Papers by Maria J. Novelo-Pérez
La alimentación y la cocina se encuentran íntimamente ligadas a la vida cotidiana y a la identida... more La alimentación y la cocina se encuentran íntimamente ligadas a la vida cotidiana y a la identidad de las sociedades. En este artículo se explora las prácticas culinarias de un grupo doméstico de estrato intermedio en el asentamiento maya prehispánico de Sihó, Yucatán. Se llevó a cabo análisis químicos semicuantitativos de fragmentos cerámicos, así como la recuperación y análisis de gránulos de almidón en cerámica y en navajillas prismáticas de obsidiana de un contexto de cocina del conjunto habitacional 5D72. Entre los resultados destacan la identificación de gránulos de almidón de camote (Ipomea batatas), chile (Capsicum sp.), maíz (Zea mays) y probablemente cacao (c.f. Theobroma cacao), los cuales fueron extraídos de ollas, cuencos y vasos. Algunos gránulos de almidón presentaron daños por procesos culinarios como molienda y cocción. Con base a lo anterior se plantean los posibles alimentos preparados, servidos y consumidos en el conjunto residencial. Se analiza el acceso a bienes alimentarios del grupo doméstico y se comparan estos mismos tópicos en los conjuntos elitarios del asentamiento. De esta manera, se discuten algunos aspectos identitarios de los habitantes del conjunto 5D72 y su relación con otros grupos domésticos de Sihó.
Experiencias de salvaguardia del patrimonio cultural inmaterial : otros caminos. Tomo I, 2019
El capítulo es resultado de la ponencia presentada en el III Congreso Internacional Sobre Experi... more El capítulo es resultado de la ponencia presentada en el III Congreso Internacional Sobre Experiencias en la Salvaguardia del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial en Cuernavaca, México. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir como a través de la organización, desarrollo y trascendencia de los Gremios de Maxcanú es posible identificar cómo se reelaboran transforman y enriquecen las tradiciones como parte del Patrimonio Inmaterial. Así como, destacar como se transmite de generación a generación los procesos de organización y desarrollo de los gremios y la importancia de su celebración que da identidad y cohesión a la comunidad.
4o Simposio de Cultura Maya Ichkaantijoo, 2018
Comparative analyses of precolumbian and contemporary domestic vernacular architecture in the reg... more Comparative analyses of precolumbian and contemporary domestic vernacular architecture in the region of Halachó, Yucatán
STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research, 2019
This article explores culinary and consumption practices at Siho, a Classic Maya site located in ... more This article explores culinary and consumption practices at Siho, a Classic Maya site located in Yucatan, México, through the combination of pottery forms, semiquantitative chemical analyses and starch grains residues.
STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research, 2019
In archaeological research about feeding modes of past societies, different interests and methodo... more In archaeological research about feeding modes of past societies, different interests and methodologies have been developed. In their search for knowledge about Mayan foods and cooking methods, scholars such as Herrera Flores and Götz [2014]have paid attention to available resources, diet, and cuisine. Food is more than
food intake, as it also relates to other aspects like health, identity, gender roles, worldview, memory, and emotions. For the Classic Maya site of Sihó, Yucatan, our case study, the research is oriented towards the gastronomy of the elites. Through the study of chemical residues and identification of starch granules in ceramic fragments of five types of containers namely dishes, bowls, jars, vases, and basins. This study aimed at identifying related ingredients, preparation processes and service practices, suggesting particular ways of cooking and consumption patterns. The test results were compared and supplemented with zooarchaeological evidence, iconography, historical and ethnographic records.
Memorias del VI Simposio de Cultura Maya Ichkaantijo, 2018
La arquitectura vernácula es un vehículo de información a través del cual es posible conocer aspe... more La arquitectura vernácula es un vehículo de información a través del cual es posible conocer aspectos propios de una sociedad. La arquitectura de los mayas prehispánicos no ha sido la excepción, ya que tanto la arquitectura vernácula monumental como la arquitectura perecedera o semi-perecedera, han sido una importante fuente de información que proveen valiosos datos acerca de aspectos como la tecnología y las prácticas constructivas y de manifestaciones materiales de aspectos socioeconómicos de las sociedad maya. En esta ponencia presentamos y discutimos expresiones de la arquitectura vernácula del sitio de Sihó, Yucatán, durante el período Clásico, comparándola con técnicas y usos de espacio constructivo en la región, con una perspectiva diacrónica.
In contemporary archaeology, there exists an increasing interest about the role played by food in... more In contemporary archaeology, there exists an increasing interest about the role played by food in several aspects of both past and present human life. Food relates with subsistence and health as well as with politics, identity, gender roles, worldview, memory, sensoriality and emotions. Different groups of people eat and cook in particular ways. According to Hastorf (2017: 5) " Food traditions are repeated ingredient combinations of meals [and] Cuisines are styles of cooking and preparing food, their temporal and contextual placements ". Similarly, for Herrera and Götz (2014: 73), a cuisine is the result of the way in which materials (ingredients) are selected, prepared, distributed, served and consumed. In complex societies, food and foodways are ways to mark social and economic differences. Hastorf (2017) affirms that presentation of food may be a way to display power and ideological asymmetries, and may also be used to stress inequalities, exclusion and differentiated access to certain products. The purpose of this paper is to recover material evidence that suggests particular ways of cooking in two palace groups of Classic site of Sihó, Yucatan, looking for ingredients, preparation processes and service practices. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE Siho, Yucatan, is a Maya site whose main occupation occurred during Late and Terminal Classic Periods (550-900 A.D). Archaeological research performed at the site in the last two decades have shown a complex settlement, with a graded stratification which goes from the royal elites, who lived in central palace-type structures, to commoners who inhabited small perishable houses. METHODOLOGY CONCLUSIONS Comparing starch grain analyses and previous zooarchaeological results, we may conclude that the Siho elites consumed proteins both from terrestrial and aquatic meat and from vegetables such as different sorts of beans. Some ceramic forms designed to contain liquids, such as jars and tecomates, showed high levels of protein residues, which suggests the preparation of stews and broths. Presence of corn in vases and bowls is consistent with epigraphic, historic and ethnographic information about some beverages, nowadays generally named atoles, which actually were quite diverse and elaborated with several varieties of corn and other ingredients such as sweet potato, cocoa, chili, fruits, honey and many more. Finally, we may conclude that heterogeneity of pottery forms, residues and ingredient combinations, as well as the differences observed in cooking and serving containers are evidences of the complex, elaborate and elegant gastronomy practices of the ancient Maya elites, which open a marvelous and delicious path to Archaeometry research.
Los Investigadores de la cultura maya, 2013
La preparación y el consumo de alimentos constituyen algunas de las actividades cotidianas compar... more La preparación y el consumo de alimentos constituyen algunas de las actividades cotidianas compartidas más ubicuas entre los grupos domésticos. Los ingredientes, los implementos de cocina y las técnicas de elaboración y cocción de la comida, así como las maneras en la mesa, pueden ser una rica fuente de información sobre aspectos tales como el manejo del medio ambiente, las relaciones de género, etnicidad, agencia y performance, entre muchos otros.
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Papers by Maria J. Novelo-Pérez
food intake, as it also relates to other aspects like health, identity, gender roles, worldview, memory, and emotions. For the Classic Maya site of Sihó, Yucatan, our case study, the research is oriented towards the gastronomy of the elites. Through the study of chemical residues and identification of starch granules in ceramic fragments of five types of containers namely dishes, bowls, jars, vases, and basins. This study aimed at identifying related ingredients, preparation processes and service practices, suggesting particular ways of cooking and consumption patterns. The test results were compared and supplemented with zooarchaeological evidence, iconography, historical and ethnographic records.
food intake, as it also relates to other aspects like health, identity, gender roles, worldview, memory, and emotions. For the Classic Maya site of Sihó, Yucatan, our case study, the research is oriented towards the gastronomy of the elites. Through the study of chemical residues and identification of starch granules in ceramic fragments of five types of containers namely dishes, bowls, jars, vases, and basins. This study aimed at identifying related ingredients, preparation processes and service practices, suggesting particular ways of cooking and consumption patterns. The test results were compared and supplemented with zooarchaeological evidence, iconography, historical and ethnographic records.