tokovinine et al.’s take on mixed drinks in classic Maya ceramic vessels. UT-Austin is further represented by Amber O’Connor, an anthropology graduate student who writes a reflection on gender and ideology in Maya foodways, and by professor Brian Stross, the mentor and friend who got me on the path of foodways and writing, who explores food practices and social order in Maya religion. There is much to learn in the pages of this book, and I look forward to many hours of enlightening reading.

This article appears in Rick Perry (Digital Edition).

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Mexico City native Claudia Alarcón has made Austin home since 1984. She worked her way through college in the local restaurant industry, graduating from the University of Texas in 1999. She has been a Chronicle contributor for 15 years and presents lectures and workshops on topics related to the foodways of Mexico, both locally and internationally.