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Molecular Archaeological Investigationsof Olmec Feasting in Ceramics from SanAndrés , Tabasco, MexicoDaniel M. Seinfeld

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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

MOLECULAR ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF OLMEC FEASTING IN CERAMICS FROM SAN ANDRÉS , TABASCO,

MEXICO

By

DANIEL M. SEINFELD

A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology In partial fulfillment of the

Requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts

Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007

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The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Daniel Seinfeld defended on April 24, 2007.

________________________ Mary E. D. Pohl Professor Directing Thesis

________________________ Michael A. Uzendoski Committee Member

________________________ Yang Wang Committee Member Approved: __________________________________________ Dean Falk, Chair, Department of Anthropology The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the following people for the help they provided me

during the course of this research project: I owe a great deal of gratitude to my advisor

Dr. Mary Pohl for providing me the opportunity to work with the ceramics from San

Andrés and her advice and insight into archaeology. I must also thank Dr. Yang Wang

for teaching me about isotope analysis and allowing me to run my samples at her lab. I

am grateful to Dr. William Cooper for helping me with the GC-MS and ESI-TOF MS

analysis and allowing me to run my samples and providing me lab space and equipment.

I must also thank Dr. Umesh Goli and Matt Heerboth their patient assistance and insight

into the workings of analytical chemistry.

I thank Dr. Michael Uzendoski for his advice and assistance in brewing the beers

used as experimental samples in my analysis. I also thank his wife Edith Uzendoski for

making traditional manioc beer for my experiments (and enjoyment!) I am grateful for

Dr. Christopher von Nagy’s help with providing me information about the ceramics at

San Andrés. I also thank Dr. William Parkinson and the late Dr. Kathryn Josserand for

their guidance and teaching. I also acknowledge the help and support that my fellow

graduate students in the department of anthropology offered me. I would especially like

to thank Michelle Markovics, who collaborated with me on multiple presentations on

isotopic work on materials from San Andrés, and Hanneke Hoekman-Sites, who helped

me with figuring out various chemical analytical techniques.

I thank my parents, Martin and Susan Seinfeld, for their constant encouragement

and support. I thank them for instilling me with an interest in understanding the past. I

also thank Bridget McDonnell for dealing with me while writing my thesis and being

there for my ramblings about chemical analysis and Olmec beer.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................viii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 1

Thesis Format.............................................................................................................. 1 Contributions of this Thesis......................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER 2: SAN ANDRÉS GEOGRAPHICAL AND CULTURAL SETTING .......... 4

Geographic Setting...................................................................................................... 4 La Venta.................................................................................................................. 4

The Olmec .................................................................................................................. 4 Excavations at San Andrés .......................................................................................... 5

Chronology of Occupation....................................................................................... 6 Molina Phase (ca. 1350–1150 BC)....................................................................... 7 Late Puente Phase (ca. 800–700 BC) ................................................................... 8 Early Franco Phase (ca. 700–550/500 BC)........................................................... 8 Late Franco Phase (ca. 500– ................................................................................ 9 350 BC)............................................................................................................... 9

CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM ORIENTATION. 10

Introduction............................................................................................................... 10 Feasting Theory and Archaeology ............................................................................. 10

Feasting Defined ................................................................................................... 11 Elite-Feasting Foods and Beverages and Dietary Staples ........................................... 14

Feasting Beverages................................................................................................ 14 Feasting Beverages in Mesoamerica ...................................................................... 16

Ethnographic Evidence...................................................................................... 17 Ethnohistoric Evidence...................................................................................... 19

Prehistoric Evidence for Alcohol Use In Mesoamerica .......................................... 21 Types of Feasting Beverages ..................................................................................... 27

Beers and Wines.................................................................................................... 27 Cacao Drinks......................................................................................................... 28 Maize Gruels ......................................................................................................... 29

Feasting at San Andrés .............................................................................................. 29 Feasting Activities................................................................................................. 30 Olmec Foods ......................................................................................................... 30

Foods of the Formative Period Tuxtla Mountains............................................... 31 Foods at San Andrés and La Venta .................................................................... 32

Potential Feasting Beverages ................................................................................. 33

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Identifying the San Andrés Feasting Deposit ......................................................... 36 Excavation of Feasting Deposits at San Andrés ..................................................... 37

Materials in the San Andrés Feasting Midden .................................................... 39 Comparison with other Archaeological Feasting Middens.................................. 40

Summary................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 4: BULK STABLE CARBON ISOTOPE ANALYSIS ............................... 43

Background............................................................................................................... 43 Principles of Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis......................................................... 43 Previous Archaeological Work with Stable Carbon Isotopic Analysis of Ceramics 44

Methodology............................................................................................................. 48 Ceramic Categories ............................................................................................... 48

Luxury vs. Utilitarian wares............................................................................... 49 Modern Experimental Samples.............................................................................. 50 Sample Preparation and Analysis........................................................................... 51

Results ...................................................................................................................... 52 Discussion................................................................................................................. 58 Summary................................................................................................................... 60

CHAPTER 5: ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION –TIME OF FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY ....................................................................................................... 62

Introduction............................................................................................................... 62 Background............................................................................................................... 62 Methodology............................................................................................................. 63

Sample Preparation................................................................................................ 63 Experimental Samples ....................................................................................... 63 Archaeological Samples .................................................................................... 64 Extraction Procedure ......................................................................................... 65 Analytical Specifications for Initial Analysis ..................................................... 66

High Resolution Scan ............................................................................................ 66 Sample Preparation............................................................................................ 66 Analytical Specifications for High-Resolution Analysis..................................... 66

Results ...................................................................................................................... 67 Initial Analysis ...................................................................................................... 67

Experimental Samples ....................................................................................... 67 Archaeological Samples .................................................................................... 67

High-Resolution Scan............................................................................................ 70 Discussion................................................................................................................. 70

Cacao .................................................................................................................... 70 Other Possible Plants............................................................................................. 73 Methodological Implications ................................................................................. 74

CHAPTER 6: GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY ..................... 75

Introduction............................................................................................................... 75 Background: Principles of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ........................ 75 Methodology............................................................................................................. 75

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Samples................................................................................................................. 75 Preparation of Ceramic Samples............................................................................ 76 Preparation of Liquid Extracted Samples............................................................... 76

Results ...................................................................................................................... 77 Discussion................................................................................................................. 78

CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION ........................................................................................ 79

Introduction............................................................................................................... 79 Review of Results ..................................................................................................... 79

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis........................................................................ 79 ESI-TOF MS......................................................................................................... 79 GC-MS.................................................................................................................. 80 Overview of results ............................................................................................... 80

Interpretations of Results........................................................................................... 80 Theoretical perspectives on feasting and early complex societies........................... 80

A Model for feasting foods and beverages at San Andrés .......................................... 81 The role of feasting and foods and beverages at San Andrés .................................. 81 Maize beers ........................................................................................................... 81 Maize Gruels ......................................................................................................... 81 Cacao .................................................................................................................... 82 Alcoholic Beverages at San Andrés ....................................................................... 83 Alcohol Use and the Formation of Elite Identities Among the La Venta Area Olmec.............................................................................................................................. 85 Feasting and Architectural Elaboration at La Venta ............................................... 86 Maize, Cacao and Mesoamerican Identity.............................................................. 87

Summary................................................................................................................... 87 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION ...................................................................................... 88 APPENDIX A: CATALOGUE OF ANCIENT SAMPLES ........................................... 90 APPENDIX B: PRINTOUTS FROM ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION-TIME OF FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY (ESI-TOF MS)..................................................... 93

Initial Scans .............................................................................................................. 94 High Resolution Scans ............................................................................................ 108

APPENDIX C: PRINTOUTS FROM GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY ..................................................................................................... 117 APPENDIX D: PHOTOS OF VESSELS..................................................................... 149 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 155 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH....................................................................................... 165

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LIST OF TABLES Table 3-1: Potential feasting beverages and types of analysis…………………………...36 Table 3-2: Expected material remains from a feasting context………………………….37 Table 3-3: Radiocarbon dates from BGS clay level samples……………………………39 Table 4-1: Average %C4 signature plant carbon by ceramic category…………………..57 Table 5-1: ESI-TOF MS sample roster…………………………………………………..65 Table 7-1: Overview of results…………………………………………………………..83

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2-1: Overview map of excavation units at San Andrés……………………….....6 Figure 3-1: A group of Classic period Maya nobles drinking and dancing……………..23 Figure 3-2: The Lacandon pak used for serving balché……………………………...….24 Figure 3-3: Drinking and enema bags……………………………………………………24 Figure 3-4: Classic period Maya depiction of Waterlily Jaguar…………………………25 Figure 3-5: Classic period Maya birdman drinking scene……………………………….26 Figure 3-6: Classic period Maya birdman drinking scene……………………………….26 Figure 3-7: Classic period Maya drinking scene with men and women…………………27 Figure 3-8: Stratigraphy of San Andrés………………………………………………….38 Figure 3-9: Stratigraphy of Unit 8……………………………………………………….38 Figure 4-1: δ13C by sample……………………………………………………………..53

Figure 4-2: Estimated% C4 signature plant carbon by sample…………………………..54 Figure 4-3: Average δ13C by ceramic category………………………………………...55

Figure 4-4: Average estimated %C4 signature plant carbon by ceramic category………56 Figure 5-1: Vessel 10 (Cacao 13) initial scan……………………………………………68 Figure 5-2: Vessel 10 (Cacao 13) initial scan closeup of area of interest………………..68 Figure 5-3: Vessel 28 (Cacao 15) initial scan……………………………………………69 Figure 5-4: Vessel 28 (Cacao 15) initial scan, closeup of area of interest……………….69

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ABSTRACT

Molecular analysis of absorbed organic residues from Middle Formative period

feasting ceramics from the Olmec site of San Andrés in Tabasco, Mexico, demonstrates

the use of traditional Mesoamerican special feasting foods and beverages as display of

elite status. Three types of molecular analysis were used, including bulk stable carbon

isotope analysis to look for maize, electrospray ionization-time of flight mass

spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS) to look for cacao, and gas chromatography-mass

spectrometry (GC-MS) to look for other organic materials. These use of bulk stable

carbon isotope analysis and ESI-TOF MS analyses in this context represent new

applications of these technologies to archaeological materials. Results suggest that maize

was used more significantly as a feasting beverage, such as a beer, than as an everyday

dietary staple. Other results pointed to possible evidence of the inclusion of cacao as a

feasting beverage. Theoretical perspectives on feasting, along with ethnographic and

ethnohistoric evidence, indicate that the Olmec used special foods and beverages, such

maize beers and cacao, during feasts as a way to draw in participants and increase the

prestige of the event. Feasting with special foods and beverages provided a setting for

individuals to perform elite identities and negotiate social relationships. Intoxication

using alcoholic beverages offered another display of status whereby individuals could

demonstrate their proximity to the supernatural, a pattern mirrored in Olmec

iconography.

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Early complex societies often used feasting as a way for individuals to gain

followers and to assert their status (Clark and Blake 1994; Dietler 1990, 1996, 2001,

2006). Special foods and beverages were served at feasts as a means to attract

participants and as a display of the feast sponsor’s status. Molecular analysis of absorbed

organic residues in ceramics offers a new way to identify foods and beverages, allowing

researchers to see how individuals used foods and beverages to manipulate social

relationships during feasts. This viewpoint is especially relevant in early complex

societies where individuals could manipulate agricultural products to create high-status

foods for use in feasts. Molecular archaeology can help identify how specific foods were

used, thereby shedding light on the role of feasting in the formation and maintenance of

status in early complex societies.

This thesis investigates ceramics from the Olmec site of San Andrés, a small,

secondary elite settlement outside of the main ceremonial center of La Venta, Tabasco,

Mexico. The research uses three types of molecular analysis to investigate feasting,

including: bulk stable carbon isotope analysis, electrospray ionization-time of flight mass

spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Research involves novel techniques in both the forms of analysis and the interpretation of

the results of the analysis. This work provides insight into the development of

Mesoamerican elite feasting foods and beverages among the San Andrés Olmec during

the Middle Formative period (850–400 BC). Discoveries include patterns of maize use

suggestive of its use as an elite feasting food and beverage rather than as a dietary staple.

Further results suggest possible evidence of Olmec cacao use.

Thesis Format

The format of the thesis is as follows: Chapter 1 is an introduction to the thesis.

Chapter 2 is a description of the geographic and cultural setting of San Andrés. The

natural environment of San Andrés is briefly described. Usage of the term “Olmec” as an

archaeological culture is defined and specified. This chapter also includes a brief

description of excavations at San Andrés and its chronology of occupation.

Chapter 3 is a discussion of feasting theory and ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and

archeological perspectives on feasting and foods and beverages in Mesoamerica. This

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chapter explores potential San Andrés Olmec foods and beverages based on examples

found in Mesoamerican ethnography and ethnohistory. This work guided molecular

analytical research and determined the types of methodologies that were employed. The

identification of the special deposits at San Andrés is confirmed by comparison with

other archaeological feasting middens at Lagartero in Belize and Tsoungiza in Greece.

Chapter 3 also forms the backdrop for interpreting the results of the different molecular

analyses described in the proceeding chapters.

Chapter 4 describes the use of stable carbon isotope analysis to examine patterns

of maize use. This chapter explains the principles of stable carbon isotopic analysis and

the methods used to conduct bulk stable carbon isotope analysis on absorbed organic

residues in a ceramic matrix. I discuss the results of the analysis and the new

methodology developed to compare maize use between classes of ceramics.

Chapter 5 examines the use of electrospray-ionization time-of-flight mass

spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS) to search for cacao residues. This is the first time to my

knowledge that ESI-TOF MS has been used to look for absorbed cacao residues in

ancient ceramics. This chapter offers an explanation of this new methodology, and

results are discussed.

Chapter 6 describes the use of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

The methodology of conducting GC-MS is explained and results of this analysis are

discussed.

Chapter 7 is a discussion of the results of the molecular analysis and their

implications on our understanding of Olmec foods and beverages and feasting among the

inhabitants of San Andrés. It offers a synthesis of the findings presented in the previous

chapters. This chapter describes how feasting at San Andrés is part of a wider suite of

political tactics employed by the La Venta area Olmec elite.

Chapter 8 concludes this thesis with an overview of results and suggests areas for

future research.

Contributions of this Thesis

This thesis offers insight into the types of feasting foods and beverages used by

the Middle Formative period San Andrés Olmec. It also explores the role of feasting and

the use of alcoholic beverages in the political and social dynamics of the early complex

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hierarchical society in La Venta and its surrounding area during the Middle Formative

period.

This thesis develops novel methodologies for the molecular analysis of absorbed

organic residues in ceramics. One of these new methods is the use of bulk stable carbon

isotope analysis of absorbed organic residues in ceramics to determine patterns of maize

use within a ceramic assemblage. The other new method is the use of ESI-TOF MS to

detect the biomarkers for cacao (theobromine and caffeine) in absorbed residues in an

ancient ceramic matrix. These methods have potential application in future research and

demonstrate the variety of molecular analytic tools that can be used in archaeology.

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CHAPTER 2: SAN ANDRÉS GEOGRAPHICAL AND

CULTURAL SETTING

Geographic Setting

San Andrés is a multicomponent archaeological site situated 15 km south of the

Gulf of Mexico, in the Grijalva river delta section of the Tabasco Coastal Plain. The

coastal zone’s geography contains beaches, lagoons and estuaries bordered by

mangroves. The area has a wet season and a dry season; 800 mm of rain falls from

September through October compared to only 200 mm of rain for the rest of the year

(Pohl et al. 2001:1370). The Grijalva Delta is a riverine environment noted for the

dynamic nature of its landscape caused by a variety of factors including cyclical channel

formation, alluviation, subsidence, changes in water level, and the reworking of

sediments from channel meandering and coastal wave-generated erosion (von Nagy

1997:253, 257). This dynamism caused numerous changes in the course of rivers, which

greatly affected settlement patterns in the Grijalva delta throughout the region’s history

(von Nagy 1997, 2003; Rust and Sharer 1988).

La Venta

In the Tabasco Coastal Plain region, numerous multi-tiered settlements emerged

by 800 B.C. (von Nagy 1997:254). The most prominent Formative period site in the

region was La Venta, which was a major ceremonial center (Drucker 1959). The site is

located on a ridge in a river estuary, 15 km from the Gulf of Mexico. La Venta featured

some of the earliest examples of monumental art and architecture in Mesoamerica

including earthen pyramids, colossal basalt heads, carved stelae, and greenstone offerings

of massive proportion and intricacy (Drucker 1955, González-Lauck 1997). During the

Middle Formative period San Andrés was a subsidiary elite center located 5 km

northwest of La Venta along an ancient channel in the now-extinct Bari River (DuVernay

2002:10; Rust and Sharer 1988:102-104).

The Olmec

The term “Olmec” is often ambiguously used to refer to both an archaeological

culture centered around the Gulf Coast at sites such as San Lorenzo and La Venta and an

art style associated with the Formative period. A historic culture found in the southern

5

Gulf Coast region of Mexico is also known as “Olmec”. Archaeologists investigating the

region assigned the distinct Formative period objects to an Olmec culture named after the

historical Olmec. This term came from a Nahua word meaning “inhabitants of the region

of rubber” (Salas and Riveron 2005:28-29).

Following Tolstoy’s (1989b:276–281) terminology, I use the term “Olmec” to

refer to the art style found throughout Mesoamerica in the Formative period. Tolstoy

(1989b:276–281) used variations on the term Olmec to designate geographically

connected archaeological culture complexes, specifically the Early Formative period

“San Lorenzo Olmec” (SLO), and the Middle Formative period “La Venta Olmec”

(LVO).

For the purposes of this thesis, I will use the term “San Andrés Olmec” to refer to

the archaeological culture responsible for the deposition of the Middle Formative period

materials at the archaeological site of San Andrés. The San Andrés Olmec were part of

what Tolstoy (1989:289) called the “La Venta Olmec [cultural] complex,” as evidenced

by the site’s geographical proximity to the site of La Venta, as well as links in both elite

goods and ceramics between the two sites (Perrett 2003; von Nagy 2003). The term “La

Venta area Olmec” is used to refer to wider processes and phenomena involving

individuals who were in the La Venta Olmec cultural complex, including those at San

Andrés.

Excavations at San Andrés

Dr. Mary Pohl of The Florida State University and Dr. Kevin Pope of GeoEcoArc

Research conducted research at San Andrés in 1997, 1998, and 2000, at the invitation of

Dr. Rebecca González-Lauck of the Instituto Nacional de Anthropologia e Historia in

Tabasco, Mexico. San Andrés yielded a number of elite artifacts including early

evidence for writing and greenstone objects (Perrett 2003; Pohl et al. 2002). Of special

interest were feasting middens found in a level of brown-grey-silty clay (BGS clay)

dating to the Middle Formative period. These deposits yielded a high density of elite

goods (Perrett 2003, Pohl et al 2004; von Nagy et al. 2000) along with the ceramics

analyzed in this study. There have been numerous studies on the archaeological material

from San Andrés including its ceramics (von Nagy 2003), groundstone (Du Vernay

6

2002), obsidian (Doering 2002), elite goods (Perrett 2003), and paleobotanical material

(Lentz et al. 2005).

Figure 2-1: Overview map of excavation units at San Andrés (DuVernay 2002:28)

Chronology of Occupation

San Andrés contained five well-defined archaeological periods of occupation. The

Estero phase occurred during the Archaic period is relatively poorly defined and is

represented by paleobotanical remains and a few artifacts (Pohl et al. 2004:2). The

earliest well-defined period at San Andrés was the Molina phase (ca. 1350–1150 BC),

after which there was an approximately 300 year hiatus before the beginning of four

continuous periods associated with the Olmec occupation of the site beginning at around

ca. 900 BC with the Early Puente phase (ca. 900–800 BC) (Pohl et al. 2004:2; von Nagy

2003:804). There were three more Olmec-associated ceramic phases at San Andrés after

the Early Puente phase: the Late Puente, the Early Franco, and Late Franco phases, which

ended by around 400/350 BC (Pohl et al. 2004:3; von Nagy 2003:843). This terminal

date for Olmec occupation is consistent with González-Lauck’s (1997) date for the

7

collapse of La Venta and von Nagy’s (2003) observation of a decline in settlements in the

Grijalva Delta (Pohl et al. 2004:3). These Olmec phases (especially the Early Franco

phase) are the focus of this study because the feasting ceramics that were analyzed came

from this time period. San Andrés later witnessed small-scale Late Classic and Colonial

period occupations. A detailed chronology for San Andrés is based on von Nagy’s

(2003) ceramic chronology, which was constructed using typological work and numerous

calibrated radiocarbon dates (von Nagy 2003:765–769). A brief description of the

chronology of San Andrés is as follows:

Molina Phase (ca. 1350–1150 BC)

The Molina ceramic complex was the earliest well-documented complex in the

Grijalva Delta and the earliest occupation phase at San Andrés. It is differentiated from

earlier complexes by the decreased frequency of red-slipped pottery and an increased

prevalence of differentially fired volcanic-ash tempered and fine-sand tempered ceramics

(Desengaño Black-and-white and Naranjeño Black-and-white), a trend that would

continue into later phases (von Nagy 2003:775). Occupation of San Andrés during the

Molina phase likely consisted of sporadic settlement along estuary margins (Pohl et al.

2004:2). Molina phase ceramics were not studied in these molecular archaeological

investigations.

Early Puente Phase (ca. 950–800 BC)

The Early Puente phase represents the earliest La Venta Olmec phase at San

Andrés. It begins after an approximate 300-year gap in occupation at the site from the

end of the Molina phase at about 1150 BC (Pohl et al. 2004:2). The Manantiero Scored,

Juliero Bossed, Eden Unslipped, Golpe Incised, Golpe Punctate, Golpe Fluted, Naranjeño

Black-and-White, Guapacal Incised, Guapacal Fluted, Pejelagartero Black, Retiro

Incised, and Retiro Fluted ceramic complexes are characteristic of the Early Puente phase

(von Nagy 2003:808). There was a 60:40 ratio of utilitarian cooking vessels to elite sand

and volcanic ash-tempered serving vessels in the collections von Nagy (2003:810)

studied. Tecomates were the main cooking vessel in the Early Puente phase (von Nagy

2003:808). The Early Puente phase assemblage at San Andrés was characterized by

course sand-tempered utilitarian wares, especially Bronce and Eden Unslipped, and

gritty, ash-tempered (Desengaño Black and White), or fine sand-tempered (Naranjeño

8

Black and White) differentially fired black and white elite serving vessels (von

Nagy:2003:812). The Early Puente phase ceramic complex from San Andrés is similar to

La Venta’s contemporaneous Early La Venta phase ceramics, suggesting strong

connections between the two sites (von Nagy 2003:812).

Late Puente Phase (ca. 800–700 BC)

The Late Puente phase is differentiated from the Early Puente phase by form and

decorative motif changes. There was a shift in the predominance of tecomates towards

jars with wide outcurved and short vertical necks (von Nagy 2003:820). In utilitarian

ceramics the fine-sand-tempered Gogal plain wares replaced Eden unslipped as the

primary utilitarian ware (von Nagy 2003:821).

Early Franco Phase (ca. 700–550/500 BC)

Vessels from the Early Franco period were the focus of the molecular analysis

conducted for this research project. This time period saw the primary occupations of San

Andrés and nearby La Venta (González-Lauck 1997; von Nagy 2003:831). There was an

increase in the frequency of elite, differentially fired, black and white volcanic ash

tempered ceramics in the Early Franco phase. This pattern indicates the presence of

specialized ceramic workshops in the area, and that San Andrés had an esteemed

economic position (Pohl et al. 2004:3; von Nagy 2004:832).

The most common ceramic types at San Andrés during the Early Franco phase

were Gogal Plain, Desengaño Black-and-white, Tecolutla Incised, Tancochapa Black,

Encrucijada Plain, Mecatepec Incised, Encrucijada Incised, Naranjeño Black and white,

and Guapacal Incised (von Nagy 2003:832). Utilitarian wares during the Early Franco

phase tended to be sand tempered Gogal plain short-necked ollas, although tecomates

continued to be used (von Nagy 2003: 832-833). There was a wide variety of serving

vessels in the Early Franco including various types of bowls, dishes and plates. Of

special note were urns (chimneyed bowls), which occurred in a range of sizes from

miniature to capacities of dozens of liters (von Nagy 2003:833). Early Franco phase

ceramics were the best represented at San Andrés, primarily coming from the Brown-

Grey-Silty clay (BGS clay) level feasting midden (von Nagy 2003:806). These BGS clay

level Early Franco complex feasting ceramics were the object of molecular analysis in

this study.

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Late Franco Phase (ca. 500–

350 BC)

The Late Franco phase represented the final substantial occupational period at San

Andrés and was contemporaneous with the fourth and final phase of construction at

nearby La Venta (von Nagy 2003:843). Utilitarian ceramics were widely consistent with

those in the Early Franco phase (von Nagy 2003:843). Late Franco period ceramics are

differentiated from the Early Franco in form and decoration, specifically the presence of

saddle-rimmed bowls, the appearance of flat-based, slightly convex vases and bowls,

outcurved rim vases, and the presence of dishes with widely collared, modeled rims (von

Nagy 2003:843).

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CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND

PROBLEM ORIENTATION

Introduction

Feasting, using special foods and beverages, served as a mechanism in the

construction and performance of elite identity among the La Venta Olmec during the

Middle Formative period. This chapter examines issues concerning feasting foods and

beverages in archaeology. This work forms the basis for interpreting the results of the

molecular analysis conducted on the San Andrés feasting ceramics. First, I will outline

some of the major theoretical issues regarding feasting and their relation to political

processes that were at work among the San Andrés Olmec. Next, I will discuss

ethnographic, ethnohistoric, iconographic, and archaeological evidence that is used to

infer the role of elite-feasting foods and beverages, such as cacao, in Mesoamerican

feasting and ritual culture. I will then show how this theoretical, ethnographic,

ethnohistoric, and archaeological work on feasting applies to San Andrés. I will delve

deeper into the reasons why deposits from San Andrés can be identified as feasting

middens. Next I will describe how traditional Mesoamerican feasting foods and

beverages were used to guide molecular analysis of absorbed organic residues from the

ceramics at San Andrés. Feasting patterns described in theoretical literature and in later

Mesoamerican examples are used to understand the dynamic cultural and social processes

at work behind the feasting materials recovered from San Andrés.

Feasting Theory and Archaeology

Feasting behavior is an ethnographically observed phenomenon that is often used

to interpret archaeological data. Feasting theory is useful when applied to archaeology

because it allows researchers to interpret dynamic social, economic, and ritual processes

from the remains of consumptive activities. Feasting deposits are often identified

archaeologically by the presence of a significant non-domestic, short-term deposition of

serving vessels and food wastes, such as animal bones (Dabney et al. 2004; Rosenswig

2007). Molecular archaeology offers an additional method for investigating feasting by

allowing researchers to identify foods and beverages served at such events.

11

Feasting Defined

There is general consensus among researchers concerning the definition of

feasting. Hayden (2001:28) defined it as sharing special food between two or more

people for a special occasion. Dietler offered a similar definition, although he

emphasized the ritual nature of feasting. According to Dietler (1996:89), feasts are

“…public ritual events, in contrast to daily activity, feasts provide an area for the highly

condensed symbolic representation of social relations.”

I define feasting as the ritualized distribution and consumption of special foods

and beverages among multiple participants. My definition, although similar to Dietler’s

and Hayden’s, uses terms borrowed from economic anthropology. Economic terms, such

as production, distribution, and consumption, are helpful in any archaeological discussion

of feasting due to archaeology’s focus on material culture. Archaeology can only track

the production, distribution (exchange), and remains of consumption of products

associated with feasting (Rosenswig 2007).

There are two primary perspectives on how and why people feast (Dietler and

Hayden 2001). The ecological adaptionist school, promoted by Hayden and others, saw

feasting as an adaptive response by rational agents to enhance their survivability (Dietler

and Hayden 2001; Hayden 1995, 2001). Researchers such as Dietler (1996, 2001) argued

that feasting has more to do with short-term concerns of politics and power rather than a

rationalistic adaptive long-term phenomenon (Dietler and Hayden 2001). Dietler (2001)

explained that feasts are not always motivated by social status and that there are multiple

types of feasts (Dietler 2001).

Hayden and Dietler’s perspectives on feasting, although distinct, are not

contradictory (Dietler and Hayden 2001). They both saw feasting as a political and social

tool and mechanism for cultural change through the activities of agents. Hayden (1995,

1996:127) saw feasting as the key link between the evolution agriculture and hierarchy.

According to Hayden (1995, 1996), agriculture developed as a means to maintain a

surplus for competitive feasts by individuals seeking to increase their status.

Dietler’s approach examined how feasting functions in creating and maintaining a

sense of community between participants and negotiating power relationships. Dietler

(2001:66) described feasting as “a theater” of political relationships. Dietler’s (1996,

12

2001, 2006) work in Africa and prehistoric Europe demonstrated how feasting was used

to establish patron-client relationships, secure social bonds, reinforce social status, and

secure labor through reciprocity.

This thesis follows Dietler’s (1996; 2001) political perspective on feasting more

than Hayden’s (1995, 1995, 2001) adaptionist perspective. This viewpoint is especially

useful in studying archaeological feasting deposits from early, large-scale complex

societies such as the La Venta Olmec because there does not seem to be a necessary link

between staple crop agriculture and feasting practices in Mesoamerica (Smalley and

Blake 2003), as is implied by Hayden’s (1995, 1996) perspective.

Feasts combine the processes of production, consumption, and exchange.

Specifically, feasts are group-level events during which a greater than usual amount of

consumption and exchange occur, hence the relatively high archaeological visibility of

feasts compared to other episodes of exchange and consumption. An event simply cannot

be a feast without food. Ethnographically, the most commonly exchanged and consumed

foods and beverages at feasts are meat and alcohol (Hayden and Dietler 2001). Meat and

special beverages (such as alcohol) are valuable for aspects such as their taste, symbolic

associations, and psychoactive properties (Dietler 1990, 1996:90, 2006). The exchange

and consumption of these valuable consumables, as well as durable valuables, serve,

along with the gathering of people, to make a feast a special occasion in which an

abnormal amount of valuables are exchanged and consumed (Dietler 1996:91).

Beyond the movement of goods, feasts set the stage for the performance and

manipulation of social roles. These actions cannot be directly observed from the

archaeological remains of feasts, such interpretations must be inferred from ethnographic

observations. Feasts are significant in our understanding of the formation of large-scale

complex societies because individuals use them to gain power and change the social

order, as discussed by Clark and Blake (1994) and Hayden and Garget (1990).

Hayden and Garget (1990) used ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence from a

Mesoamerican town to describe how individuals use agricultural surplus to hold feasts to

gain social prestige. They asserted that these practices formed the basis for the

development of hierarchical complex societies in agricultural societies (Hayden and

13

Garget 1990). Hayden and Garget (1990) labeled those individuals who accumulated

food for redistribution at feasts as “accumulators”.

Clark and Blake (1994) discussed the role of feasting in the development of an

entrenched elite class in Formative period Mesoamerica. Like Hayden and Gargett

(1990), Clark and Blake (1994) disagreed with functionalist perspectives on the

emergence of complex societies. They instead argued that self-interested competition for

prestige among political actors was the motivating factor for the change to ranked society

(Clark and Blake 1994:17). Clark and Blake (1994) labeled these self-interested actors

“aggrandizers,” a term that would be widely used in later literature on the topic. Their

“aggrandizers” were roughly equivalent to Hayden and Gargett’s (1990) “accumulators”

(Clark and Blake 1994:17). Aggrandizers selfishly attempt to attract wealth and

followers to increase their prestige. Followers enter into a ‘patron-client’ relationship

with aggrandizers based on the concept of reciprocity (Clark and Blake 1994; Mauss

[1925] 1989). According to Clark and Blake (1994:21), competitive generosity is the key

to attracting followers because reciprocal exchanges eventually repay aggrandizers’ gifts

(Clark and Blake 1994:21). This situation may become institutionalized if maintained for

a sufficient amount of time (Clark and Blake 1994; Hayden and Gargett 1990).

Clark and Blake (1994) linked their model for the emergence of social hierarchy

through reciprocal competitive generosity to archaeological evidence from the Early

Formative (1550-1150 BC) Mokaya people of the Mazatán region of Chiapas in southern

Mexico. The adoption of ceramic technology in the Early Formative period from the

south is one line of evidence for political competition. The earliest ceramics in this

region were highly elaborate, indicating that the technology was probably adopted from

South or Central America (Clark and Blake 1994; Clark and Gosser 1993; Lesure 1998).

According to Clark and Blake (1994:25), aggrandizers adopted foreign ceramic

technology to be used during feasts. This assertion is evidenced by the fact that the

earliest ceramic vessels were used for serving liquids rather than for cooking (Clark and

Blake 1994:27). These early ceramics were used for impressive social displays rather

than for food preparation (Clark and Blake 1994:27). This interpretation of these

ceramics has been supported by other work by Clark and Gosser (1995) and Lesure

(1998). The adoption of this new, more prestigious ceramic technology was promoted by

14

increasing levels of political competition by aggrandizers, which led to the rise of

institutionalized hierarchy in the Early Formative (Clark and Blake 1994). This assertion

correlates with Brumfiel’s (1987) model for increasing elite consumption with a rise in

levels of political competition. The emergence of rank societies in the Early Formative

Mazatán starting at 1400 BC is indicated by a two-tiered settlement pattern, elite and

non-elite domestic architecture, differential mortuary practices, and unequal access to

goods (Clark and Blake 1994).

Feasts can also be used as a conservative institution to maintain the social order of

societies. Individuals can use feasts to bring people together to communicate traditional

values and social roles (Geertz 1973). The Lacandon Maya balché ritual, which involves

drinking large amounts of honey wine, is held to bring far-ranging kin and friends

together, to secure social bonds, and to reassert one’s position in Lacandon society

(McGee 1988, 1989, 2002). Dietler (2006) described how behaviors at drinking events,

such as feasts, are used to construct and perform cultural roles and values.

Elite-Feasting Foods and Beverages and Dietary Staples

Food and beverages can be used as a conspicuous display of social status. A

distinction must be made between dietary staples and elite-feasting foods and beverages.

Dietary staples are everyday foods that constitute a majority of a person’s diet. Elite-

feasting foods and beverages are seen as being essential to high-status feasting activities.

Some particularly high-status individuals may enjoy these foods and beverages

regularly, although they do not contribute to the everyday diet of most people. These

foods and beverages are desired for their symbolic value and pleasurable taste. Access to

elite-feasting foods and beverages is often restricted, as was the case with cacao in

Mesoamerica (Coe and Coe 1996). Consumption and distribution of elite-feasting foods

and beverages is a means to display one’s high status. The presence of these foods and

beverages at feasts can serve as a way to attract participants and increase the event’s

prominence.

Feasting Beverages

Special beverages, oftentimes alcoholic ones, frequently function as elite-feasting

foods and beverages by attracting participants to feasts and making them special

occasions. There is a growing body of literature showing the prominent role of alcoholic

15

beverages in the development of early complex societies in other parts of the world

including Western Asia and the Mediterranean (Dietler 1990; Joffe 1998; Sherratt 2004;

Wright 1995). According to Joffe (1998), elites in early complex societies in

Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, and the Levant in the 3rd and 4th centuries BC used alcoholic

beverages in a variety of ways to secure power and status. Production of alcoholic

beverages helped these elites to gain control over craft production, secure surpluses of

agricultural products, and manipulate established symbolic systems (Joffe 1998).

According to Dietler (1990:369–370) alcoholic beverages were a way that elites could

use agricultural surpluses as a kind of “social credit” with which they could mobilize

labor and manipulate social, political, and economic relationships. Sherratt (2004)

discussed how alcohol was a valued good that was vital in the formation and maintenance

of early complex societies in both the Mediterranean (with wine) and Mesopotamia (with

beer). The intoxicating properties of these drinks imbued them with a value far beyond

any utilitarian functions that they might possess. The value of these drinks was

ideologically based and not simply because of their pleasant effects on the mind and

body. According to Sherratt (2004:100), rituals were seen as being more powerful if they

involved important people getting drunk and if the production of beverages was seen as

being linked to supernatural forces. Alcoholic beverages in Mesoamerica also have

strong ideological and ritual ties, as will be discussed below.

Consumption of alcoholic beverages served ritual, political economic, and even

nutritional functions (Dietler 2006; Joffe 1998; Katz and Voigt 1986). Alcohol

consumption, as a symbolically loaded part of feasting, is often used as a means to enact

and display aspects of one’s identity (Dietler 2006). Dietler (1990) and Wright (1995)

showed how elites adopted wine drinking behaviors from other cultures as a way to

broadcast their status. What and how people drink during feasts is a display and

enactment of who they are (Dietler 2006; Mitchell 2004).

These comparative examples can serve as a model for understanding how feasting

beverages, specifically alcohol, were used to manipulate social and political relations

among La Venta area Olmec elites at San Andrés. The variability of drinking patterns

around the world (Heath 2000) makes it necessary to recognize the differences between

Southwest Asia and Mesoamerica and to consider the role that alcohol has in the

16

Mesoamerican culture. This perspective acknowledges general processes in early

complex societies while also recognizing the uniqueness of Mesoamerican cultural

patterns, many of which likely originated among the Olmec. This multiaspect approach,

combined with specific archaeological evidence can be used to reconstruct Olmec

beverage culture.

Feasting Beverages in Mesoamerica

Ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and theoretical evidence was used to guide research

and highlight potential candidates for the foods and beverages used during the feasts at

San Andrés. It was necessary to hypothesize what foods were eaten because analytical

techniques must be chosen and modified to detect different types of food residues. These

lines of evidence were also used in interpreting the significance of the results. Although

little is known about La Venta Olmec foods and beverages, there is a wealth of literature

detailing of the use of beverages in feasting in Mesoamerica from the Late Classic Period

(600–900 AD) up through the present day. Molecular archaeology (such as the discovery

of cacao in a Middle Formative serving vessel from the Maya site of Colha in Belize)

provides evidence for the role of beverages in ancient Mesoamerican feasting (Hurst et al.

2002). Smalley and Blake (2003) speculated on the role of alcohol in the formation of

complex societies in Mesoamerica. Descriptions of later Mesoamerican beverages can

serve as a model with which to interpret the results of molecular analysis of the San

Andrés feasting ceramics.

Intoxication is traditionally viewed as a transcendental experience in

Mesoamerica, a way for people to become closer to supernatural powers (Eber 1995;

Madsen and Madsen 1979; McGee 1988, 1989, 2002; Mitchell 2004). Feasts with

alcohol also tend to encourage camaraderie between participants and can serve as a stage

for enacting status, constructing group identities, and reinforcing social, political, and

economic bonds (Dietler 1990, 2001, 2006; Douglass1987; Eber 1995; Heath 2000;

Madsen and Madsen 1979; Mandelbaum 1979; Mitchell 2004). The beverages’ value

would also have contributed to the prominence of the feast and the individuals hosting the

occasion. These themes will be discussed below.

17

Ethnographic Evidence

The prominence of beverages, especially alcoholic ones, in Mesoamerican

feasting and ritual is well documented in the ethnographic record. When examining

alcohol use in other cultures, it is important to divorce oneself from the alcohol as a

medical-malady paradigm that dominates western academic thought on the subject.

Drinking and intoxication are often constructive activities that bridged the social and

spiritual realms of existence (Heath 2000; Mitchell 2004). The intoxicating properties of

alcoholic beverages are widely noted to help foster social bonds, especially in social and

ritual settings such as feasts. This aspect of alcohol use is partly because it is known to

lessen inhibitions and allow people socialize more freely (Heath 2000:196; Mitchell

2004).

Many traditional New World cultures use intoxicants in their rituals.

Ethnographic accounts of these cultures can serve as a model for interpreting inebriation

among the La Venta Olmec at San Andrés. Specifically, these accounts show the role

that alcohol played as a facilitator in achieving communitas (Turner 1969) during feasts

through which social relations could be manipulated and maintained. Victor Turner

(1969) defined communitas as a temporary, unstructured social arrangement during

which normal social norms and statuses are ignored. Communitas is a common feature in

rituals (Turner 1969), including those involving feasting (Dietler 1996). The shared

experience of intoxication can break down normal social barriers and serve to symbolize

unity between individuals. An example of this phenomenon is seen among the Napo

Runa of Ecuador in activities related to godparents and their godchildren, when sets of

parents get drunk together as a symbol of their familiarity (Uzendoski 2004:893).

Alcohol consumption plays an important role in the social and religious lives of

many contemporary Mesoamerican groups. The Tzetzal Maya of Chiapas consume

alcohol to the point of inebriation during religious ceremonies (Metzger and Wilson

1969). Tzotzil Maya in Chamula drink heavily for a wide variety of social and ritual

occasions including funerals, festivals for saints, and the conclusion of litigations (Wilson

1973). According to Wilson (1973), these drinking occasions serve as an expression of

obligation, status, and rank among the Tzotzil. Gifts of alcohol can also serve as means of

payment in lieu of cash (Wilson 1973: 122).

18

One of the more remarkable and well-recorded examples of a traditional

indigenous intoxication ritual is the balché ritual of the Lacandon Maya. The Lacandon

are a Maya group who follow traditional Mesoamerican beliefs and practices (Perera and

Bruce 1982; McGee 1989, 2002). Consumption and offerings of the alcoholic beverage

balché is a key component of traditional Lacandon ritual life (McGee 1989:72, 2002:38).

As with other Mesoamerican groups, ritual alcohol consumption is used to mark a wide

variety of occasions, often at individuals’ discretions (Madsen and Madsen 1979; McGee

1989:72). Drinking rituals are more frequently held during times of the year when there

is less agricultural labor to do (McGee 1989:72). At balché ceremonies, participants

drink large quantities of the beverage so as to reach a state of intense inebriation (McGee

1988, 1989, 2002, Perera and Bruce 1982). Ritual offerings of balché are believed to put

gods in a good mood; making it more likely that they will fulfill peoples’ requests. The

Lacandon see their lives as models for their gods’ lives. If they are drunk on balché and

happy, so are their gods (McGee 1989:8). Drinking large quantities of balché is seen as

being both physically and spiritually purifying (McGee 1989:73). Wrongdoers may be

forced to drink large quantities of balché so as to induce vomiting, which is seen as a

purifying act (McGee 1989:82). Balché consumption is also believed to enable direct

communication with the gods, who are said to sound like bees (McGee 2002:39).

To start the balché ceremony, those holding the event brew the beverage from

water, honey, and balché bark for two or three days in a dugout canoe called a chem. At

daybreak participants gather at the ceremonial area and consume large quantities of the

alcohol (McGee 1989, 2002:39). The balché is served out of a specific type of large

ceramic vessel called a pak, which is decorated with the face of Bol, the Lacandon god of

balché. Participants drink the beverage out of individual drinking gourds. The chem and

pak are both decorated bark paper strips, similar to those used in burning bloodletting

offerings (McGee 2002:140-142). The implements of the Lacandon balché ritual are

strikingly similar to those depicted in scenes of alcohol use on Classic Period Maya

vases, as will be discussed below. The Lacandon use other drugs, particularly tobacco, to

heighten the inebriated experience brought on by the balché. The ethnographer Jon

McGee (2002:45) believes that the combination of alcohol, tobacco, and bloodletting

could lead to the hallucination of the buzzing noises associated with god voices.

19

The Lacandon balché ritual serves social and spiritual functions. Accounts of the

ritual demonstrate that it serves as a way to reinforce social bonds and to have a good

time (McGee 1989, 2002; Perera and Bruce 1983). According to Jon McGee (2002:38),

most Lacandon told him that they drank balché to “get drunk.” He also described balché

intoxication as inducing “pleasant goofiness” (McGee 2002: 39). Accounts of the ritual

describe friendly teasing and joking between participants during the ritual (McGee

1989:72, Perera and Bruce 1983:78-79). Perera and Bruce (1983:80) noted the social

aspect of the balché drinking and the use of friendly teasing to bring participants closer

together. The intoxicated and joyful mood of the balché ritual is evident in Jon McGee’s

(1988) video recording of the ritual. The important social role of balché rituals is evident

in the fact that even participants who could not drink due to health problems attend the

event (McGee 1989:80). As this ethnographic material indicates, the balché ritual served

both social and ritual functions by elevating the moods of both the participants and the

gods.

Hosting balché rituals provides a setting for establishing and manipulating

reciprocal relationships similar to those described by Mauss (1989[1925]). Different

individuals host the ritual and brew their unique form of balché (Perera and Bruce

1983:95). Such drinking celebrations provide an enjoyable setting for managing social

relationships as well as enacting and displaying social roles. The Lacandon balché ritual

mirrors Highland Maya Tzotzil drinking behaviors in this regard (Wilson 1973). These

behaviors parallel those described in ethnohistoric accounts of Maya from the colonial

period in the Yucatan, who would competitively host drunken feasts in order to display

their status (Tozzer 1941:92).

Ethnohistoric Evidence

Early Colonial-period chroniclers in Mesoamerica recorded extensive alcohol use

in various ritual contexts (Gage 1951; Tozzer 1941). These accounts tended to focus on

how morally degenerative these activities were in the eyes of the chroniclers (Tozzer

1941, Gage 1951). Landa described “orgies of public drunkenness” and documented the

evils associated with such debauchery, including murder and sexual assault (Tozzer

1941:91, 166). He discussed lavish celebrations with heavy drinking and dancing

(Tozzer 1941:92). Landa described competitive reciprocal feasting in which

20

“nobles…oblige each one of the invited guests to give another similar feast,” (Tozzer

1941:92). Another type of feast was held among “kinsfolk when they marry their

children or celebrate the memory of the deeds of their ancestors…” (Tozzer 1941:92).

These drunken feasts probably held similar functions to the practices of contemporary

Tzotzil and Lacandon Maya, who use social drinking events to form, manipulate, and

reinforce social bonds (McGee 1988, 1989, 2002; Perera and Bruce 1982; Taylor 1979;

Wilson 1973).

According to historical records, drinking was often a part of calendrical

celebrations among indigenous Mesoamericans (Mitchell 2004; Tozzer 1941), as would

be expected given the prominent role of the calendar and notions of time in

Mesoamerican culture (Rice 2004). Among the Colonial-period Yucatec Maya, alcohol

was consumed on the festival days of the months Tzoc and Pak (Tozzer 1941:157).

According to Landa, ceremonies for the month of Yaxkin ended with a “good drunken

feast,” (Tozzer 1941:159). Rituals associated with the month of Muan contained special

rules limiting participants to three drinks apiece (Tozzer 1941:164).

Ritually mandated heavy drinking was also an important part of Aztec ritual life

(Mitchell 2004:17-19). Mitchell (2004:18) argued that these calendar-based drinking

occasions acted as “the official worldview’s chemical truth anchors.” This statement

highlights how drunkenness and other forms of intoxication helped make ritual occasions

special by producing an extraordinary feeling in the mind and body that served to

produce a transcendental experience that marked the occasion as being special. The

chemical manipulation of the mind and body through heavy drinking helped to set some

days apart from others, linking drinking celebrations to the calendar because certain

calendar days were noticeably different for people.

Drinking and intoxication was also believed to give individuals special ritual

power and insight. For example, the Florentine Codex described how in Central Mexico,

the collapse of the Aztec elite was prophesized by a drunkard (Mitchell 2004:15). These

patterns mirror those found among present day Mesoamerican groups who drink socially

during religious rituals as a means to heighten their spiritual experience (Eber 1995;

McGee 1988, 1989, 2002; Metzger and Wilson 1969; Perera and Bruce 1982; Taylor

1979; Wilson 1973). These drinking patterns described in the ethnohistoric record

21

continue in Mesoamerica up through the present-day. Calendar-mandated ritual binge

drinking is seen in the Saints’ festivals among various traditional Maya groups in modern

times (Eber 1995; Metzger and Wilson 1969; Taylor 1979). The spiritual powers and

insight that intoxication grants individuals can be seen in the Lacandon balché ritual,

where certain drunk individuals are said to be able to communicate with the gods (McGee

1988; 2002:45).

Prehistoric Evidence for Alcohol Use In Mesoamerica

The clearest evidence for how alcohol was used among elites in rituals in the pre-

contact era comes from iconographic depictions of drinking festivities (Brumfiel 2004;

Kerr 1984). Iconographic depictions of drinking celebrations in numerous Classic period

Maya vase paintings show that alcohol played a key role in Mesoamerican ritual life at

least a thousand years before the Spanish arrived in the New World. Feasting involving

alcoholic beverages has also been suggested from archaeological deposits found in

Classic Period Maya ritual centers (LeCount 2001), ballcourts (Fox 1996), and village

sites (Hendon 2003). These prehistoric examples provide further evidence of the

antiquity of basic Mesoamerican ritual drinking patterns and serve as a way to interpret

earlier archaeological materials such as the feasting ceramics from the Early Franco

period at San Andrés. The types of ceramics depicted in the Aztec codices and recovered

from archaeological deposits, as well as those serving vessels shown in the Maya vase

paintings, can serve as a model for the types of vessels used in alcohol service and

production.

State sponsored drinking festivities played a key role late-prehistoric period Aztec

ritual and political life. Brumfiel (2004) demonstrated how symbolically loaded pulque

drinking festivals were used by the Aztec state to promote a warrior culture among young

males. She connected archaeological deposits of decorated drinking vessels with

historical sources from the codices and European accounts. According to Brumfiel

(2004), young Aztec warriors became heavily intoxicated at night by drinking pulque out

of Red Ware vessels. This social intoxication symbolized a narrative of cosmic warfare

and enabled the young warriors to partake in this chaos on a metaphysical level (Brumfiel

2004). The close temporal relationship between the historical and archaeological lines of

evidence enabled Brumfiel (2004) to construct a convincing symbolic narrative

22

explaining the significance of the deposit of vessels and the role of feasting in the Aztec

state. Unfortunately, such historically documented analogies for archaeological deposits

are unavailable in the case of the Middle Formative period La Venta area Olmec, and

more general models must be used to explain feasting refuse such as that at San Andrés.

Brumfiel’s (2004) discussion of Aztec warrior feasting illustrates the longstanding

significance of feasting with alcoholic beverages in symbolic ritual and political activities

in Mesoamerican complex societies.

This association of drunken festivities with warfare and chaos was also found

among the Aztec’s neighbors, the Tlaxcalans. The Tlaxcalans, like the Maya and the

Aztec, held calendrically-mandated drinking festivals that were tied to elite reciprocal

networks, and ritual involving the supernatural (J. Pohl 1998:185). During such feasts,

drinking was viewed as an allegory for the chaos, factionalism, and social violence that

went with primordial events of cosmic creation (J. Pohl 1998:186). Evidence for this

ideology is found in iconography, codices, and contact-era accounts by Europeans (J.

Pohl 1998). These links between drinking at feasts, ritual, and political factionalism

likely also existed among Formative era peoples (Clark and Blake 1994).

Depictions of drinking festivities on Classic period Maya (ca. AD 300–900)

polychrome vessels offer a vivid picture of elite drinking behaviors. It is possible to

discern general patterns seen in these drinking scenes. For example, all these drinking

scenes involve people in noble dress, which is not surprising given that the scenes are

depicted on high-quality luxury polychrome vessels. One major theme in these

depictions shows groups of nobles, gathering to drink and dance, as seen in Figure 3-1.

Such feasts may have been a precursor to the drunken feasts by Contact-period Yucatec

Maya nobility, which they used to secure social bonds and have a good time (Tozzer

194:92).

23

Figure 3-1. A group of Classic period Maya nobles drinking and dancing, note the foam rising from the beverage containers on the ground (Kerr 2004:file no. 1092). Also note the seated individual on the left who is smoking. Present-day Lacandon also smoke during balché rituals (McGee 1989, 2002).

There is a special set of objects that is repeatedly associated with these scenes of

drunken revelries. Analyzing the items depicted in such scenes can help to identify

archaeological deposits as being the remains of drinking festivities. Of special note are

large restricted-flared-necked ollas that resemble the Lacandon pak from which balché is

served during the balché ritual (McGee 1988, 1989, 2002). These pak-like vessels seem

to have served the same purpose among the Classic Period Maya as they do for the

modern-day Lacandon as seen in Figure 3-2. Pak-like vessels are often shown wrapped

in cord, perhaps to assist in transportation or denoting some symbolism. Such vessels are

also seen in later Aztec depictions of drinking rituals (S. Coe 1994) and are similar to

vessels used for brewing and serving alcoholic beverages around the world (Hornsey

2003). This vessel form likely arose from functional considerations. The large size

allows for serving numerous people, while the restricted-flared neck would prevent

overflow of the oftentimes-foamy alcoholic beverages within, as seen in Fig. 3-1.

Drinking cups are commonly depicted in the Maya drinking scenes and were part of a

suite of beverage service ceramics. Similar large serving ollas and drinking cups were

recovered from the feasting deposit at San Andrés.

24

Figure 3-2. The Lacandon pak used for serving balché (Perera and Bruce 1982:184).

Figure 3-3. Drinking and enema bags. Note the enema bag on top of the vessel on the left side of the image, as indicated by the arrow (Kerr 2004:file no. 1381).

Enema bags are commonly seen in scenes of drunken festivities, indicating that

alcohol may have been used in enemas as Stross and Kerr (1990) suggested. The

supernatural figure “Water-lily Jaguar” is often seen in scenes related to intoxication.

This character is depicted as a jaguar and is rarely seen without his enema bag or a

drinking cup, as he is in Figure 3-4. The association between the supernatural Water-lily

Jaguar and enemas indicates that alcohol enemas, perhaps imbued with other intoxicants,

were used as a means to communicate with the supernatural. The addition of auxiliary

psychotropic substances, such as certain species of toads, to alcohol to enhance its

psychoactive effects has been noted in ethnohistoric accounts (Bruman 2000:106; Gage

25

1958; Stross and Kerr 1990). The unpleasant taste that the auxiliary substances produce

may have been a reason for administering the narcotic-imbued alcoholic drinks in enema

form (Gage 1958, Stross and Kerr 1990). This connection between inebriation the

supernatural mirrors ethnographically documented Mesoamerican patterns of

communication with the divine while intoxicated, as in the Lacandon balché ritual

(McGee 1989, 2002).

Figure 3-4. Classic period Maya depiction of Waterlily Jaguar drinking, note the large, foaming vessel and the drinking cup that he is holding (Kerr 2004: file no.1376).

Another theme in depictions of drunken festivities in the Classic period

polychrome vases involves groups of men becoming intoxicated while wearing bird

masks. Images such as those below in Figures 3-5 and 3-6 show individuals engaged in

such “birdman” drinking festivals. The wearing of masks depicting animals and

supernaturals was a common feature of Mesoamerican iconography dating back to the

time of the Formative period Gulf Coast Olmec (Clark 2004). These “birdman” drinking

festivals depicted in vase paintings involved both intoxication and costumes, which are

traditionally used in Mesoamerican rituals (Eber 1995; Clark 2004; McGee 1988, 1989,

2002; Mitchell 2004).

26

Figure 3-5. Classic period Maya Birdman Drinking Scene (Kerr 2004:file no.1900).

Figure 3-6. Classic period Maya Birdman Drinking Scene (Kerr 2004:file no.1451).

Drinking festivals are often a stage for performing social roles such as gender

roles (Dietler 1990, 2001, 2006; Eber 1995; Heath 2000; Mandelbaum 1979; Mitchell

2004). This theme is reflected in the Maya vase art in scenes depicting women serving

intoxicants to men. This theme is clearly illustrated in Figure 3-7, in which women help

men drink out of cups and a large restricted-flared neck vessel. Landa described similar

roles for women at drunken feasts among the Contact-period Yucatec Maya. According

to his account (Tozzer 1941:92), “beautiful women” would serve their men intoxicants

and acted as caregivers when the men became intoxicated. Landa discussed how women

would drink with the other female guests, yet they would not get as drunk as the men

during the feasts (Tozzer 1941:128). The men attending feasts benefited from the more

27

temperate nature of their wives, who were responsible for taking their drunken husbands

home (Tozzer 1941:92).

Figure 3-7. (Kerr 2004: file no. 3027).

Types of Feasting Beverages

Ethnographic evidence demonstrates that numerous different raw materials were

used to create feasting beverages in Mesoamerica. This section will describe three

classes of feasting beverages: beers, cacao drinks, and maize gruels. These examples

guide the molecular analysis of the San Andrés feasting ceramics.

Beers and Wines

Bruman’s (2000) extensive ethnographic survey of traditional Mesoamerican

drinking revealed that various raw materials were used to manufacture alcoholic

beverages. These materials include maize, cactus, honey, and various types of fruits.

Maize is a prominent crop in Mesoamerica and it can be used to create various

beers. Wines made from sugary maize stalks are produced in many parts of Mesoamerica

(Bruman 2000:57-60; Smalley and Blake 2003). Fermented beverages made from maize

sprouts, similar to South American chicha, are also widespread in the region (Bruman

2000:37-46).

Pulque, made from fermented maguey juice has been a key aspect of everyday

life among indigenous groups in central Mexico for thousands of years (Bruman 2000).

The drink provides proven medicinal, nutritional, and anesthetic benefits (Bruman 2000;

28

Mitchell 2004:13). Various other cactus-based alcoholic beverages are also found

throughout arid parts of Mesoamerica.

Honey wines, such as balché, discussed above, also play a significant role in

traditional Mesoamerican alcoholic beverage culture (Bruman 2000:91-93). Honey is

widely available in Mesoamerica. It is naturally sugary and requires little processing to

make into an alcoholic beverage. Honey has been detected in ancient beers in other parts

of the world including the ancient Near East (McGovern 2003) and Neolithic China

(McGovern et al. 2004).

Various fruits are used to make traditional Mesoamerican alcoholic beverages

(Bruman 2000). Ethnohistoric accounts attest to the use of fruits grown in gardens by the

contact period Maya to produce wines (S. Coe 1994:166). Any sugary fruit can be made

into a wine given the proper conditions for fermentation (Hornsey 2003). People tend to

use local fruits when they can be found in sufficient quantities and are seasonally

available. Mesoamerica’s diverse and, in places, tropical environment has a wide variety

of fruits that can be used to make wines. Today, the introduced pineapple is often used

by the Lacandon to make beer (Bruman 2000:92). Maya produce alcohol from the

indigenous fruits Pinuela and the chicozapote (Bruman 2000:92-93). Numerous groups

in Mesoamerica also produce wine from sugary palm sap (Bruman 2000).

Cacao Drinks

Cacao-based beverages played a prominent role in Mesoamerican feasting and

ritual life and were often used as a marker of elite status. Cacao beans were even used as

a form of currency in Mesoamerican states in the late Postclassic period and at the time of

contact in the 16th century (Coe and Coe 1996). Cacao plants are the raw material for

two types of ethnographically documented beverages in the New World. One type is the

frothy, bitter, chocolate drink that was highly valued by the Aztec and Maya during the

contact period and that spread to Europe as “hot cocoa” (Coe and Coe 1996; Tozzer

1941:90).

Recently, Henderson and Joyce (in press) discussed how that the pulp of cacao

beans was also fermented to make an alcoholic beverage. Cacao was also often added to

maize gruels to make a “refreshing and savory” drink (S. Coe 1994:141). Unfortunately

29

these beverages would likely be chemically identical in terms of chemical markers (i.e.,

theobromine and caffeine), and would be indistinguishable to molecular analysis.

Maize Gruels

Ethnographic and ethnohistoric sources also discuss maize-based gruels as having

great symbolic value in feasting contexts (Coe 1994). These maize based liquids offer

another possibility as to what the beverage complex ceramics from the San Andrés

feasting deposits may have held. Posolli, a rough maize gruel, was a staple food for

many indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica at least since the contact period. Posolli’s

dietary ubiquity gave the food a great symbolic value, and it was often used as an

offering in a variety of rituals (Coe 1994:137; Tozzer 1941:90). Atolli was a maize gruel

that was similar to posolli. The grain in atolli was more finely ground and the gruel was

cooked after the maize had been diluted with water. Atolli was made using young maize

was a delicacy that was drank in special vessels or used as a ritual offering (Coe

1994:138; Tozzer 1941:90). Both posolli and atolli were nixtamalized, a process in

which the maize is soaked in lime, which softens the kernels and maximizes their

nutritious potential. These maize gruels were also flavored using a variety of techniques

and additions including light fermentation (souring), toasting of the maize, chilies, and

cacao (Coe 1994; Tozzer 1941:90).

Another type of maize drink, called saka or zaka, or “white water”, was used

exclusively during rituals. The white color of this drink was especially important. Saka

had a sandy texture and was not nixmalized. The distinctive white appearance of this

drink probably made it symbolically significant. Other valued foods such as honey and

cacao were often added to saka depending on local custom (Coe 1994:140).

Feasting at San Andrés

This section will present a hypothetical model of the Early Franco period feasting

at San Andrés using the theoretical perspectives, ethnographic evidence, ethnohistoric

evidence, and archaeological evidence presented above. This section also describes

previous archaeological work documenting Middle Formative period Olmec subsistence.

This hypothetical model is the basis for determining the types of materials that were

tested for using molecular analysis. I will describe how many of the feasting activities

described above may also have been present at San Andrés. I will then discuss what

30

elite-feasting foods and beverages may have been used at the site based on later

Mesoamerican examples. This work serves as the basis for the molecular analysis

described in later chapters. Next, I will demonstrate that the midden in Units 7 and 8 in

San Andrés is a feasting deposit through comparison with other such deposits at the

Terminal Classic Period Maya site of Lagartero and the Mycenaean site of Tsoungiza.

Feasting Activities

Theoretical, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric evidence suggests that feasting

functioned in negotiating and reinforcing status relationships among the San Andrés

Olmec. Feasting provides a public stage for the display and enactment of status through

performance of ritual and social obligations and the exchange of goods. Ethnographic

and ethnohistoric evidence from Mesoamerica indicates that special foods and beverages,

such as beers and cacao, played a key role in feasting at San Andrés. This evidence also

indicates that heavy ritualized intoxication would have been a feature of these activities.

Special beverages, especially intoxicating ones, likely played a similar role for the

San Andrés Olmec as they did among later Mesoamerican groups. The relatively large

number of wide-mouthed service vessels found in the Early Franco era feasting deposits

attest to the presence of feasting beverages at San Andrés (von Nagy et al. 2000:13–14).

Ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence demonstrate the spiritual and social functions of

drinking in traditional Mesoamerican cultures. Prehistoric examples from Late Classic

period Maya vase art provide vivid representations of feasting activities involving

alcohol. These depictions correlate with theoretical, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic

accounts describing the spiritual connotations associated with intoxication and how

individuals used drinking occasions as a stage for performing social roles. Interpretations

of prehistoric archaeological and iconographic examples from Postclassic period Central

Mexico by Brumfiel (2004) and John Pohl (1998) provide further evidence for the

prominence of alcoholic beverages in Mesoamerican ritual life and cosmography.

Olmec Foods

Multiple aspects of the Olmec diet have been reconstructed based on

paleobotanical, archaeofaunal, and isotopic work. Research shows that the Olmec

consumed a variety of foods including domesticates, such as maize, and wild resources,

such as fish, turtle, and deer. Most of the domesticates used by the Middle Formative

31

period Olmec were first introduced in the Late Archaic period. These crops include

maize which was introduced at 5100 BC and manioc which started at 4600 BC (Lentz etl

al. 2005; Pope et al. 2001; VanDerwarker 2006).

Foods at San Lorenzo

Work at San Lorenzo has revealed information about the Early Formative period

(1200–800 BC) Olmec diet. San Lorenzo was a major Olmec ceremonial center located

in the Gulf Coast Lowlands. It was most prominent during the Early Formative period

and featured monumental art and architecture. Coe and Diehl (1980a, 1980b) posited that

the Early Formative period San Lorenzo Olmec extensively exploited aquatic resources

such as fish and turtles. Zooarchaeological work by Wing (1978) found that by the Late

Formative period coastal Olmec relied more heavily on domesticated dogs than on

aquatic resources. Phytolith analysis demonstrates that maize cultivation was practiced

by the Early Formative period at San Lorenzo (Zurita-Norguera 1997 in VanDerwarker

2006:35). Macrobotanical remains from maize, beans, and squash have also been

recovered from Early Formative period San Lorenzo (Cyphers 1996 in VanDerwarker

2006:35).

Foods of the Formative Period Tuxtla Mountains

Research by VanDerwarker (2006) revealed dietary patterns in sites in the Tuxtla

mountains, located approximately 100 km northwest of Olmec lowland sites such as La

Venta. Sites in the Tuxtla mountains developed political complexity far slower than

those in the Olmec lowlands; they were still egalitarian in the Middle Formative period.

VanDerwarker’s (2006) research concerns a region outside of the San Andrés area. Her

work is, however, useful in interpreting general trends in the wider Gulf Coast region.

Although relatively little research was done on Middle Formative period materials,

VanDerwarker (2006) found that during this time period people exploited maize and fruit

trees. She also found that people moved away from heavily exploiting aquatic resources

and began eating more terrestrial animals.

Using paleobotanical and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis,

VanDerwarker (2006) found that maize became a major dietary staple by the Terminal

Formative period (AD 100–300). The isotope analysis also revealed that domesticated

dogs ate substantial quantities of maize, either because they were fed it or because of

32

scavenging (VanDerwarker 2006:191). VanDerwarker (2006) also found substantial

amounts of maize carbon in a single deer tooth, a result that could be explained by people

intentionally feeding deer maize or by deer grazing extensively on maize fields.

Foods at San Andrés and La Venta

Palynological work by Pope et al. (2001) and phytolith analysis by Pohl et al.

(2007) demonstrated that maize first appeared at around 5300 BC and that it was

cultivated by 4800 BC. Maize was an introduced, exotic species to the region; no wild

ancestor to maize was native to coastal Tabasco (Pope et al. 2001:1372). Macrobotanical

analysis of carbonized maize cobs from San Andrés dating to the Middle Formative

period indicate that by this time, maize had undergone significant modification through

the course of its cultivation resulting in larger cobs that yielded more food (Lentz et al.

2005). Analysis of groundstone tools from San Andrés also indicates that an increasing

amount of maize was being processed at San Andrés by the Middle Formative period (Du

Vernay 2002). Preliminary work by Rust and Leydon (1994) also showed increasing

amounts of maize pollen and macrobotanical remains in the Middle Formative period at

San Andrés and La Venta.

Various food plants were discovered at San Andrés, suggesting that people at the

site had incorporated numerous domesticates into their diets by the Late Archaic period.

A single domesticated manioc pollen grain was recovered dating to 4600 BC (Pope et al.

2001). Beans were observed in macrobotanical remains from the end of the Middle

Formative period at San Andrés (Lentz et al. 2005; Pope et al. 2001). Chili pepper

(Capsicum annuum) seeds were found in Late Archaic period and Middle Formative

period deposits at San Andrés (Lentz et al. 2005). Chili peppers were commonly used as

flavoring agents throughout Mesoamerican history (S.Coe 1994). San Andrés also

yielded an early example of domesticated sunflower dating to 2800 BC (Lentz et al.

2001; Pope et al. 2001). Macrobotanical remains from various tree fruits, including those

from corozo palms, were also found at San Andrés (Lentz et al. 2005). Significant faunal

analysis of materials from San Andrés has yet to be completed.

Many of the plant remains recovered from San Andrés can be used to

manufacture feasting foods and beverages. These plants include maize, manioc, and the

corozo palm—whose fruit and sap can be used to make alcoholic beverages (Bruman

33

2000; Lentz et al. 2005). The potential use of these substances is further discussed

below.

Potential Feasting Beverages

This thesis focuses on using molecular archaeology to identify the specific types

of feasting beverages used at San Andrés. The ethnographic evidence, discussed above,

and the paleobotanical assemblage at San Andrés formed the basis for hypothesizing the

raw materials used in feasting beverages at the site. These hypothesized beverages

helped determine the types of molecular archaeological analyses that were conducted on

the San Andrés feasting ceramics.

Multiple lines of evidence indicate that there is a high likelihood that maize was

used in feasting beverages at San Andrés. Palynological (Pope et al. 2001) and

macrobotanical analysis (Lentz et al. 2005) demonstrate the presence of maize in this area

as early as the sixth millennium BC and continuing through the Olmec era at San Andrés.

Ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence demonstrates that there were many forms of

maize-based feasting beverages including various types of maize beers (Bruman 2000;

S.Coe 1994) and special maize gruels (S.Coe 1994). Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis,

detailed in Chapter 4, was used to investigate patterns of maize use within the feasting

deposit.

Various cactus-based alcoholic beverages, such as pulque, are extensively

documented in ethnographic and ethnohistoric sources (Bruman 2000). This research

project omitted any specific molecular analysis of cactus residues because it is unlikely

that any such beverages were used at San Andrés. Cactuses are less typical of wet

tropical areas such as San Andrés, and paleobotanical evidence from the site did not yield

any cactus remains (Pope et al. 2001; Lentz et al. 2005). Furthermore, San Andrés is also

outside of ethnographically observed regions of cactus-wine consumption (Bruman

2000).

Honey may have been used as an ingredient in elite-feasting foods and beverages

at San Andrés, either as a flavoring agent or the sugary base for an alcoholic beverage.

Ethnographic (Bruman 2000; McGee 1988, 1989, 2002) evidence demonstrates the

widespread use of honey in alcoholic beverages in traditional Mesoamerican ritual

feasting. Honey residues can be detected archaeologically by finding evidence of

34

beeswax as indicated by the presence of multiple waxy compounds in the C23–C36 range

of n-alkanes (McGovern et al. 2004:17596). These compounds serve as a biomarker for

honey because traces of beeswax preserve far longer than the sugary portion of honey.

Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to attempt to detect the

biomarkers for beeswax.

Ethnographic evidence (Bruman 2000) and ethnohistoric evidence (S.Coe

1994:166) demonstrates that various fruits were used to produce alcoholic beverages in

Mesoamerica. Paleobotanical analysis of Middle Formative period layers at San Andrés

discovered fruits from the corozo palm, Acrocomia aculeate, which may be used to make

wine (Lentz et al. 2005:9). Sap from the corozo palm can also be used to produce wines

(Bruman 2000; Lentz et al. 2005:9). Although it is possible to detect absorbed residues

of fruit-based and sap-based wines in ceramics (McGovern 2003; McGovern et al. 2004),

it is difficult to discern the exact fruits used to make wines unless specific biomarkers for

fruits were preserved. GC-MS analysis was used in case any distinctive compounds

indicating a specific fruit were detected.

Manioc beer, although not recorded in Mesoamerica by Bruman (2000), is

popularly used to make beer in South America (Uzendoski 2004). Manioc was found in

the paleobotanical assemblage at San Andrés (Lentz et al. 2005; Pope et al. 2001), and

could have been used to make beer for feasts in a way similar to that found in South

America. No specific type of analysis was used to detect manioc beer in the ceramics

because I have no knowledge of any chemical marker that could be detected in absorbed

ceramic residues. It was hoped that comparison with experimental samples of manioc

analyzed with GC-MS might reveal biomarkers.

Cacao is a good candidate for a feasting beverage at San Andrés based on

ethnohistoric (Coe and Coe 1996), linguistic (Kaufman and Campbell 1976), and

molecular archaeological (Hurst et al. 2002; Powis et al. 2002) evidence demonstrating

the use of cacao as far back as the Middle Formative period. Theobromine and caffeine

are chemical biomarkers that are unique to cacao in the Mesoamerica (Hurst et al. 2002).

Linguistic evidence points to a Gulf Coast Olmec origin for the word cacao (Coe

and Coe 1996). Campbell and Kaufman (1976) proposed that the Gulf Coast Olmec

spoke a Proto-Mixe-Zoquean language. They went on to posit that the word for cacao

35

(Mayan kawkaw) was one of many loan words adopted by other Mesoamerican groups

emulating aspects of Olmec culture. Dakin and Wichmann (2000) challenged Campbell

and Kaufman’s (1976) interpretation and instead proposed a later Uto-Aztecan origin for

words referring to chocolate.

Molecular archaeology has proven the existence of chocolate residues in Middle

Formative period ceramics from Colha, Belize, that were approximately

contemporaneous with the feasting deposit at San Andrés. Hurst et al. (2002) used high-

performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical

ionization mass spectrometry (APCI MS) to detect theobromine and caffeine, which are

unique chemical markers for chocolate, in a series of spouted vessels. These spouted

vessels were likely used to prepare and serve the frothy chocolate beverage described in

contact period documents (Coe and Coe 1996; Hurst et al. 2002; Powis et al. 2002).

Hurst et al’s (2002) work provided material proof that cacao was used as a beverage by

the Middle Formative period. The current research project used electrospray ionization

time of flight-mass spectrometry (ESI TOF-MS) to look for absorbed cacao residues as

indicated by theobromine and caffeine. This analysis is detailed in Chapter 5.

Chili pepper seeds were recovered in macrobotanical analysis at San Andrés

(Lentz et al. 2005). Ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence indicate that chili peppers

were probably used as a flavoring agent in many feasting foods including maize gruels

and cacao drinks (S. Coe 1994; Coe and Coe 1996). I, however, did not direct any

molecular analysis toward detecting chili residues. Future work using phytolith analysis,

such as that conducted by Perry et al. (2007), could be used to detect patterns of chili

pepper use in vessels.

36

Table 3-1 Potential feasting beverages and types of analysis. Food Potential Form Type of Analysis

maize maize beer, porridge bulk stable carbon isotope analysis

honey honey wine, flavoring agent GC-MS manioc manioc beer GC-MS fruits (including corozo palm)

fruit wine (palm wine) GC-MS

cacao frothy cacao beverage, cacao wine

ESI TOF-MS

chili peppers flavoring agent none

Identifying the San Andrés Feasting Deposit

Feasting activities are usually inferred based on ceramic and food remains

(Rosenswig 2006). Feasting deposits generally represent the accumulated refuse of

multiple feasts in a single designated space (Rosenswig 2006). Table 3-2 below, adapted

from Rosenswig (2006), shows the types of materials associated with behaviors expected

at a feasting event that would be archaeologically detectable. This behavior produces

dense deposits of artifacts related to feasting in a single location (Dabney et al. 2004).

Feasting deposits are therefore relatively rare because they are only detected if people

either have a huge feast or continually use the same location for feasting.

Postdepositional behaviors can also affect the archaeological visibility of feasts. For

example, feasting locations are often cleaned, and in Mesoamerica feasting middens are

often incorporated into construction fill (Pohl 2006, personal communication).

37

Table 3-2 Expected material remains from a feasting context (adapted from Rosenswig 2006) Category Behavior Expected Material Remains

facilities – food preparation – special feasting location – ritual behaviors

– hearths – special architecture – ritual objects

food preparation – food processing – cooking pots – cutting tools – groundstone tools

food presentation – Serving food and drink to large groups

– special dishes and platters – special cups and jars – special large vessels to distribute food from

food consumption – consumption of meat and plant foods

– organic residues in ceramics – distinct faunal remains – macro botanical remains

Excavation of Feasting Deposits at San Andrés

This thesis focuses on materials from the refuse of Early Franco era feasting

activities were found in the BGS clay stratum. The BGS clay was linear deposit that was

a long linear stratum that was encountered in Units 7 and 8 and in the sump pump. The

BGS clay level contained a high concentration of ceramics, faunal remains, and luxury

ritual items. This artifact composition led investigators to infer that this BGS clay

stratum was associated with the deposition of feasting refuse (Pohl et al. 2004; von Nagy

et al 2001), as will be discussed further in Chapter 3. The BGS clay level deposit is a

complex phenomenon and it is unknown how many feasting events it was associated

with. Researchers believe that it was created by multiple feasting events, although the

precise number of events is unclear (Pohl 2006, personal communication). This situation

is often the case with feasting deposits (Rosenswig 2006). As can be seen in Figure 3-8,

the BGS clay stratum is overlaid with a sherd pavement, whose exact purpose is unclear

(Pohl 2006, personal communication).

38

Figure 3-8: Stratigraphy of San Andrés (Pope et al. 2001:1371). Level 10 with the arrow pointing to it contains the BGS clay level. The BGS clay feasting deposit was found in Units 7 and 8 in this level.

Figure 3-9: Stratigraphy of Unit 8 (Pohl et al. 2004:21). The arrow indicates the BGS clay stratum that contained the feasting deposit. The north wall of the unit is aligned with the south wall of the adjacent unit, Unit 7.

39

Materials in the BGS clay stratum date to around 650 BC based on ceramic

typology and radiocarbon dates. von Nagy’s (2003) examination of ceramics from the

BGS clay provide an Early Franco phase date for the deposit. Calibrated radiocarbon

dates were obtained from three samples, a Phaseolus seed and two maize cobs, recovered

from the BGS clay level of Unit 7 (Pope et al. 2001). These results can be seen below in

Table 3-3: These radiocarbon dates combined with the ceramic data from the stratum

provide an average date of around 650 BC for the BGS clay level deposits in Units 7 and

8.

Table 3-3 Radiocarbon dates from BGS clay level samples (adapted from Pope et al. 2001:1372).

Sample 14C age (years BP)

Calibrated date: 2σ

calendar yr. BC

Calibration curve intercept

(calendar yr. BC)

Material

Unit 7–180AA33577

2345 ± 50 725–219 399 Phaseoulus seed

Unit 7–180AA33925

2390 ± 50 760–385 406 Zea mays cob

Unit 7–180AA33925

2430 ± 45 762–401 449 Zea mays cob

Materials in the San Andrés Feasting Midden

BGS clay deposit included a high number of complete and nearly complete

ceramic serving vessels that were densely deposited. These service wares included large

dishes that had rim diameters nearly double those of similar wares found in normal

domestic settings, indicating that they were used to serve many people (von Nagy et al.

2000:15). The assemblage from BGS clay deposit also included many ceramics

associated with beverage service including fine black paste drinking cups and wide-

40

mouthed urns (von Nagy et al. 2000:13). High numbers of large, sand-tempered food

preparation wares also indicate that higher than usual amounts of food and drink were

served at San Andrés (von Nagy et al. 2000:14–15). Greater than usual quantities of

large-mammalian faunal material were also recovered from the deposit in Units 7 and 8,

indicating relatively high levels of meat consumption (Pohl 2006, personal

communication).

A large quantity of ritual prestige goods including a shark tooth and early use of

writing on a roller stamp and greenstone plaques (Perrett 2003; Pohl et al. 2001; Pohl et

al. 2004) was recovered from the midden at San Andrés. The presence of these luxury,

ritually significant items indicates that the activities that produced the deposit were ritual

and conducted by elites. This pattern is as expected because feasts are often associated

with ritual (Dietler 1996, 2001).

Comparison with other Archaeological Feasting Middens

Comparison with other known archaeological examples of feasting deposits—

from Tsoungiza in Greece and from Lagartero in Mexico—reinforces the identification of

the BGS clay stratum materials at San Andrés as a feasting midden. Feasting deposits

can be identified by unusually high concentrations of specialized wide mouthed serving

wares and faunal materials, deposited from the greater than usual consumption of

beverages and foods. Elite-feasting deposits tend to have quantities of luxury goods,

often deposited as part of elite ritual activities during feasting. Feasting middens are

dense deposits found in a single stratum that are the result of a few large dumping events

over a relatively short period of time.

The Terminal Classic period Maya site of Lagartero in Chiapas, Mexico, had a

ritual feasting deposit that can be used as a comparative example for the one at San

Andrés. This deposit consisted of a densely packed midden filled with a chronologically

homogenous collection of ceramic serving and cooking wares, including luxury beverage

service vessels that may have been used for cacao (Kozelsky 2005:14). The deposit also

contained a large number of mammalian faunal remains used as meat in feasting

(Kozelsky 2005). Figurines and other ritual and luxury items were also present in

significant quantities reflecting the ritual nature of many feasts (Dietler 2001; Kozelsky

2005).

41

The Mycenaean site of Tsoungiza, located within two hours walking distance of

Mycenae, contained a well-documented subsidiary elite feasting deposit that can serve as

an analogy for identifying the San Andrés material as a feasting midden. Tsoungiza and

San Andrés are analogous sites in that both were associated with early complex societies

(the Olmec and the Mycenaens), and both were subsidiary elite centers located near a

major site (La Venta for San Andrés, and Mycenae for Tsoungiza. The ceramics at

Tsoungiza were predominantly open service wares, many of which, such as kylikes

(specialized wine cups), were used to serve alcoholic beverages (Dabney et al. 2004;

Wright 1995). According to Dabney et al. (2004), the ceramics deposit accumulated

rapidly as evidenced by their chronological uniformity, their presence in a single thin

stratigraphic layer, and the high density of the deposit, with little soil matrix between

sherds. The high percentage of complete or nearly complete open vessels, as well as their

relatively light ware patterns, also differentiated the Tsoungiza feasting deposit from

everyday domestic middens (Dabney et al. 2004).

The feasting deposits in Units 7 and 8 at San Andrés had numerous features in

common with those at Lagatero and Tsoungiza. The San Andrés midden contained a

relatively high concentration of complete, or nearly complete open service vessels that

showed little wear, like those at Tsoungiza. The vessels in the San Andrés deposit were

found in a single layer of soil and were characteristic of a single phase of occupation (the

Early Franco period). This depositional pattern is also found at the feasting middens at

Lagatero and Tsoungiza. The large number of vessels used for serving special beverages

is also evidence that the BGS Clay level midden deposits at San Andrés were the result of

feasting activities. A similar pattern is seen in the kylikes, used for wine drinking, at

Tsoungiza, and in the luxury beverage service vessels at Lagatero (Kozelsky 2005:14).

The feasting deposits at San Andrés, Tsoungiza, and Lagatero all contained

significant quantities of food refuse as indicated by high concentrations of faunal

materials. The Lagartero deposit contained large numbers of bones from deer and dog

(Kozelsky 2005). Tsoungiza had considerable quantities of cattle, goat, pig, and sheep

bones (Dabney et al. 2004). The feasting middens at San Andrés also contained

significant amounts of faunal remains. This material is yet to be fully analyzed, although

42

preliminary work indicates that it contains high concentrations of dog and deer (Pohl

2006, personal communication).

The feasting middens at San Andrés, like those at Tsoungiza and Lagatero,

contained numerous signs of elite ritual. Many of the San Andrés feasting vessels were

deposited upside-down, as if their contents were dumped, and the vessels disposed of as

if in some ritual termination of the feasting event (Pohl 2006, personal communication).

The deposits at San Andrés (Perrett 2003), Tsoungiza (Dabney et al. 2004), and Lagatero

(Kozelsky 2005) all contained higher than normal concentrations of luxury items

associated with ritual such as figurines.

Summary

Feasting—the ritualized distribution and consumption of special foods and

beverages among multiple participants—plays a prominent role in early complex

societies around the world. The BGS clay level midden at San Andrés was identified as a

feasting midden based on comparison with other archaeological sites. The feasting

deposits at the subsidiary elite center of San Andrés represent a setting in which La Venta

Olmec elite gained and maintained status by performing ritual and social roles and by

reaffirming kinship and social bonds with attendees. Special foods and beverages were

symbolically loaded valued goods that could attract participants and make a feast a

special event. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence indicate that many feasting foods

and beverages were beverages, including alcoholic ones. Possible feasting beverages for

San Andrés were identified based on ethnographically and ethnohistorically recorded

examples of such foods and beverages and on the paleobotanical assemblage recovered

from the site. These foods and beverages including beverages made of maize, cacao,

honey, and various fruits served to guide the molecular analyses described in subsequent

chapters.

43

CHAPTER 4: BULK STABLE CARBON ISOTOPE

ANALYSIS

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis was one of the three types of molecular tests

conducted on the feasting ceramics from San Andrés. This analysis revealed differential

patterns of δ13C between fine paste luxury serving wares and utilitarian sand-tempered

ceramics. Based on the paleobotanical evidence and archaeological context of the

samples, the variability in δ13C values implies differential proportions of maize usage

between these two categories of ceramics over their use life. The results of the bulk

stable carbon isotope analysis indicated that maize was used in higher concentrations in

foods and beverages served in luxury serving wares. This association between maize and

luxury feasting beverage-service ceramics points to maize as a valued food or drink,

perhaps as a maize beer or saka-like maize gruel.

Background

Principles of Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis

The carbon isotope ratio of a ceramic sample indicates the constituent plants of

absorbed residues because the isotopic signature of C4 plants originates from a specific,

unique photosynthetic pathway (Deines 1980). 98.9% of carbon is 12C with 1.1% being 13C (Hoefs 1987). The term “δ13C” describes the deviation of the stable carbon isotopic

ratio (13C/12C) in a sample from that in a standard. The δ13C value of a sample

correlates to the type of plant from which the carbon originated. The photosynthetic

pathway (C3 or C4) by which the plant affixes carbon for its plant material from

atmospheric CO2 largely determines the carbon composition of the plant (Deines 1980,

Farquhar et al. 1989: 503, Smith 1982). C4 plants have an average δ13C value of -13‰,

and C3 plants have an average δ13C value of -26‰ (Deines 1980). Photosynthesis is the

process by which green plants convert solar energy into chemical energy. Plants then use

this chemical energy to convert atmospheric CO2 to carbohydrates. Different

mechanisms evolved for fixing CO2 from solar-generated energy (Smith 1982:99). In C3

44

plants photosynthetic carbon fixation occurs via ribulose-1, 5-diphosphate carboxylase

(RUDPC) (Deines 1980:331). In C4 plants atmospheric CO2 enters the cell through the

stomates, and all carbon fixation takes place in the mesophyll cells. In the mesophyll

cells, CO2 reacts with the enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), yielding oxaloacetic acid

(OAA). C4 plants affix CO2 more efficiently because there is no competition for oxygen

because PEP has a high affinity for CO2 and a low affinity for O2 (Smith 1982:100).

These different enzymatic pathways in carbon fixation during photosynthesis between C3

and C4 plants lead to the differential stable carbon isotopic signature for materials from

the two types of plants. The δ13C ratio will stay constant in a sample over time because

12C and 13C are stable isotopes that do not decay (Farquhar et al. 1989: 503).

The vast majority of terrestrial plants are C3 plants (Smith 1982). The C4

photosynthetic pathway is a relatively recent adaptation by plants in warm, arid

semitropical and tropical environments to more efficiently affix atmospheric CO2. C4

plants are present in only 16 of 300 families of flowering plants, and they constitute a

minority in all families in which they exist (Smith 1982:100). This rarity of C4 plants

means that the distinctive δ13C signature of C4 plants (-13‰) can only come from a

limited number of plant species. The number of C4 plants used for food by humans is

even more limited compared to C3 food plants (Smith 1982:102).

Maize (Zea mays) is the most prominent C4 crop in pre-Contact New World

contexts (Reber and Evershed 2004; Smith 1982:102). The only C4 plants recovered

from paleobotanical work at San Andrés were maize and species of Chenopodium (Lentz

et al 2006, Smith 1982). Paleobotanical analysis by Lentz et al. (2006) indicates that

maize was the only major C4 food plant found at San Andrés, therefore, any C4 isotopic

signature likely originated from maize.

Previous Archaeological Work with Stable Carbon Isotopic Analysis of Ceramics

Researchers have used molecular analysis of ceramics to track maize use in North

America. Reber and Evershed (2004) successfully used compound-specific stable carbon

isotopic analysis using gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry

(GC-C-IRMS) to detect absorbed organic residues in ceramics from 17 different sites in

the Mississippi valley. Using the GC-C-IRMS they analyzed the carbon isotopic

45

signatures of palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) in samples. The methodology

proved to be largely successful in detecting maize, although it was found in fewer

samples than expected based on the isotopic analysis of human skeletal material (Reber

and Evershed 2004).

This research project, like Reber and Evershed’s (2004) work, examined absorbed

organic residues. Such residues are usually lipids that are integrated into the ceramic

matrix. Absorbed residues are hydrophobic and therefore resistant to leaching out of the

ceramic fabric. The ceramic matrix also protected the absorbed residues from processes

of organic decay (Reber and Evershed 2004:20).

Reber and Evershed (2004:23–24) disagreed with using bulk stable carbon isotope

analysis for ceramics because of the “food web effect.” This process refers to

interference of the carbon signature of absorbed organic residues by other materials used

in that vessel over the course of its use lifetime. Interference can also arise from the

carbon signature of the artifact’s burial matrix. The “food web effect” probably

influenced the samples’ isotopic signatures in that they reflect the variety of materials in

contact with the vessel over the course of its use life and burial. The “food web effect”

does not negate the results of the analysis, however, because the bulk stable carbon

isotope analysis that I employed concerns the relative proportion of C4 plants used

between different classes of ceramics. Reber and Evershed (2004) were primarily

concerned with detecting the presence of maize, and any C4 signature that was degraded

by C3 carbon interference would reduce the likelihood of detection. The interference of a

C3 plant environment on the bulk isotopic signature is of less concern in this study

because it examined differential proportions of maize use between ceramic classes.

This research project examined samples from a relatively contained spatial and

temporal context, the BGS clay deposit. Reber and Evershed (2004), however, examined

samples from 17 different sites from multiple time periods. The uniformity in the

archaeological context of the San Andrés study’s samples allows for comparison of the

bulk stable carbon isotopic results because they were subject to the same postdepositional

interferences. Compound specific analysis was more appropriate for Reber and

Evershed’s (2004) work because their samples came from a variety of contexts, and

46

variability in interference from the burial matrixes of the samples could complicate

comparison of bulk stable carbon isotopic data.

Another example of using carbon isotopic analysis to examine patterns of maize

use in ceramics is a study by Morton and Schwarcz (2004). They used bulk stable carbon

isotopic analysis to analyze encrusted residues from 45 sites in Ontario, Canada, ranging

in dates from 650 BC to AD 1725. The researchers used chemical tests to check for soil

contaminations. Morton and Schwarcz (2004:505) analyzed uncontaminated samples

with an elemental analyzer attached to a mass spectrometer. This analytical method was

similar to what was used in the analysis of the San Andrés samples, although different

instruments were used in the two projects.

Morton and Schwarcz (2004) demonstrated the use of animal products by using

nitrogen isotopic analysis on their residues. Enriched levels of 15N indicate animal fats,

just as enriched levels of 13C indicate C4 plant carbon. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic

analysis indicated that the residues showed low levels of maize use and mixtures of

native C3 plants, herbivore meat, and freshwater fish (Morton and Schwarcz 2004:514).

The researchers asserted that maize was a minor part of the meals cooked in the ceramics

that they analyzed. They hypothesized that maize was likely processed in other ways

such as being eaten off the cob (Morton and Schwarcz 2004:515). Morton and Schwarcz

(2004:515) posited that the carbon and nitrogen isotopic evidence indicated that people

were cooking C4 plant-fed animals in their ceramics rather than directly cooking maize in

them.

It is unlikely that C4 signature carbon in the San Andrés ceramics was of a faunal

origin as was the case with Morton and Schwarcz’s (2004) work. Preliminary carbon

isotope analysis on faunal materials from the same midden deposit as the analyzed

ceramics indicates that animals around Early Franco period San Andrés did not feed on

C4 plants (Michelle Markovics 2006, personal communication). This work with faunal

material indicates that it is unlikely that any C4 signature carbon came from C4 plant fed

animals and suggests that C4 signature carbon probably came from maize. The presence

of maize at San Andrés is well established by paleobotanical work at the site (Pope et al.

2001; Lentz et al. 2005). Therefore, the question as to the presence of maize, as with

Morton and Schwarcz’s (2004) investigation, is secondary to how it was used in feasting.

47

Like Reber and Evershed (2004), Morton and Schwarcz (2004) examined samples

from a number of sites over a long range of time aiming to find the presence of maize use

in encrusted-residues. This research differs from the work conducted on the San Andrés

ceramics, where absorbed residues were examined from ceramics from a relatively

narrowly defined archaeological context. It was therefore easier to compare the isotopic

data between different classes of San Andrés ceramics to see how maize was used within

the relatively synchronic cultural system of a feasting midden complex from a single time

period.

Through the analysis of experimental ceramic samples, Hart et al. (2007)

identified some potential problems with Morton and Schwarcz’s (2004) conclusions

concerning their isotopic analysis of encrusted cooking remains. According to Hart et

al.’s (2007) analysis, the percent of C4 plant carbon observed in charred residues is

affected by the carbon content of the various burned foods that contributed to the

residues. This differential contribution of carbon can skew the observed C4 plant carbon

percentage towards over-representing foods with higher carbon contents rather than

showing an accurate direct proportion of the amount of C4 plants used in foods (Hart et

al. 2007:810). The researchers argued that this phenomenon led to the under-

representation of maize in Morton and Schwarcz’s (2004) analysis. Hart et al.

(2007:811) asserted that such isotopic research must be supplemented by paleobotanical

and faunal analysis to determine the extent of maize (a C4 plant) use more accurately.

They argued against the use of stable carbon isotopic analysis of charred remains as a

viable method for examining ancient foods and beverages.

The issues surrounding the use of stable carbon isotopic analysis presented by

Hart et al. (2007) do not necessarily disprove the results of analysis conducted on the San

Andrés ceramics. Hart et al.’s (2007) work concerned the analysis of burned encrusted

residues, such as those analyzed by Morton and Schwarcz (2004). My research project

analyzed absorbed organic residues rather than external charred residues. The variable

carbon content of foods may have a greater effect on charred residues because of the

process of burning, which could potentially skew the results further than those

encountered when dealing with unburned absorbed residues. My experimental work

involving soaking modern ceramics in various types of beers (described below)

48

demonstrated that absorbed residues reflected the carbon signature of the beverages in

which the ceramics were soaked. Future work will examine the effect of mixing foods

and beverages with different carbon isotopic signatures to see the extent to which the

analysis reflects the different contributions.

The broad comparative methodology behind the research conducted on the San

Andrés ceramics also ensures the validity of its results. The carbon isotope signatures in

this study are to be interpreted through broad comparison of the results between different

classes of ceramics rather than as direct reflections of the proportion of maize use in each

vessel. Hart et al.’s (2007) work shows that the results of isotope analysis should not be

read as direct reflections of the amount of maize used in each vessel. Results should be

viewed as showing that one category of ceramics contained proportionally more or less

maize over the time that the vessels in that category were used.

Methodology

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis on absorbed organic residues was conducted

on ceramic samples with the assistance of Dr. Yang Wang of Florida State University

department of geological sciences using a CarloErba elemental analyzer (EA) connected

to a Finnigan MAT DELTA Plus XP stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) via a

ConFlo-III interface. Twenty-six ancient ceramic samples were analyzed along with 6

modern experimental samples.

Ceramic Categories

Twenty-six San Andrés ceramics were divided into four analytical categories that

reflected differences in use and form, these included: luxury volcanic ash tempered (n =

16), luxury sand tempered (n = 4), utilitarian sand tempered (n = 4), and an “other”

category (n = 2).

Luxury volcanic ash tempered ceramics included wares designated by von Nagy

(2003) as being Desengaño black and white, Encrucijada black and white, and Tanochapa

black. Ceramics included in the luxury sand tempered ceramics included Naranjeño

black and white and unspecified fine sand tempered wares. Utilitarian ceramics were

generally sand tempered and are represented by the Gogal plain and Bronce unslipped

types during the Early Franco period in the Grijalva Delta (von Nagy 2003:832). These

49

ceramics were simple, unembellished, and used primarily for day-to-day domestic

activities.

The “other” category of ceramics includes two samples that failed to fit within

any of the other categories. One of these samples was a censor base that was not used as

a vessel in food preparation or service and did not fit into any of the ware categories. The

second sample in the “other” category was a Flores waxy ware. Flores Waxy is distinct

from all other forms of ceramics in the San Andrés area around the Early Franco period

and seems rooted in ceramics from the Maya area (von Nagy 2003:294–295).

Luxury vs. Utilitarian wares

The term “luxury” refers to ceramics used mainly in service and ceremonial

functions rather than in everyday use (von Nagy 2003:185). Luxury wares are

differentiated from utilitarian wares based on the contexts in which they are found,

different amounts of embellishment in decoration and design, and different amounts of

labor in their manufacture. The luxury ceramics analyzed in the present study come from

a tradition of differentially fired wares that was the primary serving and ceremonial

pottery for a millennium in the Grijalva delta region (von Nagy 2003:269, 833). The two

categories of luxury wares are volcanic ash tempered wares and sand tempered wares.

All utilitarian wares analyzed in the present study were sand tempered.

An examination of patterns in the archaeological contexts in which the luxury and

utilitarian wares were discovered in points to different functions for these two categories.

The luxury wares are mostly found in elite ritual contexts at sites such as La Venta and

San Andrés and less frequently in lower-raking villages and hamlets (von Nagy

2003:186). Utilitarian wares are most frequently found in domestic contexts and are

overall more common than luxury wares (von Nagy 2003).

Luxury and utilitarian wares at San Andrés are also distinguished by the labor that

was expended in their manufacture. In general, luxury wares required greater labor than

utilitarian wares. The luxury wares are more frequently decorated than the utilitarian

ones, which tend to be unembellished (von Nagy 2003). Luxury wares were made in a

variety of specialized forms, such as urns, for serving foods and beverages during special

occasions. Utilitarian wares, however, were made in more general-use forms such as

tecomates and bowls (von Nagy 2003). Overall, the luxury wares are more finely made

50

than the utilitarian ones, and the paste of the luxury wares is finer to the touch. This fine

workmanship indicates that greater amounts of labor were expended in the manufacture

of the luxury wares.

Differential amounts of labor were also expended in acquiring the temper used in

ceramic manufacture. The volcanic ash used to make the luxury volcanic ash tempered

wares likely came from a moderately distant source located to the southeast of San

Andrés at the volcano Chichón (von Nagy 2003:185,199). Acquiring the ash for the

temper would have required significant labor in terms of the transportation of the material

and the economic relationships needed to acquire it (von Nagy 2003:186). Volcanic ash

was a preferred temper because it produced vessels that were stronger and more resilient

than vessels tempered with sand (von Nagy 2003:200).

Luxury sand tempered wares contained finer sand than the more coarsely

tempered utilitarian ones. Von Nagy (2003:195) asserted that ancient potters probably

expended a significant amount of labor in locating rarer deposits of the fine sand used in

the luxury wares. This special fine sand gave the luxury wares a finer texture and

appearance than utilitarian wares. The type of sand used in manufacturing the utilitarian

wares was more readily available to ancient potters in the Grijalva delta region (von Nagy

2003:195).

Modern Experimental Samples

In addition to the ancient samples, six modern ceramics were tested to set a

baseline for interpreting the isotopic results of the ancient samples. These modern

samples consisted of three blank unmodified ceramics, a ceramic soaked in maize-beer, a

ceramic soaked in manioc-beer, and a ceramic soaked in honey-wine. Ceramics were

soaked in alcoholic beverages for several days to test the hypothesis that such beverages

were served during feasts. Beverages were chosen based on traditional beers recorded in

Bruman’s (2000) ethnographic survey of Mesoamerican beverages. Manioc beer was

also tested because of the presence of manioc in the paleobotanical analysis of the site

(Lentz et al. 2005) and because of the prevalence of manioc beer in tropical New World

cultures (Hornsey 2003; Uzendoski 2004). A sample of ground maize kernels from the

same batch that made the maize beer was also tested to see if the carbon isotope signature

of maize was retained through the fermentation process.

51

The modern samples served as a baseline from which to interpret the isotopic

results of the ancient materials. They also helped me gauge the extent to which the δ13C

signatures of the beers absorb into ceramics. The manioc beer soaked ceramics would be

expected to have a strong C3 carbon signature because manioc is a C3 plant. Likewise,

the maize beer soaked sample would be expected to have a strong C4 signature because

maize is a C4 plant. Honey-wine soaked samples would be expected to have a C3

signature because most of the flowers that bees feed on are C3 plants (Smith 1982), and

the carbon isotopic composition stays constant through the bee’s metabolic processes

(Deines 1980; Farquhar et al. 1989; Smith 1982).

Sample Preparation and Analysis

Ceramic samples were prepared by first chipping a 1–2g piece of the ceramics

using a soap and acetone cleaned chisel and hammer. I gently cleaned the ceramic

samples with distilled water, after which they were dried at a low temperature in a drying

oven. The samples were then ground to the consistency of a silt-like powder using a

mortar and pestle that was cleaned with soap, distilled water, and acetone between each

sample. The powdered samples were stored in plastic storage bags. I placed 1.5 mg of

the samples into tin sample cups that I then folded into small cubes and placed in the

sample feeder for the EA. The EA burned the samples at 1020ºC, instantly converting

them to gasses (i.e., CO2, N2, NxOx, H2O etc.). The gasses were passed through a

reduction column, which converted NxOx to N2. A water trap removed H2O from the gas

mixture and a GC column then separated CO2 from N2 gas. The carbon dioxide gasses

next went to the mass spectrometer via the ConFlo-III interface. The mass spectrometer

detected the relative abundance of the stable carbon isotopes 12C and 13C. The results

were reported in the standard notation as δ13C in reference to the PDB standard,

assuming that C3 plant carbon has an average δ13C signature of -27‰ ratio of 12C and

13C and the C4 plant carbon has an average δ13C signature of -13‰. I calculated the

percentage of C4 plant carbon in each sample using the mass-balance relationship: x =

(δ13C sample + 27) ÷ 14, where x is the fraction of C derived from C4 plants and δ13C

52

is the measured isotope ratio of a sample. This formula proved useful in comparing

results between the different samples.

Results

A bulk stable carbon isotopic analysis revealed discernable patterns in the relative

amount of C4 plant carbon in the samples between luxury and utilitarian wares. The

isotopic results of both the ceramic and ancient samples are presented below in Table 4-1

and Figures 4-1 and 4-2. The majority of the ancient ceramic samples had δ13C values

someplace in between the average values for C3 and C4 plants (Figure 4-1). This finding

indicates that the pots contained a mix of different types of plants or that various organic

materials were used in the vessels at different times. The mixed signal could also have

been the result of environmental interference from the largely C3 environment in which

the ceramics were buried for nearly 3,000 years (Reber and Evershed 2004:23-24). The

δ13C results may therefore represent a diminished proportion of C4 signature carbon

residues.

Analysis of the modern experimental ceramic samples aided in interpreting the

results from the ancient ceramics. Results for these experimental ceramics were

consistent with those expected. The modern ceramics proved that carbon from beers

absorbs into the ceramic matrix and that the isotopic signature of the beer’s plant material

is reflected in that of the ceramic sample (Figures 4-1 and 4-2). The three blank,

untreated modern ceramics had strong C3 plant carbon signatures. This finding is

consistent with what would be expected for ceramics because C3 plant signature is the

standard in most terrestrial environments.

Three other modern ceramic samples were each soaked in a different type of

traditional Mesoamerican-style beer including honey wine, maize beer, and manioc beer.

The δ13C ratios of the beer soaked ceramics followed hypothesized patterns. The

manioc beer (δ13C: -26.7) and honey wine (δ13C: -27.1) soaked ceramics exhibited a

purely C3 plant carbon signature. This pattern was as expected because manioc is a C3

plant, and the carbon from honey is derived from C3 flowers (Smith 1982). The maize-

53

beer soaked ceramic had a nearly pure C4 plant carbon signature (δ13C: -14.9, 91% C4),

a finding that was expected because maize is a C4 plant.

Figure 4-1: δ13C by sample. The samples are divided by the categories based on their

temper, ware, and function as described in von Nagy’s (2003) ceramic typology of the San Andrés area. Categories include: modern experimental samples (n=6, shown in sold white), luxury volcanic ash tempered (n = 14, shown in vertical lines), luxury sand tempered (n = 4, shown in black on white pattern), utilitarian sand tempered (n = 4, shown in white on black pattern), and an “other” category (n = 2, shown in diagonal lines). Lower δ13C values indicate higher levels of maize signature carbon.

54

Figure 4-2: Estimated % C4 signature plant carbon by sample. Patterns distinguishing different ceramic categories are as in Figure 4-1. Higher percentages of C4 signature plant carbon indicate higher levels of maize use. The results do not necessarily directly reflect the percentage of maize use. The values should be considered in relation to one another as a way to gauge the relative proportion of maize use between classes of vessels.

The average δ13C and C4% results of each analytical category of ancient

ceramics highlight the differences between the ceramic groupings, as seen in Figures 4-3

and 4-4. The luxury volcanic ash tempered ceramics had an average δ13C of -22.4, and

34.4% C4 plant carbon. The luxury sand tempered ceramics had an average δ13C of –23

55

with a C4 plant carbon percentage of 29%. The utilitarian sand tempered ceramics had a

δ13C of -25.4 and a C4 plant carbon percentage of 11%. The “other” category of

ceramics had a δ13C of -23.5 and a C4 plant signature carbon percentage of 24.9 %.

The most drastic difference in this data set was between the luxury wares (both volcanic

ash and sand tempered) and the utilitarian wares.

Figure 4-3: Average δ13C by ceramic category.

56

Figure 4-4: Average estimated %C4 signature plant carbon by ceramic category.

57

Table 4-1: δ13C and estimated C4 plant carbon % by sample

Sample Ware δ13C Estimated

C4% Modern Samples Blank Ceramic Modern –27.1 0 Blank 40/50 Modern –26.2 6 Blank 50/53 Modern –28.4 –11 Maize beer Modern –13.9 91 Honey wine Modern –27.1 0 Manioc beer Modern –26.7 3 Luxury Volcanic Ash Tempered Plate #9 Encrucijada black and white –24.3 19 Vessel 3 Tancochapa black –25.3 12 Vessel 8 Tancochapa black –22.7 30 Vessel 21 Tancochapa black –21 42 Sample #25 Tancochapa black –25.7 10 Vessel 12 Desengaño black and white –20.6 45 Vessel 15 Desengaño black and white –20 49 Vessel 22 Desengaño black and white –19 56 Vessel 31 Desengaño black and white –22.9 29 Sample #40 Desengaño black and white –27.3 24 Sample #50 Desengaño black and white –21 42 Sample #53 Desengaño black and white –20.3 47 Sample #57 Desengaño black and white –18.6 59 Sample #61 Desengaño black and white –21.8 37 Under Vessel 2 next to Vessel 24

Desengaño black and white –25.4 12

Vessel [C] Desengaño black and white –21.7 37 Luxury Sand Tempered Vessel [B] Unspecified –25.5 11 Vessel [E] Naranjeño black and white –21.2 41 Sample #56 Naranjeño black and white –22.1 35 Sample #29 Unspecified –23.1 28 Utilitarian Sand Tempered Vessel 5 Gogal plain –25.9 8 Vessel 10 Gogal plain –24.1 19 Vessel 16 Gogal plain –26 6 Vessel 28 Gogal plain –25.5 10 Other Sample #41 Flores Waxy –23.2 27 Sample#49 Censor base –23.8 23

58

Discussion

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis of absorbed ceramic residues is a useful

approach in certain situations such as at San Andrés, where there is a C3 plant

environment and the only source of C4 plant signature carbon is from an introduced

domesticated food crop such as maize. The usefulness of this method is demonstrated by

experimental work with ceramics soaked in different types of beers (maize beer, manioc

beer, honey wine, and blank ceramics). These experimental samples demonstrated that

ceramics acquire the carbon isotope signature of the liquid matrix with which the

ceramics came in contact. The isotopic results should not be read as direct reflections of

the amount of maize used in each vessel. The manner of bulk stable carbon isotopic

analysis used in this analysis is a broad approach and is best used in comparing patterns

of maize use between categories of artifacts.

The isotope signatures of the San Andrés ceramics were unaffected by their

tempering because they were tempered with inorganic materials such as volcanic ash and

sand. In the specific circumstances of San Andrés (which is a C3 plant environment, and

the ceramics being grit tempered) any C4 plant carbon signature would be indicative of

maize. This pattern is evidenced by the similarity in isotopic signatures between luxury

volcanic ash tempered and luxury sand tempered ceramics and their dissimilarity with the

utilitarian sand tempered ceramics.

Compound specific stable carbon isotope analysis such as that conducted by

Reber and Evershed (2004) remains a more definitive and precise method for specifically

identifying maize in absorbed ceramic residues. Further work should be done on other

collections of ceramics using the bulk stable carbon isotope method to build a

comparative database with which to interpret results. Future experimental work must

also be conducted to determine the effect to which postdepositional processes such as the

influence of the carbon signature of the soil matrix that the ceramics are buried in has on

their δ13C signature. Work such as Hart et al.’s (2007) should also be conducted to

determine how different amounts of carbon in mixed C3 and C4 signature foods could

affect the results of analysis of absorbed ceramic residues.

Bulk stable isotope analysis may also have advantages over compound-specific

isotope analysis because the bulk method can detect loose carbon isotopes, rather than

59

those fixed in specific chains of hydrocarbons such as C16 and C18 (Reber and Evershed

2004). Such hydrocarbons could break apart over the course of several thousand years;

the bulk method is able to detect carbon isotopes that are not incorporated into specific

compounds. Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis also requires a far smaller sample and

can be done much faster than compound specific isotope analysis. These factors make

bulk stable carbon isotope analysis a useful tool for comparing classes of ceramics in

certain archaeological contexts.

The presence of C4 photosynthetically derived carbon in these ceramics is

expected given that presence of maize in the paleobotanical remains from the Early

Franco period at San Andrés (Pope et al. 2001; Lentz et al. 2006) and the discovery of

maize starch grains in groundstone tools from the same feasting deposit by Du Vernay

(2002).

Differences in δ13C signatures between the luxury and utilitarian wares stem

from variation in use patterns over the course of the vessels’ use-life. The higher

proportion of C4 plant signature carbon, derived from maize, in the luxury serving wares

as opposed to the utilitarian ones indicates that maize had a special place in feasting

contexts. This pattern suggests that maize was used considerably as a feasting food

during the Middle Formative period at San Andrés and that it figured less prominently in

the everyday diet. These findings are consistent with Smalley and Blake’s (2003)

assertion, based on isotope data from human remains, that maize was not yet a staple crop

that dominated people’s diets by the Middle Formative period. These ceramic data

implies that maize may have been used in higher proportions in feasts, perhaps as a maize

beer, as Smalley and Blake (2003) suggested.

Feasting beverages such as maize beers (Bruman 2000) and special porridges (S.

Coe 1994) are probable candidates for the types of foods used at the feasting deposit at

San Andrés. The highest proportion of C4 plant signature carbon was in the luxury

volcanic ash urns. These large urns were serving wares used in feasting contexts for

holding liquids for distribution to smaller bowls (von Nagy et al. 2000:13-14). Open-

mouthed vessels are common in feasting deposits cross-culturally (Dabney et al. 2004).

Isotope analysis indicates that these urns held foods and beverages with a high proportion

of maize, such as maize beers or maize gruels. These urns also resemble vessels later

60

used by the Classic Period Maya for serving cacao (Coe and Coe 1996; von Nagy et al.

2000:13), although electrospray ionization time of flight-mass spectrometry failed to

show any evidence for absorbed cacao residues in such vessels from San Andrés (as

discussed in Chapter 5).

The utilitarian sand tempered tecomates were the vessels with the lowest

proportion of C4 plant carbon. This pattern might be explained by the “food web effect”

(Reber and Evershed 2004). Such utilitarian vessels were widely used in day-to-day

domestic activities such as food preparation and storage (von Nagy 2003:832) indicating

that they would have been exposed to a wider variety of carbon sources. This pattern

suggests that maize was less as a staple food in everyday meals than it was in later

periods in Mesoamerica (Smalley and Blake 2003).

The carbon isotopic signatures of vessels, especially the more widely used

utilitarian ones, were likely not greatly affected by cooking. Experimental work by

Morton and Schwarcz (2004) demonstrated that the wood used for cooking in vessels

would have had little effect on the overall δ13C signature of the vessels. Morton and

Schwarcz (2004:506) cooked maize in ceramics over an open pine wood (a C3 plant) fire,

even adding pine ash to the maize mixture. Their isotope analysis on these samples

showed that the addition of the pine cinders caused a minor effect on the isotopic

signature, adding only 3‰ to the total δ13C‰.

Another explanation for the comparatively low proportion of maize carbon in the

utilitarian tecomates is that these utilitarian wares may have been used for preparing

foods and beverages that involved less maize. Some possible candidates for feasting

foods beverages include: manioc beer, honey wine, fruit based wines, and meat or fish

stews. These hypothesized beverages are based on Mesoamerican beverage and food

culture in the area (Bruman 2000; Coe 1994) as well as the paleobotanical remains

recovered from the Middle Formative period layers at San Andrés (Lentz et al. 2005).

Summary

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis can be used to examine patterns of maize use

in prehistoric ceramics in certain archaeological contexts. Experimental work

demonstrated that ceramics absorb the carbon signatures of beers in which they were

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soaked and that this isotopic signature can be detected using bulk stable carbon isotope

analysis. Testing on a collection of ceramics from a feasting deposit from San Andrés

revealed differential patterns of maize usage between luxury and utilitarian wares.

Luxury ceramics on average tested for significantly higher proportions of C4 plant carbon

than utilitarian ones. These results indicate that maize was used in higher proportions in

elite contexts, such as feasts, where luxury serving ceramics were more widely used. The

form of the vessels with the highest maize content is consistent with the types of vessels

that would have been used to serve maize-based alcoholic beverages or porridges. Such

foods had high symbolic value in feasting contexts throughout Mesoamerican history (see

Chapter 3). These isotopic patterns show that the Early Franco period San Andrés Olmec

valued maize as a luxury feasting food and not necessarily as an everyday dietary staple.

62

CHAPTER 5: ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION –TIME OF

FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY

Introduction

This chapter discusses the novel methodology developed to detect cacao and the

role of cacao based foods and beverages as a high-status feasting foods and beverages

among the San Andrés Olmec. Molecular analysis of the San Andrés feasting ceramics

yielded the first possible direct archaeological evidence of cacao use among the La Venta

area Olmec. Cacao was among the most valuable elite beverages in prehistoric

Mesoamerica (Coe and Coe 1996). Electrospray ionization-time of flight mass

spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS) was used to look for absorbed cacao residues in samples of

the San Andrés feasting ceramics. This is the first time to my knowledge that this

methodology has been used for detecting theobromine and caffeine, the chemical markers

of cacao in either modern or archaeological samples.

Background

This study used ESI-TOF MS, which is a new method for detecting the chemical

signature of cacao in absorbed ceramic residues. Experimental work proved the validity

of this method in detecting such signatures in absorbed organic residues in a ceramic

matrix.

Cacao is the only New World plant that has both theobromine and caffeine,

making it easily identifiable using chemical analytical techniques. Previous research,

such as that by Hurst et al. (2002), used high performance (or pressure) liquid

chromatography (HPLC) to identify cacao in encrusted residues from Middle Formative

period spouted vessels from the site of Colha in Northern Belize.

The ESI-TOF MS used in this study has advantages over HPLC MS. ESI-TOF

MS directly analyzes a stream of ions. The HPLC MS dilutes samples by first dividing

them into different groups of compounds with a liquid chromatographer. The ESI-TOF

MS therefore is able to detect smaller quantities of material than a HPLC MS (Dr.

William Cooper 2007, personal communication). The low threshold for detection of the

ESI-TOF MS is ideal for detecting absorbed organic residues in a ceramic matrix because

of the relatively small amount of organic material that is being observed.

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Methodology

ESI-TOF MS analysis aimed at detecting absorbed cacao residues was conducted

on a group of 17 samples consisting of experimental samples and a subset of the

archaeological samples examined using bulk stable carbon isotope analysis and gas

chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Samples were labeled in sequence as

“Cacao 1” through “Cacao 17”. Analysis was conducted in two stages. The first stage

consisted of a broad scan of all 17 samples. This stage of analysis was of limited

accuracy for the archaeological samples because it did not use an internal standard. A

second stage of analysis involving a calibrated high-resolution scan was conducted on a

subset of three samples including a blank experimental sherd and two archaeological

samples.

Sample Preparation

Experimental Samples

Five experimental modern ceramics were examined to test the validity of this

method in detecting absorbed theobromine and caffeine residues in a ceramic matrix. All

five samples used the same ceramics obtained from the art department at Florida State

University. The ceramics were powdered in a mortar and pestle, as were all ceramic

samples for the various analyses used in this project.

The experimental samples included one soaked in a pure theobromine solution,

one soaked in a pure caffeine solution, one soaked in both theobromine and caffeine, one

soaked in both but rinsed, and a blank ceramic soaked in nothing. The theobromine and

caffeine were prepared by adding 1mg of standard to 1ml of pure water with 0.1% acetic

acid. The combined solution added .5mg of each theobromine and caffeine to the

water/0.1% acetic acid solution. 1.5g of powdered ceramic was added to 10ml of the

theobromine, caffeine, and combined solutions, and was boiled off in the oven at 100º C

until dry. The second combined (theobromine/caffeine) solution soaked ceramic was

then rinsed in pure water and dried again to test the effects of rinsing on the ceramics.

Experimental samples were extracted into a water/methanol solution and analyzed

in the ESI-TOF MS in the manner described below in the “Extraction Procedure” and

“Analytical Specifications” sections.

64

Archaeological Samples

Eleven archaeological samples were tested for cacao residues in the ESI-TOF MS,

consisting of 8 luxury volcanic ash and 3 utilitarian sand tempered vessels. These

samples represent a subset of the archaeological ceramics tested using bulk stable carbon

isotope analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sample size was

limited by time and budgetary constraints; samples were chosen based on likelihood that

they contained chocolate based on ethnohistoric and iconographic evidence (Coe and Coe

1996). Only beverage storage and service forms (such as tecomates, bowls, and urns)

were tested because ethnohistoric and iconographic evidence demonstrates that cacao was

used as a beverage by prehistoric Mesoamerican peoples (Coe and Coe 1996). Samples

were taken from base and body sherds because these parts of the vessels are more likely

to have had sustained contact with beverages, increasing the likelihood of the absorption

of organic residues into the ceramic matrix.

Luxury urn forms were hypothesized to have been the most likely candidates for

cacao use (von Nagy et al. 2000:13-14). Iconographic representations of cacao

preparation and service often depict individuals pouring cacao into large urns as a way to

build a desired frothy head to the beverage (Coe and Coe 1996:50). Five of the eight

luxury volcanic ash tempered samples were urns. Two luxury volcanic ash tempered

tecomates were also tested so as to have a more representative sample of the ceramics at

San Andrés.

Three utilitarian sand tempered wares were also analyzed to ensure a more

representative sample of the feasting ceramics from San Andrés. Two of these utilitarian

ware samples were jars and one was a tecomate. The samples analyzed using ESI-TOF

MS are shown in Table 5-1.

65

Table 5-1: ESI-TOF MS sample roster. Sample Description Comments Cacao 1 theobromine soaked ceramic Cacao 2 caffeine soaked ceramic Cacao 3 theobromine and caffeine soaked

ceramic

Cacao 4 theobromine and caffeine soaked ceramic

rinsed with water to check for absorption of residues

Cacao 5 Vessel 15 luxury volcanic ash tempered urn Cacao 6 Vessel 22 luxury volcanic ash tempered urn Cacao 7 Sample #50 luxury volcanic ash tempered urn Cacao 8 Sample #57 luxury volcanic ash tempered urn Cacao 9 Sample #61 luxury volcanic ash tempered urn Cacao 10 blank ceramic blank, untreated modern ceramic Cacao 11 Vessel 3 luxury volcanic ash tempered

tecomate Cacao 12 Vessel 8 luxury volcanic ash tempered

tecomate Cacao 13 Vessel 10 utilitarian sand tempered jar,

possible cacao residues Cacao 14 Vessel 16 utilitarian sand tempered tecomate Cacao 15 Vessel 28 utilitarian sand tempered jar,

possible cacao residues Cacao 16 Vessel 31 luxury volcanic ash tempered jar Cacao 17 blank ceramic blank, untreated modern ceramic

Extraction Procedure

Both the experimental and archaeological ceramic samples were extracted into a

solution of water, methanol, and acetic acid using the same method. This extraction

procedure aimed at extracting compounds such as theobromine and caffeine from a

ceramic matrix into a liquid matrix that could be analyzed in the ESI-TOF MS. Ceramic

samples were extracted in a 1:1 water (H2O) to methanol (MeOH) solution with 0.1%

acetic acid. Purified distilled water and pesticide grade methanol were used.

Experimental work analyzing pure standards for theobromine and caffeine in the ESI-

TOF MS demonstrated that this water/methanol and acetic acid extraction solution was

ideal for detecting these chemicals.

All ceramic samples were prepared by adding 10ml of extraction solution to 1.5g

of powdered ceramic sample. These solutions were then sonicated (agitated with sonic

waves) for 20 minutes. Next the samples were passed through .45 micron nylon filters to

66

remove any solids. This step is necessary because the ESI-TOF MS can only run purely

liquid samples. Clear extracted samples were then analyzed using the ESI-TOF MS.

Analytical Specifications for Initial Analysis

Dr. Umesh Goli of the department of chemistry of Florida State University

operated the ESI-TOF MS used in this analysis. In the initial round of testing, samples

“Cacao 1” through “Cacao 17” were analyzed in the ESI-TOF MS in positive ion mode

for peaks between m/z 100 and m/z 500.

High Resolution Scan

High-resolution scans calibrated with “PEG low end” internal standards were

conducted on a subset of 3 of the 17 ceramics examined in the initial analysis. These 3

samples included one blank experimental ceramic (Cacao 17) and two archaeological

samples that showed significant amounts of possible target compounds (theobromine and

caffeine) in initial analysis. The two archaeological samples were the utilitarian Gogal

plain wares, Vessel 10 (Cacao 13) and Vessel 28 (Cacao 15).

Sample Preparation

The high-resolution scan used the same prepared extracted samples as were run in

the initial analysis. These extracted samples were reduced to increase the concentration

of absorbed residues for more detailed analysis. Samples were reduced by placing them

in a Labconco Centrifuge concentrator overnight for freeze-drying. Before they could be

freeze-dried the methanol had to be removed from the extracted samples. This step was

necessary because the freezing point for methanol is too low to be freeze-dried in the

available equipment. Methanol reduction was facilitated by transferring samples to test

tubes and placing them under the vent hood in the lab for three weeks to evaporate the

methanol out of the solution.

Analytical Specifications for High-Resolution Analysis

Once the samples were freeze-dried, they were reconstituted with a small amount

of the water/methanol solution so that they could be run in the ESI-TOF MS. Analysis

was conducted in positive ion mode at various focuses for compounds between m/z 130

and m/z 270. Samples were run with the internal standard “PEG low end” to calibrate the

results. This internal calibration adjusted for any inaccuracies in the reported masses. It

67

also allowed for the results to be reported by their relative intensity, which more

accurately reflects the presence and amount of any specific compound.

Results

Initial Analysis

Experimental Samples

The results for the experimental samples were as expected. The theobromine

soaked ceramic had a peak in m/z 181.1, the caffeine soaked ceramic had a peak in m/z

195.1, and the combined theobromine and caffeine samples both had peaks in m/z 181.1

and m/z 195.1. The blank ceramic had no significant peaks. The presence of both

theobromine and caffeine in the rinsed ceramic samples is significant because it shows

that ESI-TOF MS is capable of detecting signals from theobromine and caffeine absorbed

into the ceramic matrix and that these residues can survive mild weathering.

Archaeological Samples

The initial ESI-TOF MS analysis of the archaeological samples yielded two

possible examples of cacao. The results of this initial analysis were, however, equivocal

because the low concentrations of compounds that were detected in the archaeological

samples and the lack of an internal standard makes accurate identification of specific

compounds problematic. Despite these difficulties, the results of the initial analysis

identified possible examples of cacao biomarkers (theobromine and caffeine) and guided

the high-resolution analysis.

The possible presence of cacao residues, as indicated by theobromine and

caffeine, was confirmed in Vessel 10 (Cacao 13) and in Vessel 28 (Cacao 15), both of

which are utilitarian sand tempered Gogal Plain jar. The identification of cacao was

made based on a significant peak in m/z 181 (theobromine) and a smaller peak in m/z 195

(caffeine) seen in the initial ESI-TOF MS analysis of the sample. Vessel 10 (Cacao 13)

had a peak in m/z 181 with an intensity of nearly 4000 and the peak in m/z 195 with an

intensity over 1000. The analytical data for the initial analysis of Vessel 10 (Cacao 13)

are presented in Figures 5-1 and 5-2. Vessel 28 had peaks in 181 and 195 of an intensity

of just over 1000. The results for Vessel 28 (Cacao 15) are presented in Figures 5-2 and

5.3. None of the other archaeological contained quantities of theobromine or caffeine in

68

quantities beyond those found in the “background noise” of experimental blank ceramics.

The complete results of the ESI TOF-MS on all the samples are presented in Appendix B.

Figure 5-1: Vessel 10 (Cacao 13) initial scan.

Figure 5-2: Vessel 10 (Cacao 13) initial scan closeup of area of interest.

69

Figure 5-3: Vessel 28 (Cacao 15) initial scan.

Figure 5-4: Vessel 28 (Cacao 15) initial scan, closeup of area of interest.

70

High-Resolution Scan

The results of the high-resolution scan with the ESI-TOF MS revealed nitrogen-

containing organic compounds similar in mass to caffeine. These nitrogen-containing

compounds are in a class of chemicals commonly referred to as alkaloids, a group that

also includes theobromine and caffeine. High-resolution analysis provided a far more

accurate picture of the compounds in the samples than did the initial uncalibrated scan.

The blank sample (Cacao 17) proved to be useful in discriminating what compounds

were of interest and specific to the archaeological samples.

Peaks in m/z 157.1, 194.1, and 226.1 were of particular interest. The peak in m/z

157.1 most likely represents the compound C9H17O2. This peak was found in all three

samples, including the blank, indicating that it is not archaeologically relevant. The peak

in m/z 194.1 most likely represents the compound C10H14N2O2, a compound similar in

structure and composition to caffeine (C8H10N4O2) in that they are both nitrogen

containing organic compounds. The peak in m/z 226.1 represents another nitrogen

containing organic compound, C15H18N2. The complete results of the high-resolution

scans are in Appendix B.

Discussion

The presence of theobromine (m/z 181) and some caffeine (m/z 195) in the initial

ESI-TOF MS scans of Vessel 10, and in lesser amounts in Vessel 28, indicates that cacao

may have been used in these vessels. The results of the high-resolution scans on these

vessels indicated the presence of similar nitrogen containing organic compounds,

although not necessarily theobromine or caffeine. Initial analysis indicates that cacao

was possibly used in Vessels 10 and 28 based on the readings for theobromine and

caffeine. The high-resolution scans suggest that other plants may have been the source of

the nitrogen containing organic compounds, however. Although further work must be

conducted to clarify the results of these analyses, I will explore the implications of the

possible detection of cacao in the two utilitarian Gogal plain jars, Vessel 10 and Vessel

28.

Cacao

The presence of possible cacao residues in Gogal plain utilitarian jars indicates

that such vessels were used in cacao beverage preparation and service. Stable carbon

71

isotope testing showed that 19% of the absorbed carbon in Vessel 10 was derived from a

C4 plant. Vessel 28 had a C4 plant carbon percentage of 10%. This finding indicates that

maize was likely contained in the vessel at some time during its use life. Maize may have

been added to the cacao beverages served in the vessels, as it was in historically

documented examples (Coe 1994:141; Tozzer 1941:90). The jar was possibly used for

holding multiple substances throughout its use life and that maize and cacao were not

contained in the vessel concurrently.

The Early Franco period (ca. 700–550/500 BC) date for the possible San Andrés

cacao is contemporaneous with the Middle Formative era spouted vessel from Colha,

Belize, which has a terminal date of 600 BC (Hurst et al. 2002:289). The possible

discovery of cacao in the San Andrés vessels provides further proof of the use of cacao

during the Middle Formative period in Mesoamerica. It also shows that the cacao use

was probably widespread and that the Olmec as well as the Maya used cacao.

The possible discovery of cacao in utilitarian jars rather than open-mouthed

vessels such as urns may indicate that the San Andrés Olmec drank a form of cacao

different from the frothy beverage seen elsewhere in Mesoamerica starting in the Middle

Formative period (Coe and Coe 1996; Powis et al. 2002). If the San Andrés Olmec were

using such a frothy beverage, one would expect to find cacao in spouted serving vessels,

such as the one analyzed by Hurst et al. (2002) from Colha, or in open faced urns, as was

suggested by von Nagy et al. (2000:13). The Middle Formative period and Late

Formative period Maya used spouted vessels for serving cacao (Powis et al. 2002), as

demonstrated by chemical testing by Hurst et al. (2002) on vessels from Colha in

Northern Belize. A spouted form waxy ware vessel occurred in the same feasting deposit

at San Andrés, though this vessel has yet to be analyzed for traces of cacao (Pohl 2006,

personal communication).

Scenes painted on polychrome pots demonstrate that Classic period Maya poured

cacao into open-mouthed urns in order to achieve the desired frothy head (Coe and Coe

1996:50). The luxurious, open-mouthed fine-tempered urns from San Andrés yielded no

evidence for absorbed cacao residues despite their similarity in appearance to the Classic

period Maya examples. The possible presence of cacao in a utilitarian jar indicates that

the cacao could have been served as some sort of a beverage that was poured directly into

72

individual drinking bowls. Whisking or beating the cacao beverage could also have

created a frothy head on the cacao, as was popular with the Aztec (Coe and Coe 1996).

This method of beating to produce a frothy head is popular among modern-day groups in

the area around San Andrés (Pohl 2006, personal communication).

Some doubted the use of cacao among the Olmec because of a lack of Olmec

iconography relating to chocolate (Powis et al. 2002:100). The notion of Olmec

chocolate was also attacked using linguistic arguments. The Olmec origin for the Maya

word for cacao, proposed by Campbell and Kaufman (1976) was disputed by Dakin and

Wichmann (2000), who claimed it to be a Nahuatl-derived word from 400 A.D. Dakin

and Wichmann’s (2000) assertion has, however, come under attack from Powis et al.

(2002:100-101) because of the antiquity of lowland Maya chocolate consumption as

evidenced by molecular archaeology (Hurst et al. 2002). The presence of compounds

resembling cacao in the San Andrés Olmec feasting ceramics, together with the spouted

vessel (yet to be analyzed) supports Campbell and Kaufman’s (1976) argument for an

Olmec origin for the word for cacao and contradicts assertions as to the absence of cacao

among the Olmec.

One reason for the lack of recognizable cacao iconography may be that the Olmec

drank a different type of cacao-based beverage than was used by other later

Mesoamerican groups. Coe and Coe (1996:51) stressed that there were many types of

cacao, not just the frothy beverage that is seen on Maya ceramic paintings. Henderson

and Joyce (in press) recently posited that some Mesoamerican groups drank an alcoholic

beverage made from fermented cacao pods. The possible cacao jars from San Andrés

would be consistent with this sort of beverage production and service.

Another reason that cacao is absent from Olmec iconography is because the

Olmec did not depict the types of realistic scenes of palace life like the Maya did in their

ceramic paintings. Olmec art focused more on abstract symbols and themes and less on

actual depictions of human activities (Clark 2004; De La Fuente 2000; Reilly 1999).

The cacao jars could have been used in the preparation of a frothy cacao beverage

rather than in its service. The utilitarian jars may have been preferred for its sturdiness in

grinding cacao and adding hot liquid to it, which would later be poured from a height into

a wide mouthed urn (Coe and Coe 1996:50). Taphnomic concerns could then explain the

73

lack of cacao in the luxurious wide mouthed urns. The coarser-tempered Gogal plain

vessels in which the cacao was detected may have retained the theobromine and caffeine

residues better than the finer-tempered urns over the years because of the difference in

the surface area of the two ceramic matrixes.

It is difficult to determine whether the jars were used solely for cacao and whether

the absorbed residues were the result of occasional or a single use of cacao in the jars.

The type of analysis used to find cacao is based on distinct chemical markers,

theobromine and caffeine. The presence of these compounds is used to determine the

presence of absorbed cacao residues in a sample. The proportion of cacao use cannot be

determined the way that the bulk stable carbon isotope analysis can show the proportion

of maize used in a vessel’s use life. Utilitarian wares are commonly pressed into service

for preparing, storing, or serving highly valued beverages. The Lacandon for instance

use the same basic olla for transporting water as they do for preparing and serving balché

during the balché ritual (McGee 1988).

Ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and comparative archaeological evidence indicate

that cacao was likely a valued ritual-feasting beverage for the Olmec. Ethnohistorically

cacao was seen as a sign of elite status that had deep religious meaning (Coe and Coe

1996). Archaeologically, the presence of cacao in a special vessel in an elite burial

context at the Middle Formative period site of Colha indicates that cacao was seen as a

similarly valued beverage as far back as the Middle Formative period (Powis et al. 2002).

The possible presence of cacao residues in utilitarian wares (the Gogal plain

Vessels 10 and 28) does not necessarily mean that the cacao was ordinary or of low

value. As was discussed above, there are numerous practical reasons why the cacao

would be prepared, stored, and served in a relatively plain yet sturdy jar. Molecular

archaeology demonstrates that the items contained in a vessel could be more important

than the vessel itself. The possible cacao found from the San Andrés feasting deposit is

part of the Mesoamerican suite of drinks that were used during feasts as a part of the

construction and enactment of an elite Olmec identity.

Other Possible Plants

The detection of other nitrogen containing organic compounds, also known as

alkaloids, most notably C10H14N2O2 and C15H18N2, in the high-resolution scan of Vessels

74

10 and 28 may indicate the presence of other plants that were used during feasting at San

Andrés. Alkaloids derive from a variety of plants and are often found in drugs and

medicines. Caffeine and theobromine, for example, are both alkaloids. These other

alkaloids may therefore have been other forms of psychoactive drugs used during feasts.

As was discussed in Chapter 3, ethnohistoric accounts document the addition of

various psychotropic drugs, likely alkaloids, to beverages to increase their intoxicating

effects (Bruman 2000:106; Stross and Kerr 1990). Further molecular analysis must be

conducted to determine more precisely the types and sources of the various alkaloids

detected in molecular analysis.

Methodological Implications

The use of ESI-TOF MS to detect both experimental and possibly ancient cacao

residues absorbed into ceramics is an improvement over previous methodologies,

specifically HPLC MS. As was discussed above, ESI-TOF MS holds numerous

advantages over HPLC MS. This methodology can be used in the future for further

studies of absorbed cacao residues from San Andrés and other sites. Further work must

be done to more accurately determine the presence of cacao or other plant residues in the

San Andrés ceramics. Analysis on other ceramic samples from the BGS clay feasting

midden, including the spouted vessel (Pohl 2006, personal communication), may further

prove the existence of cacao at San Andrés.

75

CHAPTER 6: GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS

SPECTROMETRY

Introduction

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is a chemical analysis

technique useful for detecting sufficiently volatile and thermostable molecules, including

organic compounds such as hydrocarbons (Rouessac and Rouessac 2000:23; Skoog et al.

1998:719). This project utilized GC-MS to search for residues that would be indicative

of the types of foods and beverages consumed during feasts at San Andrés. Numerous

organic compounds were detected. Results were, however, ambiguous because no

biomarkers were detected because of the generality of such chemicals in nature.

Background: Principles of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

A GC-MS works by separating the molecules of a sample using a gas

chromatograph and detecting these molecules using an integrated mass spectrometer.

Samples are introduced into the GC-MS via a sufficiently volatile solvent, such as

dichloromethane, which was used in this analysis. A gas chromatograph separates the

molecules of a compound by heating the sample in a gas state in an oven. Due to

differential molecular properties, the molecules of the compound are released at different

times, called the “retention time.” The mass spectrometer then converts the separated

molecules into an ion beam and identifies them based on their mass to charge ratio. The

results of the analysis are presented as a chart showing peaks in different masses across

the time corresponding to the molecules released by the chromatograph. A computer

program linked to the GC-MS provides a percentage expressing the likelihood of a match

with a specific compound for each peak. Matches of approximately 90% or better were

considered for analysis. All sample preparation and analysis was conducted under the

supervision of Dr. William Cooper of the department of chemistry at Florida State

University.

Methodology

Samples

GC-MS analysis was conducted on 33 samples. These included the same 26

ancient samples from the BGS clay feasting midden from San Andrés that were testing

76

using bulk stable carbon isotopic analysis. Analysis was also conducted on four

experimental modern ceramics, consisting of a blank modern ceramic, a sherd soaked in

maize beer, a sherd soaked in manioc beer, and a sherd soaked in honey wine. These

experimental samples also came from the same batch that was analyzed using bulk stable

carbon isotopic analysis. The types of beers were chosen based on ethnographic and

ethnohistoric evidence, as described in Chapter 4. These experimental samples served as

a baseline with which to interpret the analysis of the ancient samples. Two fewer blanks

were analyzed in the GC-MS analysis than were examined with bulk stable carbon

isotopic analysis.

Three samples prepared from liquid extraction of the maize beer, the manioc beer,

and the honey wine were also analyzed. Liquid extraction involves extracting the organic

compounds from a liquid, such as a beer, from its water base into a sufficiently volatile

liquid, such as dichloromethane (CH2CL), that can be analyzed in the GC-MS.

Preparation of Ceramic Samples

Ceramic samples were prepared by extracting absorbed organic residues from the

ceramic matrix into dichloromethane. Both the ancient San Andrés ceramics and the

modern experimental ceramics were prepared in the same manner. First, ceramic

samples were ground to a silt-like consistency in a mortar and pestle, as was done for the

stable carbon isotope analysis. The mortar and pestle were thoroughly cleaned with soap

and acetone between samples to avoid cross-contamination. Next, 1.5g of ground

ceramic was combined with 15ml of dichloromethane and sonicated for 20 minutes.

Samples were then centrifuged, and the liquid section of the sample was removed from

the solid section and reduced to 2ml. Samples were then derivitized by adding 50µl of

trimethylsilane ([CH3]3SiH) and heating them in the oven for one hour at 30ºC.

Preparation of Liquid Extracted Samples

The other three modern experimental samples were liquid extractions of the

honey wine, manioc beer, and maize beer. This step in the analysis was intended to

clarify ambiguities in the GC-MS results of the modern experimental ceramic samples.

Results of this analysis were, however, unsuccessful. The procedure for liquid extraction

was as follows. 25ml of each sample was placed in its own beaker. The samples had to

be acidified so as to get the organic compounds out of the water-based beverages into the

77

dichloromethane solvent used to introduce samples into the GC-MS. Each sample was

then acidified to 2 ph using 0.1 molar hydrochloric acid (HCL). Next, 15 ml of the

sample plus 10 ml of the solvent (dichloromethane) was added to a separation funnel and

shaken. The solution separated into two distinct phases, with the dichloromethane

solvent phase on the bottom, now infused with organic compounds from the sample. Salt

(NaCl) was added to the solution to help it demulsify the samples. The bottom

dichloromethane solvent phase was then poured using a valve into a GC-MS vial. These,

as with all other samples were derivitized by adding 50µl of trimethylsilyne to each

sample and putting them in the oven at 30ºC for one hour.

Results

Many of organic compounds detected probably represent mostly absorbed organic

residues from the foods and beverages contained within the ceramics during their use life

in the feasting contexts where they were discovered. The surfaces of the ceramics

analyzed in the GC-MS were lightly washed to remove any adhering soil from the burial

matrix; therefore any chemical signatures were absorbed into the ceramic matrix. Some

compounds from the burial matrix may have also been absorbed into the ceramic matrix

and were detected. The GC-MS also detected numerous silicone-based compounds that

were probably from the ceramic matrix itself.

GC-MS analysis yielded no definitive identifiable biomarkers for food products.

This ambiguity is due to the wide range of molecules found that the GC-MS detects

(Skoog et al. 1998:719). Many of these compounds are common in natural and biological

systems. It is therefore difficult to identify compounds as biomarkers that are indicative

of specific foods the way that theobromine and caffeine as biomarkers for cacao (Hurst et

al. 2004). The liquid extracted samples from the various beers revealed no biomarkers,

demonstrating the limited usefulness of GC-MS in detecting feasting beverages.

GC-MS analysis provided no conclusive results indicating what foods and or

beverages were used in the ceramic vessels from the feasting deposits at San Andrés.

Some compounds repeatedly discovered in GC-MS analysis included eicosane (C20 H42)

and octane (C8H18). These compounds are likely the result of the breakdown of amino

acids into smaller parts (Tissot and Welte 1984). In reducing environments, such as the

riverine wetlands of San Andrés, it is common for larger organic fatty acids to break

78

down into smaller hydrocarbons such as octane and eicosane. These compounds are

common in natural and biological systems, and therefore cannot be attributed to any

specific food product associated with San Andrés.

Discussion

GC-MS analysis proved to be of limited usefulness in this molecular

archaeological context. Although analysis showed that there were absorbed organic

residues within the ceramic matrix of the ancient samples, no identifiable biomarkers

were detected. The nature of GC-MS analysis and taphonomic factors contributed to the

lack of success in identifying compounds that could be linked to specific absorbed

residues.

79

CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION

Introduction

This chapter begins with a review of the various forms of chemical analysis

conducted on ceramic samples from San Andrés. I then use the results of these analyses

to examine the types of foods beverages that were likely consumed during feasts at San

Andrés. I conclude this chapter by discussing the implications of these findings on the

development of Mesoamerican feasting foods and beverages and on the establishment of

an Olmec elite identity during the Middle Formative period (850–400 BC).

Review of Results

This research project utilized bulk stable carbon isotope analysis, electrospray

ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS), and gas chromatography-

mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to detect organic residues that would indicate the types of

feasting foods and beverages used by the San Andrés Olmec. Analysis resulted in

varying degrees of success. Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis provided information

about patterns of maize use between classes of ceramic vessels from the feasting deposit

at San Andrés, and ESI-TOF MS demonstrated the possible presence of cacao. GC-MS

failed to detect any biomarkers that could be traced to a specific food source.

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis demonstrated that luxury-serving wares had

higher proportions of maize (C4 plant) signature carbon than utilitarian wares. These

findings indicate that maize was present in relatively greater amounts during feasts using

luxury-serving wares than in everyday food preparation. This work suggests that during

the Middle Formative period maize was used more as a special food or beverage, perhaps

as a maize beer as suggested by Smalley and Blake (2003), and less as a dietary staple.

ESI-TOF MS

ESI-TOF MS demonstrated the possible occurrence of cacao. Further work will

be conducted to verify these findings. If this discovery withstands additional scrutiny, it

would be the first direct evidence of cacao use by the Middle Formative period La Venta

Olmec. Results of this analysis might also suggest possible narcotic use.

80

GC-MS

GC-MS analysis failed to identify biomarkers indicative of any specific type of

food or beverage. The effectiveness of this methodology was limited by the lack of

specific, preserved biomarkers for many food products that may have been used at San

Andrés.

Overview of results

Molecular analysis of the San Andrés feasting ceramics demonstrated that maize

and possibly cacao were used at San Andrés during the Early Franco period.

Ethnographic, ethnohistoric (S. Coe 1994), and paleobotanical evidence (Pope et al.

2001; Lentz et al. 2005) suggests that other types of plants were also used as feasting

foods and drinks at San Andrés. The types of analysis that I used only detected maize

and cacao because of their distinctive biomarkers (C4 signature plant carbon for maize

and nitrogen containing organic compounds for cacao).

Interpretations of Results

The significance of the results of the molecular analyses is highlighted by

comparison with theoretical perspectives on feasting and ethnohistoric and ethnographic

evidence about food and feasting in early complex societies. These lines of evidence

were discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3.

Theoretical perspectives on feasting and early complex societies

Theoretical work by archaeologists Clark and Blake (1994), Dietler (1990, 1996,

2001), Joffe (1998), and Sherratt (2004) demonstrated the role of feasting and foods and

beverages in the development of elite identities in early complex societies. Clark and

Blake (1994) discussed how individuals in Early Formative period (1200–850 BC)

Mesoamerica constructed elite status by attracting followers in competitive feasting

events. Dietler (2001) described how feasts were a venue for negotiating political

relationships and the performance of social roles and identities. Dietler (2006), Joffe

(1998), and Sherratt (2004) discussed the role of special foods and beverages, specifically

alcoholic beverages, in feasting and the construction and performance of elite identities in

early complex societies. These examples serve as a model for explaining the wider social

and cultural processes at work behind the feasting at San Andrés.

81

A Model for feasting foods and beverages at San Andrés

The role of feasting and foods and beverages at San Andrés

Feasting served as a mechanism for individuals at San Andrés to construct

identities and to form social bonds. Feasts are settings where ritualized distribution and

consumption of special foods and beverages among multiple participants occurs.

Following the perspective of Dietler (1990, 1996, 2001, 2006), feasting was a stage

where individuals could perform and construct aspects of this elite identity in a public

setting. Feasting functioned as a way for Olmec elites to attract followers and display

their high status in enjoyable settings where participants were given special food and

drink. According to Dietler (1990) these gifts of food and drink established reciprocal

obligations for feast participants to the sponsor of the feast, thereby cementing social

relationships among these individuals. Feasts also provided the feast sponsors with a

setting to display their status (Dietler 2006).

Molecular archaeology identified some of the special foods and beverages used at

the Early Franco period feasts at San Andrés, specifically maize and possibly cacao.

Individuals used special foods and beverages such as cacao drinks and special maize-

based porridges and beers to display their status and as a way to draw participants to their

feast and to make it a special event.

Maize beers

Ethnographic (Bruman 2000) and ethnohistoric (S. Coe 1994) evidence suggests

that differential patterns of maize use between luxury and utilitarian ceramics denotes

that maize was served as a type of feasting beverage, either an alcoholic beverage or a

special porridge, during feasts at San Andrés. The relatively low proportion of maize

carbon in utilitarian ceramics compared to luxury ones suggests that maize was used less

as a dietary staple and more as a special food and beverage. This pattern fits with

Smalley and Blake’s (2003) hypothesis concerning maize use patterns in Formative

period Mesoamerica.

Maize Gruels

Ethnohistoric documents also point to the use of special maize gruels during

feasts in Mesoamerica (S. Coe 1994). These maize-based liquids included posolli, atolli,

and saka. The presence of maize gruels cannot be distinguished from that of alcoholic

82

beverages in the San Andrés ceramics because both would have the same carbon isotopic

signature and both would have been served out of similar open-mouthed vessels. It is

likely that both maize beers and maize gruels were served at feasts at San Andrés. The

precise vessels that served each type of maize cannot be distinguished, however, because

of the lack of other iconographic or other hints as to the contents of the vessels.

Cacao

The possible discovery of cacao in the BGS clay deposit at San Andrés indicates

that cacao was used in feasting activities. These results are not surprising given that near

contemporaneous examples of cacao use were discovered at Colha in Belize dating to the

Middle Formative period (800–400 BC) (Hurst et al. 2002; Powis et al. 2002).

Ethnohistoric evidence (Coe and Coe 1996) suggests that cacao was likely a highly

valued and ritually significant beverage at San Andrés.

Comparison with the Colha cacao described by Powis et al. (2002) also suggests

that cacao was highly valued among Mesoamerican peoples during the Middle Formative

period. The Colha cacao pots were spouted vessels discovered in elite burial contexts,

indicating that cacao had a special ritual value. The possible discovery of cacao in a

feasting context at San Andrés shows that cacao was also used in other ways, and not just

in mortuary ritual. The presence of cacao in utilitarian Gogal plain wares (Vessel 10 and

Vessel 28) rather than in the luxury wares indicates that cacao may have been prepared in

them and served as a type of beer, as suggested by Henderson and Joyce (in press), rather

than as the traditional frothy cacao beverage more popularly described in ethnohistoric

literature (Coe and Coe 1996). Future analysis on a spouted vessel from the BGS clay

feasting deposit could further prove the existence of cacao at San Andrés (Pohl 2006,

personal communication).

83

Table 7-1: Overview of results Analysis Results Form

Bulk stable carbon isotope – maize - higher proportion of maize carbon in luxury serving wares than utilitarian ones

– maize beer, special maize gruel

ESI-TOF MS – nitrogen containing compounds, possibly cacao, found in Vessels 10 and 28

– cacao drink (frothy cacao or alcoholic cacao beverage) – auxiliary narcotics added to beverages

GC-MS – no organic compounds traceable to a specific type of material were found

– unknown

Alcoholic Beverages at San Andrés

Theoretical, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric evidence indicates that alcoholic

beverages played a prominent role in feasting at San Andrés, given the longstanding

tradition of using alcoholic beverages in such contexts in Mesoamerica (Bruman 2000;

S.Coe 1994; Stross and Kerr 1990). This idea is supported by the prevalence of beverage

service ceramics in the San Andrés BGS clay level midden (von Nagy et al. 2000:13-14).

Molecular archaeology provides clues as to what was used to make these beers. The

relatively higher proportions of maize carbon in these luxury service wares suggest that

maize beer was probably served at feasts. The possible discovery of cacao in a utilitarian

vessel suggests that cacao beers may have been served (Henderson and Joyce in press).

Alcoholic beverages made from foods such as honey, fruit, or manioc may also have been

used to make alcoholic beverages. There was, however, no molecular evidence to

support these assertions.

Elites in early complex societies around the world used alcoholic beverages as a

means to attract participants to feasts and to perform elite identity (Dietler 1990, 2006;

Joffe 1998; Sherratt 2004). Dietler (1990:369-370) described how the distribution of

alcoholic beverages was a way for elites to convert agricultural products to a sort of

social credit. Sherratt (2004) discussed how individuals could, through fermentation,

produce highly valued and ritually significant alcoholic beverages from otherwise lesser-

valued agricultural products such as grains.

84

Ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and iconographic evidence indicates that alcoholic

beverages played a prominent role during feasts at San Andrés. Several modern-day

Maya groups consume large quantities of alcohol during religious festivals and believe

that intoxication helps individuals become closer to the supernatural (Eber 1995; McGee

1988, 1989, 2002; Metzger and Wilson 1969; Mitchell 2004; Taylor 1979; Wilson 1973).

Ethnohistoric documents show that alcohol was consumed in calendrically-mandated

drinking rituals during the Contact period and that it played a significant role in

Mesoamerican spiritual life (S. Coe 1994; Mitchell 2004; Tozzer 1941). Iconographic

depictions of drunken feasts on Late Classic period polychrome vase paintings provide

evidence for the role of alcohol in prehistoric Mesoamerican ritual.

Molecular analyses of ancient ceramics were unable to detect the presence of

alcoholic beverages in ancient ceramics directly. Archaeologists must therefore use the

archaeological and cultural context of ceramics to infer the presence of alcoholic

beverages. The prominence of alcoholic beverages in ethnographic and ethnohistoric

literature is the strongest line of evidence for demonstrating that alcoholic beverages were

consumed at San Andrés, given the discovery of luxury serving vessels in a densely

packed feasting deposit. Molecular analysis of the feasting ceramics shows that luxury

wares had higher proportions of maize. Ethnohistoric and ethnographic evidence

demonstrates that maize was often used to make beers (Bruman 2000; S. Coe 1994),

indicating that maize was used as an alcoholic beverage at San Andrés. Beverages made

from materials such as honey, fruit, or manioc may also have been used although there is

no molecular evidence to back these assertions. This work supports von Nagy et al.’s

(2000:13-14) hypothesis that luxury beverage service ceramics were used to serve beer.

Some vessels had a lime coating on their insides; von Nagy et al. (2000) hypothesized

that such vessels could have been used as fermenting pots. Molecular archaeology was

unable to find evidence to support these claims. Alcoholic beverages need not be

fermented in ceramics (Hornsey 2003). The Lacandon, for example, use wooden dugout

canoes (McGee 1988, 1989) to brew their balché, a type of honey wine. Ceramics could

therefore have primarily been used in the storage and distribution of alcoholic beverages

rather than in their production.

85

Alcohol Use and the Formation of Elite Identities Among the La Venta Area Olmec

The theoretical perspective regarding alcohol and the formation of an elite

identity promoted by Dietler (1990; 2006), Joffe (1998), and Sherratt (2004) suggests that

the San Andrés Olmec used maize as a beer because it maximized the potential value of

the crop through manipulating social relationships and performance of elite identities

during feasts. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence indicates that there was likely a

strong spiritual component to the use of maize beers due to the longstanding association

in Mesoamerica between intoxication and proximity to the supernatural (see Chapter 3).

This practice links to the aforementioned theoretical stance connecting alcoholic

beverages to the construction of an elite identity in early state societies (Dietler 1990

2006; Joffe 1998; Sherratt 2004) and the tradition in Mesoamerica of expressing high

status through displays of proximity to the supernatural (Clark 2004). In other words,

drinking and intoxication were a means to perform one’s elite status in Mesoamerica

because intoxication brought individuals closer to the supernatural, and being close to the

supernatural was a sign of elite status.

Clark (2004) posited that a cosmological system linking rulers to the gods

developed among the La Venta Olmec in the Middle Formative period. This idea is

shared by Tate (2001), who discussed how rulers at La Venta harnessed cosmological

power through the manipulation of symbolic systems in art and architecture as a means to

gain and control political power.

Trance states related to shamanism were an integral part of La Venta Olmec ritual

practices (Clark 2004:215; Reilly 1999). Alcoholic beverages are known to facilitate

trance states and help individuals become closer to supernatural powers (Mitchell

2004:52). An ethnographic example of this phenomenon is found among the Lacandon,

who believe that they can speak to the gods when sufficiently intoxicated (McGee

2002:45). Eber (1995:243) described a similar situation in which modern-day Maya view

ritualized intoxication as a way to connect with the universe. Ethnohistorically, the Aztec

strictly regulated drinking among commoners because the power associated with

intoxication was intended for certain individuals on calendrically-mandated occasions

(Mitchell 2004:19). Brumfiel (2004) described how young Aztec warriors drank to

intoxication as a way to enact the cosmological system and experience creation

86

mythology. These examples show the ritual power associated with intoxication over the

course of Mesoamerican history.

Ritualized drunkenness may have given individuals ritual and political power in

the manner described by Tate (2001). Given the longstanding Mesoamerican tradition

associating drunkenness with shamanic ritual power, ritualized drunkenness during

feasting may therefore have been another way that Olmec elites gained cosmological

power to use for political advantage (Eber 1995; McGee 2002; Mitchell 2004). The ritual

power that individuals gained during feasts may explain why the ceramics in the BGS

clay level deposit seem to have been ritually dumped rather than reused (Pohl, personal

communication 2006). This ritual dumping may have represented a ritual terminating the

feast.

Intoxication may have been facilitated by the addition of other narcotic substances

to foods and beverages. The presence of multiple types of alkaloids in the high-

resolution ESI-TOF MS analysis of Vessels 10 and 28 may be indicative of other types of

intoxicants that were added to beverages to increase their psychoactive effects. Most

psychoactive drugs, including caffeine, which is found in cacao, are alkaloids.

Ethnohistoric documents show that auxiliary substances were added to alcoholic

beverages to increase their psychoactive effects (Bruman 2000:106; Gage 1958; Stross

and Kerr 1990). Further molecular analysis must, however, be conducted before more

definitive identifications can be made of any alkaloid-based narcotics.

Feasting and Architectural Elaboration at La Venta

The La Venta Olmec expressed their proximity to the supernatural, and therefore

their status, in their architectural plans (Reilly 1999, Tate 2001). Reilly (1999) asserted

that the architectural layout of La Venta validated elites’ power by demonstrating their

supernatural connections. The La Venta elites constructed La Venta’s buildings as a

model of their mythological cosmology in which they could publicly perform rituals to

legitimize their high status (Reilly 1999:26). Through examination of Olmec

iconography and contemporary Mixe shamanic practices, Tate (2001) discussed how the

La Venta elite asserted their power by demonstrating their control of the deeper spirit

world. She posited that the specific layout of La Venta’s architecture and cached

87

offerings gave its rulers “shamanic political power” through the manipulation of symbols

(Tate 2001:140).

These processes of architectural elaboration and feasting are linked. The feasting

deposits and proliferation in beverage service wares in Early Franco period (700–

5550/500 BC) ceramics corresponds with the time of architectural elaboration at La

Venta (González-Lauck 1997; von Nagy 2003). The contemporaneous nature of these

processes suggests that they were part of a wider political tactic used by Olmec elites to

legitimize their status.

Maize, Cacao and Mesoamerican Identity

Molecular analysis indicated the use of two staples of Mesoamerican feasting

foods and beverages, maize and cacao, as far back as the Middle Formative period.

These crops featured prominently in Mesoamerican recipes from the contact period up

through the present-day (S. Coe 1994). The longevity of maize and cacao use in special

foods is expected given the use of numerous La Venta Olmec motifs in art and

architecture throughout later Mesoamerican cultures (Clark 2004). This research project

provides an example of how special foods and beverages endure over long periods of

time in cultural areas. The use of wine in the Mediterranean area (Dietler 1990; McGee

2003; Wright 1995) is an analogous example of this phenomenon.

Summary

Feasting was one context in which the La Venta area Olmec elite expressed their

status along with architectural elaboration and iconography. The use of special foods and

beverages containing maize and possibly cacao helped elites display their status and

negotiate social and political relationships.

88

CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION

This research project contributed to our understanding of the role of foods and

beverages in feasting as a status symbol among the Middle Formative period (850–400

BC) La Venta area Olmec. The current project analyzed 26 ceramics from the site of San

Andrés, a subsidiary elite settlement located 5 km northeast of the major ceremonial

center of La Venta. It demonstrated the potential of molecular analytical techniques in

elucidating food-use patterns from absorbed organic residues in feasting ceramics. In this

chapter I describe on the theoretical implications of this work and the methodological

contributions of the different molecular analytical techniques.

Various molecular archaeological techniques highlighted the significance of

maize and possibly cacao as feasting foods and beverages among the Early Franco period

(700–550/500 BC) San Andrés Olmec. This project used new analytical techniques

including bulk stable carbon isotope analysis to examine maize usage patterns and

electrospray ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS) to look for

cacao. I also conducted Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to

look for other food residues. The results were, however, ambiguous.

This research project demonstrated the role of maize and cacao in the formation

and performance of prestigious identities among the Middle Formative period La Venta

Olmec. The consumption of special foods and beverages during feasts was one elite

strategy that was firmly established by the Gulf Coast Olmec in the Middle Formative

period (Clark 2004; Reilly 1999, 2000; Tate 2001). The use of molecular archaeology to

make these discoveries highlights the potential for new analytical technologies to

contribute to our understanding of the past.

Molecular analysis demonstrated that the La Venta Olmec feasted using maize

and possibly cacao, two key features of present-day Mesoamerican cuisine (S. Coe 1994).

These findings are significant given the prominent influence that the Gulf Coast Olmec

culture had upon the rest of the region (Clark 2004; Sharer 1989). Special foods and

beverages can often be used as valued status symbols and political tools, as researchers

such as Smalley and Blake (2003) discussed. Maize and cacao were highly valued by the

La Venta Olmec for their role in making special foods and beverages for feasts.

89

Special beverages such as cacao drinks, maize beers, and distinctive maize

porridges are essential parts of traditional Mesoamerican feasting (S. Coe 1994). These

beverages required distinctive preparation and tend to be served at ritualized events (S.

Coe 1994; Dietler 2001). Such products may have served as a way to attract participants

and help the feast’s sponsor and create social, political and economic bonds (Dietler

1996, 2001; Dietler and Hayden 2001).

Feasting with special foods and beverages were one way that the La Venta Olmec

elite advertised their status. Consumption of alcoholic beverages (such as maize beer) to

intoxication was a way for participants to show their proximity to the supernatural, which

was a marker of high status among the Olmec (Clark 2004; Reilly 1999, 2000; Tate

2001). The Early Franco phase feasting deposit at San Andrés is contemporaneous with

elaborations in monumental architecture at nearby La Venta (González-Lauck 1996,

1997). Monumental architecture, like feasting with special foods and beverages, was a

way for elites to demonstrate proximity to the supernatural (Reilly 1999; Tate 2001).

This research project also made contributions to the methodological aspects of

molecular archaeology, including the use of bulk stable carbon isotope analysis to

compare maize-use levels between classes of ceramics, and the use of ESI-TOF MS to

look for cacao residues. These methods can be used in future work on samples from San

André, as well as other sites.

90

APPENDIX A:

CATALOGUE OF ANCIENT SAMPLES

91

Sample Unit \ Level ESI-TOF MS GC-MS Category Type Ware Form δ13C %C4 Notes

Plate #9 7 \ 7 17 LVA EBW EBW II -24.4 19.3

Vessel 3 7 \ 7 cacao 11 18 LVA TB TB If -25.3 12.4

Vessel 8 7 \ 7 cacao 12 26 LVA TB TB Id -22.7 30.3

Vessel 21 7 \ 7 24 LVA TB TB If -21 42.1

Sample #25 8 \ 7 27 LVA MI TB bowl -25.7 9.66

Vessel 12 7 \ 7 20 LVA TI DBW IIb -20.6 44.8

Vessel 15 7 \ 7 cacao 5 13 LVA DBW DBW VIIb -20 49

Vessel 22 7 \ 7 cacao 6 7 LVA TI DBW VIIb -19 56

Vessel 31 7 \ 9 cacao 16 21 LVA TI DBW Id -22.9 29

Sample #40 8 \ 8 12 LVA TI DBW VII -27.3 24 plaster lining

Sample #50 1 \ 5 15 LVA TI DBW VII -21 42

Sample #53 7 \ 7 16 LVA DBW -20.3 47

Sample #57 8 \ 7 cacao 8 28 LVA TI DBW VII -18.6 58.6 urn base

Sample #61 7 \ 6 cacao 9 30 LVA TI DBW VII -21.8 36.6 urn base

Under V2 Next V24 7 \ 7 9 LVA -25.4 12

Vessel [C] Unit 7–8 wall collapse 10 LVA -21.7 37

Vessel [B] Unit 7–8 wall collapse 22 LS PW PW IIc -25.5 11

Vessel [E] Unit 7–8 wall collapse 14 LS NBW NBW -21.2 41

Sample #56 1 \ Feature 3-1 29 LS NBW NBW -22.1 34.5

Sample #29 8 \ 9 11 LS UFST UFST -23.1 28

Vessel 5 7 \ 7 19 US GP GP Ih -25.9 8.28

Vessel 10 7 \ 7 cacao 13 5 US GP GP IIIh -24 19.2

Vessel 16 7 \ 7 cacao 14 6 US GP GP Ih -26 6

Vessel 28 7 \ 9 cacao 15 8 US GP GP IIIa -25.5 10.1

Sample #41 7 \ 8 23 O FW FW dish -23.2 26.9

Sample #49 1 \ 11 25 O censor -23.8 22.8 Censor Base

92

Category Key:

LVA = Luxury Volcanic Ash–Tempered

LS = Luxury Sand Tempered

US = Utilitarian Sand Tempered

O = Other

Type Key:

EBW = Encrucijada Black and white

TB = Tancochapa Black

GP = Ptype: Gogal Plain

DBW = Desengaño Black and White

NBW = Naranjeño Black and White

TI = Tecolutla Incised

MI = Mecatepec incised

UFST = Unspecified Fine Sand Tempered Ware

PW = PalmaWhite

FW = Flores Waxy

Ware Key:

EBW = Encrucijada Black and white

TB = Tancochapa Black

GP = Ptype: Gogal Plain

DBW = Desengaño Black and White

NBW = Naranjeño Black and White

PW = PalmaWhite

Form Key:

Id: Restricted Bowl or tecomate

If: Simple restricted bowl (tecomate) without an inflection

Ih : Restricted bowl (tecomate) with sharply inflected wall.

II : plates, dishes, and open bowls

IIc: Flat based dish with an outcurved wall and direct rim.

IIIa: Small globular jar with a prominant straight neck and marked basal thickening.

IIIi: Jar with a short vertical neck.

VIIb: Medium to large chimneyed bowl (urn) with slight interior tapering

(from von Nagy 2003:1098–1138)

93

APPENDIX B:

PRINTOUTS FROM ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION-

TIME OF FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY (ESI-TOF MS)

94

Initial Scans

Cacao 1: Theobromine

Cacao 2: Caffeine

95

Cacao 3: Theobromine and Caffeine

Cacao 4: Theobromine and Caffeine Rinsed

96

Cacao 5: Vessel 15

Cacao 5: Vessel 15 close-up

97

Cacao 6: Vessel 22


98

Cacao 7: Sample #50

Cacao 7: Sample #50 close-up

99

Cacao 8: Sample #57

Cacao 8: Sample #57 close-up

100

Cacao 9: Sample #61

Ca

Cacao 10: Blank untreated Modern Ceramic

101

Cacao 11: Vessel 3


102

Cacao 12: Vessel 8


103

Cacao 13: Vessel 10

Cac

Cacao 13: Vessel 10 close-up, note the relatively high levels of m/z 181 indicating the

possible presence of theobromine, a biomarker for cacao

104

Cacao 14: Vessel 16


105

Cacao 15: Vessel 28


106

Cacao 16: Vessel 31


107

Cacao 17: Blank untreated modern ceramic

Cacao 17: Blank untreated modern ceramic close-up

108

High Resolution Scans

Cacao 13: Vessel 10, overview scan, circles indicate peaks of interest.

Cacao 13: Vessel 10, relative intensity overview

109

Cacao 13: Vessel 10, focus on m/z 157.12475


110



111


Cacao 15: Vessel 28 overview scan

112



113


Cacao 17: Blank ceramic overview

114

Cacao 17: Blank ceramic overview scan

Cacao 17: Blank ceramic, focus on m/z 157.12477

115



116



117

APPENDIX C:

PRINTOUTS FROM GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS

SPECTROMETRY

118

GC-MS Scan 1: Blank untreated modern ceramic

119

GC-MS 2: Honey-wine soaked modern ceramic

120

GC-MS 3: Maize-beer soaked modern ceramic

121

GC-MS 4: Manioc-beer soaked modern ceramic

122

GC-MS 6: Vessel 10

123

GC-MS 7: Vessel 22

124

GC-MS 8: Vessel 28

125

GC-MS 9: Under Vessel 2 / Next to Vessel 24

126

GC-MS 10: Vessel [C]

127

GC-MS 11: Sample #29

128


129

GC-MS 13: Vessel 15

130

GC-MS 14: Vessel [E]

131


132


133

GC-MS 18: Vessel 3

134

GC-MS 19: Vessel 5

135

GC-MS 20: Vessel 12

136

GC-MS 21: Vessel 31

137

GC-MS 22: Vessel [B]

138


139

GC-MS 24: Vessel 21

140


141

GC-MS 26: Vessel 8

142


143


144


145


146

Maize-beer liquid extraction

147

Manioc-beer liquid extraction

148

Honey-wine liquid extraction

149

APPENDIX D: PHOTOS OF VESSELS

150

Vessel [B]

SnAn-7and8-Collapse-VesselB-FS000-PalmaWhiteDishSideView-FormIIc-

RimDiameter27cm-DigitalPhotograph.jpg

151

Vessel 5

SnAn-U7-07-Vessel05-FS929-GogalPlainTecomate(Image01)SideView-FormIf-


Vessel 8

SnAn-U7-07-Vessel08-FS926-MecatepecIncisedBowl(Image02)SideView-FormIIo-


152

Vessel 12

SnAn-U7-07-Vessel12-FS927-TecolutlaIncisedDishTopView-FormIId-


Vessel 21

SnAn-U7-07-Vessel21-FS000-TancochapaBlackBowl(Image02)SideView-FormIIo-

RimDiameter18cm-DigitalPhotograph-1.jpg

153

Vessel 22

SnAn-U7-07-Vessel22-FS955-TecolutlaIncisedUrn(Image02)SideView-FormVIIb-


Desengaño Black and White Urn

154

Desengaño Black and White Urn

Gogal Plain Tecomate

155

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Daniel Seinfeld was born on January 17, 1982 in Queens, New York. He

graduated with Honors from the University at Albany, State University of New York in

2003 with a BA in Anthropology, and won an award for Excellence in Anthropology.

Dan’s career in archaeology began in 2002 when he began work as a volunteer at

excavations at the Albany Almshouse Cemetery. He later wrote an Honor’s Thesis on

some of his work there titled: Missing Children: Accounting for the Discrepancy in the

Number of Subadults Buried in the Albany Almshouse Cemetery and the Number of

Subadult Remains Recovered during Excavation. Dan also attended an archaeological

field school in Belize in 2002 run by the University at Albany. Between 2002 and 2004

he worked in Cultural Resource Management, practicing archaeology in upstate New

York and the surrounding area. In 2004 Dan entered graduate school at Florida State

University. In 2005 he returned to Belize to work as a crew chief for a field school at the

archaeological site of San Estevan. Dan’s research primarily concerns the role of foods

and beverages in the emergence of complex societies in ancient Mesoamerica. He is

currently working towards his PhD at Florida State University.

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