Hi all!

What did the mayas and incas eaten? Could they cooking?

"B. P. TBC" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all!
>
> What did the mayas and incas eaten? Could they cooking?
>
>
Most of the Maya lived in low lands, tropical forests/"scrub", while the
Maya live far away and generally at much higher altitudes. The two peoples
dined on quite different diets, and the Inca seem to have been only barely
involved with corn, the "staple of the rest of the Americas (but were big on
taters, and a grain, quinoa.

The Maya's descendants (at least in my lifetime) still ate a small
home-raised nearly hairless dog, tender, but a bit off-putting when you
encountered paws in the stew. Many native Americans enjoyed dog as a
delicacy in some cases,as available meat in others. One can still find
plenty of "Mayan" food in Mexican resturants where the owners/cooks are from
the Yucatan. Tamales in banana leaves, a Guatemalen standard are close
enough to count...(and "pipil": is Mayan).

Of course the Aztecs seem likely to have eaten members of neighbor groups
which paid them tribute. Likely more than ceremonial removal of hearts from
living sacrificial victims, there's good chance that their population growth
had outstripped the availability of animal protein in the Valley of Mexico.
The Mayas only threw the occasional virgin into the cenote/limestone sink
holes full of water), while the Inca preferred to strangle them on mountain
tops to appease the Gods.

Some "searches" may be of great help....

TMO

TOliver wrote:

> Of course the Aztecs seem likely to have eaten members of neighbor groups
> which paid them tribute. Likely more than ceremonial removal of hearts from
> living sacrificial victims, there's good chance that their population growth
> had outstripped the availability of animal protein in the Valley of Mexico.

Some of the men who served under Cortes wrote accounts that provided
the first European views of Aztec life. Bernal Diaz, for example,
includes a number of descriptions of Aztec foods. Many of of them are
quite recognizable as "Mexican" dishes, 'though the tlacatlaolli, or
human stew, mentioned by Benardino De Sahagún, doesn't appear on the
menus of any of MY local Mexican restaurants.

Gary

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:56:22 +0100, "B. P. TBC" >
wrote:

>Hi all!
>
>What did the mayas and incas eaten? Could they cooking?
>

I don't know about the Mayas, but Rick Baylis on 'Mexico, One Plate At
a Time" this week had a pre-spanish soup made (I assume the Aztecs,
but it could be the Toltecs I guess - he didn't say). If you are
interested, I could put up the recipe.

-Mike