Ancient Maya cuisine was varied and extensive. Many different types of resources were consumed, including maritime, flora, and faunal material, and food was obtained or produced through a host of strategies, such as hunting, foraging, and large-scale agricultural production. Plant domestication focused on several core foods, the most important of which was maize.
Agricultural production in the Maya area, especially in the northern and southern lo...
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Ancient Maya cuisine was varied and extensive. Many different types of resources were consumed, including maritime, flora, and faunal material, and food was obtained or produced through a host of strategies, such as hunting, foraging, and large-scale agricultural production. Plant domestication focused on several core foods, the most important of which was maize.
Agricultural production in the Maya area, especially in the northern and southern lowlands, had to contend with a number of factors that constrained plant cultivation. These consist of a generally poor soil quality, an overall lack of nutrients in the soil necessary for intensive production, and, in some areas (especially the tropical environments of the southern lowlands), dense vegetation cover with a high canopy. In the semi-arid areas of the northern Maya lowlands, agriculturalists had to contend with reduced levels of rainfall, shallow soil deposits, and exposed limestone bedrock pavements. The Mayans were skilled...
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