Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 76, núm. 2, A160424, 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2024v76n2a160424

Cocina e identidad de un grupo doméstico de estrato intermedio en Sihó, Yucatán. Análisis químicos semicuantitativos y extracción de gránulos de almidón en cerámica y obsidiana

Cooking and identity of a domestic group of a middle-status household at Sihó, Yucatán. Semiquantitative chemical analyses and extraction of yeast granules from ceramics and obsidian

María J. Novelo Pérez¹, Lilia Fernández Souza¹, E. Moisés Herrera Parra²

¹ Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, km 1 Carretera Mérida-Tizimín, Cholul, Yucatán, México.

² Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de Brown, 128 Hope Street, Providence, RI, Estados Unidos de Norteamérica.

* Autor para correspondencia: (M.J. Novelo Pérez) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cómo citar este artículo:

Novelo Pérez, M.J., Fernández Souza, L., Herrera Parra, E.M., 2024, Cocina e identidad de un grupo doméstico de estrato intermedio en Sihó, Yucatán. Análisis químicos semicuantitativos y extracción de gránulos de almidón en cerámica y obsidiana: Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 76 (2), A160424. http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2024v76n2a160424

Manuscrito recibido: 27 de Octubre de 2023; manuscrito corregido: 10 de Marzo de 2024; manuscrito aceptado: 15 de Abril de 2024.

ABSTRACT

Foodways and cooking are intimately linked to daily life and to the identity of societies. In this article, we explore the culinary practices of a middle-status household of the Pre-Columbian Maya site of Sihó, Yucatán. We applied spot test chemical analyses on pottery fragments and analyzed starch grains from pottery and obsidian prismatic blades recovered from a kitchen context within domestic group 5D72. The main results are the identification of starch granules of cacao (Theobroma cacao), sweet potato (Ipomea batatas), chili (Capsicum sp.) and corn (Zea mays) in jars, bowls, and vessels, some of them with damage from culinary processes such as grinding and cooking. Based on above, we looked at the evidence to propose the possibility of certain prepared, served, and consumed dishes at this domestic group, to analyze the household’s access to food goods and to compare it with the same topics in elite houses such as the Central Group, seat of the ruler elite, and Group 5D16, which housed secondary elite. In this way, we discussed some identity aspects of Group 5D72 and its relations to other households of Sihó.

Keywords: mayan households, Sihó, cooking, spot test, starch grains.