Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1984

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Iscan, M. Yasar

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the daily components of the Maya diet from the pre-Conquest era to the present and designate any commodities that have been subject to change. Beliefs that deal with subsistence and the family hearth are slow to evolve, maintaining great stability over the centuries in traditional communities. Foods are combined in classic formal patterns that take on the appearance of a rite. To emphasize the ritualistic nature of these culinary practices, the author has assigned them the term, hearthrites. Hearthrites may pertain to either the secular or ceremonial hearth and provide an invaluable tool for calculating the dietary status of peasant populations. It is possible to reconstruct menus from the past by the use of several techniques. Fieldwork was conducted in a small Yucatecan village to observe hearthrites and determine the nature of contemporary eating habits. Results of this study were compared to information gleaned from ancient ceremonies, manuscripts, legends, and language to provide a firm basis for projecting areas of continuity or change.

Extent

269 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1984.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT14229

Format

pdf

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