03 White 2005 Gendered Food Bahaviour Among the Maya

8/10/2019 03 White 2005 Gendered Food Bahaviour Among the Maya

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Gendered food behaviour among the Maya

Time, place, status and ritual

CHRISTINE D.WHITE

Department of Anthropology, The University of Western Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT

Ethnohistoric and archaeological evidence indicates that the produc-tion and distribution of food was an important source of agency andpower for ancient Mayan women. Although it is believed that elitewomen controlled food used in rituals, isotopic measures of diet froma variety of sites representing different environments and time periodsindicate that they ate fewer ideologically valued foods than males. Bycontrast, non-elite women appear to have consumed the same foods as

their male equivalents. This finding may suggest that: women did notparticipate in ritual consumption of food in the same way or to the sameextent that men did, or that food consumption was associated withgender identity. Preferential access to ritual foods by males ceases afterthe Spanish conquest but males continued to have more carnivorousdiets. This phenomenon could be caused by the conversion of publicrituals to private the assimilation of Spanish gender values or anunderlying ideology that is maintained in gendered dietary differences.

KEYWORDSethnohistory gender Maya paleodiet ritual stable isotopeanalysis status

Journal of Social Archaeology A R T I C L E

Copyright 2005 SAGE Publications (www.sagepublications.com)

ISSN 1469-6053 Vol 5(3): 356382 DOI: 10.1177/1469605305057572


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357White Gendered food behaviour among the Maya

INTRODUCTION

This article is an exploration of the nature of power in Maya gender

relations as it is expressed in food consumption. Food is both macronutri-ent and metaphor, its organic character transformed by cultural means andimbued with ideological meaning such that nature becomes integrated withnurture. During the process of producing, preparing, cooking, distributingand consuming food, it becomes an object of culture and performance(Srensen, 2000: 100). All of these activities involve cultural practice andthe rules governing them differentiate individuals and groups (e.g. gender,age, social status, religion, occupation). Thus food is not just a resource andits consumption is not just how we use it, but both are transformed into

events that involve the performance of differences at individual and grouplevels (Srensen, 2000). The foods we eat become organically and sociallyembodied. Thus the assumption that we are what we eat refers to both ourcultural and biological beings. Our bones, which carry this information,become narratives for the meaning and lived experience of the everydayand ritual practices of eating. The saying that we are what we eat is alsothe scientific basis for stable isotope studies in paleodiet. Most lines ofarchaeological dietary evidence (e.g. faunal and floral analyses, ceramics,processing tools, artistic renderings, etc.) tell us about available menus, but

stable isotope analysis is a direct means of measuring the organic embodi-ment of food consumption. Where the ideological values of foods areknown, it is also a useful line of evidence for inferring cultural embodiment,and has a potential for identifying discourses on the negotiation and main-tenance of gender construction.

This article is an exploration of these discourses. Chemically recon-structed dietary histories are used to contribute to our understanding ofMaya gender relations among elite and non-elite groups at a numberof sites in Belize that represent different time periods, regions and levels ofpolitical importance. Direct evidence of diet from human skeletal remainswas used to examine the following general issues of gender and diet in theMaya:

1 Did gender affect food consumption?

2 Did social status affect diets by gender?

3 Did culture change, including colonialism resulting from the SpanishConquest, affect diets by gender?

Gendered food behaviour can be found in both archaeological and modern

studies of subsistence and consumption (e.g. Claassen and Joyce, 1997;Counihan and Kaplan, 1998). In archaeology, research on food and genderis dominated by subsistence studies, which reconstruct procurement,processing and preparation. These are cultural activities that often involve


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358 Journal of Social Archaeology 5(3)

agency, i.e. social actions that have consequences. In subsistence studies,women are often viewed as exercising agency, primarily as gatekeepers offood at both family and community levels, and in the roles they play in menu

choice, distribution and storage. Although this function could be a sourceof much female autonomy, as originally suggested by Lewin (1943), therehave been many challenges to this assumption (McIntosh and Zey, 1998)which suggest that decisions regarding the movement of food through thegate(s) are heavily influenced initially by the politics of production overwhich women may have no control and, at the end point of serving, byapproval of the consumers.

Food consumption studies, however, are reconstructed directly fromstomach contents and fecal remains but, most commonly, from chemicalanalysis of tissues, which provide data on short and long term diets respec-tively. Because we are also what we do (Butler, 1993), gender differencescould result from regular activities that bring men and women in proxim-ity to different immediately consumable resources, or a food system thatsymbolically differentiates males from females (e.g. women eat eggs, meneat meat) and is used for gender identity. The latter could be exercisedonly at special times or be part of everyday life. These scenarios inform usabout social differences rather than relative social equality. However, justas equal access to food resources is considered the hallmark of egalitariansocieties and unequal access denotes ranking, gender differences in food

consumption could also reflect social status by degree of access topreferred foods.

Food preference is based on both ideology and availability, where rare,difficult to obtain, or imported foods are usually the most valued andreserved for more powerful or wealthy members of society, i.e. elites. Forthe Maya, maize was imbued with the strongest ideological meaning of anyfood. According to creation mythology, it was the substance from whichhumans were formed and the foundation upon which their civilization wasbuilt (Bhar, 1968). Most rituals were centred on the maintenance and

renewal of its growth (Bassie-Sweet, 2002: 170) and involved food (Landa,1566). Since it was the responsibility of elites to conduct rituals, it is notsurprising that in previous isotopic studies elite individuals appear to beconsuming more maize, and more maize-fed animals (Coyston et al., 1999;Metcalfe et al., 2004; White et al., 1993, 1996), the latter probably purpose-fully fed for ritual consumption (White et al., 2001a, 2004). Other studiessuggest that elites consumed more animals and marine/reef resources(Beaubien, 2004; Moholy-Nagy, 2004; Pohl, 1985, 1990; Teeter, 2004),depending on the effect of environment and trade networks on resource

availability. The archaeological identification of elites is made frommortuary context and treatment. While it is always possible that mortuarytreatment may be a more accurate reflection of the status of the living thanthat of the dead, grave type, size and goods are still our most accessible


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measure of the socioeconomic status of a grave occupant. If female elitesshare equal status with men, we might expect their diets to be the same.

PERSPE CTIVES ON THE STATUS OF MAYA WOMEN

The social, economic and political status of ancient Maya women is aburgeoning focus of debate in the archaeology of gender (Ardren, 2004;Bruhns and Stothert, 1999; Cohodas, 2002; Gustafson and Trevelyan, 2002;Joyce, 2000; Pyburn, 2004). To date, lines of evidence are based mainly onanalysis of material culture (e.g. monumental sculpture and iconography,ceramic art), use of space (residential architecture and activity analysis)and, to a lesser extent, mortuary data.

The principle of complementarity, i.e. that men and women playedseparate, but equally important, roles in the function of society, is found inmany studies that define an ideological basis for various expressions offemale power, including complementary male/female pairing and genderamalgamation (Bassie-Sweet, 2002; Gillespie and Joyce, 1997; Hewitt, 1999;Joyce, 2002; Looper, 2004; Reilly, 2002; Tate, 2002; Vail and Stone, 2004).For example, in the iconography of Classic period public monuments inwhich elites are represented, Joyce (1996: 187) argues that although women

are seen as pieces of male histories in the texts of monuments depicting thelives of rulers, the images on the same monuments de-emphasize sexualcharacteristics. Males and females are identifiable only by costume decora-tion presenting a unified elite identity, in which male/female pairs aredichotomous. Grave goods, inscriptions and texts also provide evidence ofcomplementarity via the authority elite women gave to ruling lineages oftenthrough marriage alliances outside their natal homelands (Krochock, 2004;Looper, 2004; Schele and Freidel, 1990). Although the monumental imagesinterpreted by Joyce (1992, 1996) were likely state-controlled,gender-amal-

gamation is also found in the images of less public gender representationssuch as carvings (Claassen, 1992) and ceramic imagery (Joyce, 1993), Classicperiod glyphs (Gillespie and Joyce, 1997), as well as in mortuary data(Fekete, 1996; Pyburn and Rathje, 1984), ethnohistorical accounts (Landa,1566), modern ritual (Vogt, 1969) and codices written by the Maya (Vailand Stone, 2004).

In addition, to the ideological basis for high female status, women exer-cised agency through their labour. Hendon (1996) cogently argues thatbecause domestic labour fuelled ritual and political ceremony it could be

translated as political action. According to Landas (1566) account, duringthe Historic period, the labour of women was very important both sociallyand economically, but their participation in public ritual was limited.Because of the potential ethnocentric and geographic bias in Landas


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writing, and caveats about the use of analogy (Wylie, 1985; Vail and Stone,2004), Landas observations are offered here with great caution. In additionto being in charge of housekeeping and the education of children, he

described women as controlling spinning, weaving and food preparation,and drew them making pottery. Although it is not clear how much controlthey had over the production of the agricultural staple (maize), they aredescribed as working in the fields and harvesting the crops when necessary.This observation is substantiated by archaeological evidence from spatialanalysis (Neff, 2004; Robin, 2004) but the degree of female engagement inagriculture varied over time and location. Women were also in charge ofraising domestic animals (including deer) and fowl (for feathers) (Landa,1566; Pohl and Feldman, 1982). Landa (1566: 55) also describes women asgreat economists, in charge of the payment of tributes, hiring each otherslabour, buying and selling.

The social and economic importance of female activities is also visiblein earlier times (Bruhns and Stothert, 1999; Clancy et al., 1985; Clark andHouston,1998; Clarkson,1978; Hammond, 1975; Hendon, 1997; Joyce, 1993,1996; Schele and Miller, 1986; Sweely, 1999; Tate, 1999; Vail and Stone,2004). Among other things, the evidence consistently points to the import-ance of women in the production of food and textiles, a role that seems tohave been widespread in Mesoamerica (Beaudry-Corbett and McCafferty,2004; McCafferty and McCafferty, 1998; Sweely, 1999). Both textiles and

food were vital to the success of rituals, and rituals were essential for notonly ensuring good relationships with the supernatural world but also func-tional social relations within communities. According to Landa (1566),virtually all rituals involved feasting and women were in charge of the prep-aration of food and drink used as offerings and for consumption, as well asproviding offerings of cloth. Feasts and rituals were a visible and significantmeans used by competing Maya elites to demonstrate their status (Joyce,2000). As Srensen (2000: 106) notes, once the food is consumed in ritualsand feasts it is taken out of social circulation, and therefore takes on special

meaning that is also accentuated by the associated cultural items, e.g.textiles. Female labour used to produce food and textiles was thus criticalto the success of ceremonies. Whether or not women were active partici-pants does not belie the social, symbolic and political meaning of theircontribution.

There may have been temporal and/or regional differences in the degreeof female participation in ritual. According to Landa (1566), during theHistoric period only older women were allowed to participate in largertemple ceremonies, but both men and women engaged in domestic ritual.

During earlier times, however, there is archaeological evidence for theactive participation of women in public rituals, e.g. depictions on figurinesof women dancing and holding bowls of food and bundles of cloth offer-ings (Joyce, 1993).


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The other side of the debate is the more hierarchical view that femalelabour was exploited by men for the exercise of power (Pohl, 1991) and didnot create real influence in political decision making or authority. Pyburn

(2004) warns us that this perspective may be a bias of modern world systemsbut Cohodas (2002) notes that arguments for female subordination can befound in patriarchal political systems (McAnany, 1995; Restall, 1995;Tourtellot, 1988), mortuary data (Haviland, 1997), agency resulting fromfactionalism (Brumfiel, 1994), and the time-consuming, labour-intensity offemale production in the tribute system, which limited their ability toexercise agency and political power (Pohl, 1991) (although the latter couldalso be argued in favour of the complementarity model). The argument forhierarchy can also be found in the conflict between biological and socialstatus indicators (Ardren, 2004), female expressions of resistance (Restall,1995), and textual analysis of the Popul Vuh, a sacred Maya text that reflectsdeclining female power over time (Pia Chan, 2002). Although political andeconomic power, as well as social and ideological systems, were steeped ingender relations, status was negotiated differently over time and in differ-ent contexts (Joyce, 2002; Gustafson and Trevelyan, 2002). For example,both Brumfiel (1991) and Joyce (1992, 2002) have noted that female partici-pation in ritual may have been restricted in the Post-Classic, but more openin the Classic period. During the Historic period, ethnohistoric evidencesuggests that males occupied most positions of political and ritual power in

the sixteenth century (Joyce 2002; Landa, 1566).Joyces (2002) argument that gendered status and power in Meosamer-

ica were variable by time and place is also consistent with the idea that thegender system of any society cannot be simply slotted into the binarycategories of complementary versus hierarchical (Cohodas, 2002; Gero andScattolin,2002). In addition to the potential general effect of culture changeon gender status, female negotiations of power at different social levelswere probably multivocal. Differences in food consumption behaviourbetween males and females should also reflect this variability.

ISOTOPIC THEORY, METHOD AND SAMPLEDESCRIPTION

The stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen are expressed in per mil () as-values using the formula:

= [(Rsample/Rstandard) 1]

1000

Carbon-isotope ratios are measured relative to the Vienna PDB (VPDB)standard (Coplen, 1994) and the nitrogen-isotope standard is purified


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atmospheric nitrogen calibrated using IAEA-N1 (0.4 ) and IAEA-N2(+20.3 ).

During photosynthesis, plants that discriminate most against 13C have

the lowest or most negative 13

C-values (average of 26.5 ; OLeary,1988; Smith and Epstein, 1971). These are called C3 plants and include themajority of wild plants in Mesoamerica, most vegetable cultigens, nuts,fruits, wild plants and many temperate grains such as wheat, barley and rice.Plants that incorporate more 13C during photosynthesis, resulting in higheror more positive 13C values (average of 12.5 ; OLeary, 1988; Smithand Epstein, 1971), are called C4 plants. Tropical grasses such as maize,sorghum and millet constitute the majority of these. Maize was the majorcultivar in Mesoamerica. One other category of plants has flexible photo-synthetic pathways, and consequently a more variable range of 13C-values(27 to 12 ) that overlaps with C3 and C4 plants. These are CAM (Cras-sulacean acid metabolism) plants, which are mainly succulents. Althoughsome of these may have been consumed by the ancient Maya, there is noevidence that they were food staples. Alcoholic drinks used for feasting inMexico were made from cacti, but the alcoholic drink described by Landa(1566) used for rituals and feasting was produced from C3 sources.

The isotopic composition of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has beenaltered by the burning of 12C-enriched rich fossil fuel, so modern plantshave 13C-values that are 1.5 lower than pre-industrial plants (Friedli et

al., 1986; Keeling et al., 1979; Marino and McElroy, 1991).Because 13Ccol represents the source of protein as it is ultimately

derived from C3 or C4 plants, it naturally includes the flesh of C3- and C4-consuming animals (Ambrose and Norr, 1993; Krueger and Sullivan, 1984).Although wild terrestrial animals would have consumed predominantly C3plants (carnivores mainly consuming C3 plant-eating animals), animals thatwere purposefully fed maize (e.g. dogs, deer; White et al., 2001b, 2004)would have had C4 signatures. Where protein consumption is sufficient,there is normally an increase of approximately 5 in the 13C-values of

the organic portion of bone collagen ( 13Ccol) from one level of the foodchain (or trophic level) to the next (Ambrose and Norr, 1993; Gerry andKrueger, 1997; van der Merwe and Vogel, 1978).

The 13C-values of apatite ( 13Cap) reflect the combined major foodcomponents (protein, carbohydrate and lipids) and the difference between 13Cap and

13Ccol can be used to determine the relative quantities ofanimal foods in the diet based on the assumption that animals have morelipids, which have lower 13C values than either protein or carbohydrates.

The 15N-values of collagen establish the source of dietary protein, as

well as the trophic level of the consumer. Legumes and blue-green algaeare the only plants that fix nitrogen and therefore have distinctive 15N-values, i.e. close to 0 compared with other terrestrial and marine plantswhich have 15N-values ranging from 2 to 6 . Because nitrogen-isotope


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ratios are passed on to consumers and increase by about 3 to 4 with eachstep up the food chain, they are useful indicators of trophic level (DeNiroand Epstein, 1981; Schoeninger, 1985). Marine animals tend to have higher 15

N-values (range 1013.5 ) than terrestrial animals (Schoeninger andDeNiro,1984; Sealy and van der Merwe, 1986; Virginia and Delwiche, 1982)because marine plants have 15N-values approximately 4 higher thanthose of terrestrial plants (Delwiche and Steyn, 1970) and marine food webscontain more trophic levels than terrestrial webs. Marine/reef resourcesalso often have 13C-values that emulate C4 plants, confounding interpret-ations based solely on collagen analysis. This problem is overcome by theuse of 15Ncol-values to establish trophic level and

13Cap-col to determinethe degree of herbivory versus carnivory. The consumption of marine/reefresources results in extremely low 13Cap-col-values that appear as exag-gerated carnivory (Ericson et al., 1989; Lee-Thorp et al., 1989; White et al.,2001b).

In terms of identifying available protein resources, the ethnohistoricrecord and earlier artistic representations document access to a large diver-sity of animals and birds. Only males are represented in hunting activities,but some animals were raised or husbanded by women (e.g. deer, pisote,dogs, pigeons, ducks, turkeys) and some were garden-hunted at the edgesof maize fields (e.g. deer, peccary; White and Schwarcz, 1989; White et al.,1993, 2001a, 2004). Hunted animals would have C3 signatures because they

feed on wild plants. Marine resources and domesticated animals would haveC4 signatures, and husbanded or garden-hunted animals (e.g. deer) wouldhave intermediate signatures.

In this study, the degree of maize consumption was determined usingstable carbon-isotope ratios from both bone collagen ( 13Ccol) and apatite( 13Cap). The source of protein and trophic level was determined usingcarbon and nitrogen-isotope ratios from bone collagen ( 13Ccol and 15Ncol). The degree of carnivory versus herbivory was determined usingthe difference between collagen and apatite values ( 13Cap-col). The more

positive the 13Ccol and 13Cap-values, the more C4 foods were consumed.The higher the 15Ncol-values, the higher the trophic level. The lower the 13Cap-col-values, the more meat and/or marine/reef resources in the diet.Therefore, the comparison is of relative quantities of consumption ratherthan breadth.

As a general expectation, the higher the status, the more positive the 13Ccol and

13Cap-values, the higher the 15Ncol-values and, most signifi-

cantly, the lower the 13Cap-col-values. Returning to the key questions ofthis study: (1) if food consumption was affected by gender, then males and

females would differ in one or more of these measures; (2) if social statusand political importance of the site affected the gendering of food consump-tion, then either the females from the higher order sites (i.e. elite females)or the lower order sites (i.e. low status females) should have differed from


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their male counterparts in one or more of these measures; (3) if culturechange affected diets by gender, then the pattern of male/female foodconsumption would not be constant over time.

Samples come from seven sites in Belize, representing culture history

from the Pre-Classic period (1250 BC250 AD) to the Historic period(15201670 AD). These sites are also located in several distinct eco-zones(Figure 1) which helps to elucidate the effects of environment on foodpreference. Details of sample composition, as well as sample processing,

Figure 1 Map showing location of sites


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instrumentation and tests for post-mortem chemical alteration can be foundin previous publications (Tykot et al., 1996; White and Schwarcz, 1989;White et al., 1993, 1996, 2001a). All samples come from adults with good

sex identifications. Because bone has a very slow turnover rate, its isotopiccomposition represents an homogenization of food intake over about thelast 1015 years of the individuals life. Therefore, the data reflect a combi-nation of everyday and special dietary events and their meaning.

RESULTS

Food, particularly maize, consumption is known to have varied regionallyas well as temporally (White, 1999; Table 1). Differences between cultureperiods are likely related to changing socioeconomic and political activities(e.g. trade, warfare), as well as relationships between human populationsand their environments (e.g. population density). In recognition of Pyburns(2004) warning about generalizing gender from small and biased samplesizes, the interpretations here must be taken with great caution and aremainly intended to create models for better statistical testing in the future.

Pre-Classic periodMaize was well-established as the agricultural staple by Pre-Classic times.Isotopic evidence from the inland site of Cahal Pech (Powis et al., 1999;White et al., 1996) indicates that status differences were already expressedin food consumption. Elites consumed imported marine/reef resources andthose who did the farming consumed the least amount of maize. Unfortu-nately, poor preservation of skeletal elements used to determine sexprohibits any comparison of male/female diets at this site.

The data presented here from both Cuello and Altun Ha are Pre-Classic

but cannot be assigned to Early, Middle or Late periods. Interpretationsmust be taken with caution because there was a regional explosion in popu-lation density that probably resulted in the intensification of maize produc-tion and dietary change toward the end of the Pre-Classic. Tykot et al.(1996) examined sex differences in maize consumption at Cuello, an agri-cultural community in northern Belize comprised of relatively low statusindividuals. Both sexes consumed the same kind of protein, i.e. mostlyterrestrial animals, but males consumed more C4 foods and were slightlymore carnivorous (see Table 1 and Figures 25). He suggests this difference

might be due to greater male consumption of C4-fed animals or maize-based alcohol. Because the only alcoholic drink described ethnohistoricallywas C3-based and alcohol consumption would not make them appear morecarnivorous, the former explanation is the more likely.


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Site/ n 13Ccol 13Cap

13Cap-col 15Ncol

Time period/ (

0

/00) (

0

/00) (

0

/00)Sex Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD

Pre-Classic

Altun Ha

males 3 13.2 1.9 8.6 0.3 4.6 1.7 11.1 0.3

females 3 12.6 2.1 8.0 2.2 4.6 0.4 10.1 1.0

Cuello1

males 15 12.8 0.9 9.8 1.3 3.0 8.8 0.9

females 11 13.2 0.9 9.8 0.9 3.4 8.8 0.9

Classic

Lamanai

males 11 14.2 1.6 7.0 1.3 6.4 2.8 10.3 1.1

females 2 13.0 3.3 6.0 0.4 8.3 1.2 10.0

Pacbitun

males 8 9.0 1.2 5.5 1.1 3.6 1.4 9.1 0.6

females 8 10.7 1.2 6.0 1.9 4.7 0.5 9.5 0.7

Late Classic

Altun Ha

males 3 12.3 0.5 9.2 1.2 3.1 0.8 10.5 0.5females 7 13.4 1.1 9.1 1.0 4.3 1.1 10.0 0.3

Post-Classic

Lamanai

males 11 9.5 1.0 6.3 1.4 3.3 0.7 9.7 0.7

females 7 9.1 0.5 6.1 2.1 3.7 1.1 9.1 0.5

Altun Ha

males 2 10.6 6.8 2.2 10.4

females 3 14.6 7.8 3.9 10.2

San Pedro2males 10 6.8 1.1 4.2 1.3 2.5 1.0 9.8 0.6

females 9 7.0 1.2 4.2 1.2 2.8 0.8 9.6 0.4

Marco Gonzalez2

males 9 6.7 0.9 6.5 0.7 1.4 0.9 10.9 0.7

females 13 8.1 1.0 6.4 1.2 1.8 0.8 10.0 1.0

Historic

Lamanai

males 6 9.9 1.3 5.7 0.2 3.8 0.8 9.7 0.3

females 5 9.8 0.3 5.2 0.8 4.6 1.0 9.7 0.8

1 Data from Tykot et al. (1996)2 Data from Williams et al. (in press)

Table 1 Carbon and nitrogen isotope values by time period, site and sex


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In contrast, males at Altun Ha, a ceremonial centre located close to theCaribbean coast and barrier reef in northern Belize (Pendergast, 1992),consumed fewer C4 foods than females (White et al., 2001a; Table 1, Figures2, 3). Even though males and females consumed the same modest quantityof animal foods (from 13Cap-col; Table 1, Figure 4), males accessed moreprotein from a higher trophic level (Table 1, Figure 5). Their protein did

not likely come from marine/reef resources because these would appear asC4 foods. It is more likely that these males consumed high trophic levelfishes and/or other aquatic animals from beyond the reef. This sample isfrom a mass burial that may be comprised of foreigners (Pendergast,

13

Ccol(, VPDB)

male

femaleAltun Ha

(Pre-Classic)

(Late Classic)

(Post-Classic)

Cuello1

(Pre-Classic)

Lamanai

(Classic)

(Post-Classic)

(Historic)

Pacbitun

(Classic)

MarcoGonzalez

2

(Post-Classic)

San Pedro2

(Post-Classic)

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5

Figure 2 Isotopic values for 13Ccol by sex (1data from Tykot et al., 1996;

2

data from Williams et al., in press)


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1990), and therefore may reflect the diet of a different, perhaps morecoastal, polity.

Classic period

Lamanai and Pacbitun both provided samples from elite contexts repre-

senting the Classic period. Although the production potential for maize wasvery high (Lambert et al., 1984), the inhabitants of Lamanai are among theleast maize-dependent of any Classic period population yet analysed (Gerryand Krueger, 1997; White et al., 2001a), possibly due to the remarkable

Figure 3 Isotopic values for 13Cap by sex (*male and female values are

identical;1

data from Tykot et al., 1996;2

data from Williams et al., in press)

13

Cap(, VPDB)

male

femaleAltun Ha

(Pre-Classic)

(Late Classic)

(Post-Classic)

Cuello1

(Pre-Classic)*

Lamanai

(Classic)

(Post-Classic)

(Historic)

Pacbitun

(Classic)

MarcoGonzalez

2

(Post-Classic)

San Pedro2

(Post-Classic)*

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3


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heterogeneity of eco-zones accessible to them (e.g. river, estuary, coast,jungle, pine ridge, savannah, swamp). Because of the small sample size andvariability of the data, interpretations during this period are made withextreme caution. However, the 13Cap-col-values suggest that both males andfemales predominantly consumed a plant-based diet but males consumedproportionately more animals (Table 1, Figure 4) and less maize. The 15

Ncol-values indicate that protein for both sexes came from both terres-trial animals and probably some aquatic resources (Table 1, Figure 5).At Pacbitun, males consumed more C4 foods and were more carnivorous

(Table 1, Figures 2, 3, 4) than those from Lamanai. Because both sexes had

Figure 4 Isotopic values for 13Cap-col by sex (*male and female values are

identical; 1data from Tykot et al., 1996; 2data from Williams et al., in press)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

13

Cap-col

male

femaleAltun Ha

(Pre-Classic)*

(Late Classic)

(Post-Classic)

Cuello1

(Pre-Classic)

Lamanai

(Classic)

(Post-Classic)

(Historic)

Pacbitun

(Classic)

MarcoGonzalez

2

(Post-Classic)

San Pedro2

(Post-Classic)


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similar 15Ncol-values that indicate terrestrial animals as the protein source(Table 1, Figure 5), the greater meat consumption indicated by the 13Cap-col-values (Table 1, Figure 4) suggests that males may have consumed moreC4-fed animals. Greater C4 food consumption among the elite indicates thatmaize was likely more socially valued there possibly because of populationpressure on food resources (Healy, 1986; White et al., 1993).

Late Classic period

This is the time that generally marks the Classic period collapse. At AltunHa, the sample size is small, especially for males, and consists of elites only.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

15

Ncol(, AIR)

male

femaleAltun Ha

(Pre-Classic)

(Late Classic)

(Post-Classic)

Cuello1

(Pre-Classic)*

Lamanai

(Classic)

(Post-Classic)

(Historic)

Pacbitun

(Classic)

MarcoGonzalez

2

(Post-Classic)

San Pedro2

(Post-Classic)

Figure 5 Isotopic values for 15Ncol by sex (*male and female values are

identical; 1data from Tykot et al., 1996; 2data from Williams et al., in press)


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Nonetheless, the pattern of sex differences is exactly the same as forPacbitun, i.e. males consuming more C4 protein (Table 1, Figure 2), beingmore carnivorous (Table 1, Figure 4) and possibly consuming more C4-fed

animals.

Post-Classic period

The aftermath of the Classic period collapse was experienced differently bythe sites in this study. At Altun Ha the gap in sex differences in maizeconsumption seen in the Late Classic period widened (Table 1, Figures 2, 3).Although both sexes consumed more maize than in previous times, malesconsumed even more, became increasingly more carnivorous (Table 1,Figure 4) and consumed more C-4-fed animals (Table 1, Figures 3, 5).

At Lamanai, there is a significant drop in the consumption of maize forboth sexes (Table 1, Figures 2, 3), but the pattern of difference between thesexes is still much the same as during the Classic period. Males were stillconsuming slightly less maize (Table 1, Figures 2, 3), were more carnivorous(Table 1, Figure 4) and accessed their protein from a slightly higher trophiclevel (Table 1, Figure 5).

San Pedro and Marco Gonzalez are located on Ambergris Cay, off thecoast of northern Belize and close to the barrier reef. Marco Gonzalez wasprobably a gateway community for Lamanai (Graham and Pendergast,

1989). Males at Marco Gonzalez consumed more C4 protein (Table 1,Figure 2), were more carnivorous (Table 1, Figure 4) and consumed moreprotein and from a higher trophic level (Table 1, Figure 5). In this case, theprotein sources probably came from the nearby C4-based marine-reefbecause the 13Cap-col-values are exceptionally low.

By contrast, the small fishing village of San Pedro shows very few, if any,gender differences in food consumption (Table 1, Figures 25).

Historic period

Historic period sites are rare because many were abandoned before thearrival of the Spanish Conquest and few have been excavated. During thisperiod at Lamanai, there is a shift in the distribution of food by sex. Thereis no longer any difference in maize consumption (Table 1, Figures 2, 3) orprotein source (Table 1, Figure 5). However, males were still more carniv-orous (Table 1, Figure 4).

DISCUSSION

The data in this article support what Joyce (2000: 162) describes as themosaic quality of gendered status and power, where control of food and


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its consumption are complex variables in the expression of social author-ity, autonomy and control. Availability of resources and site size are majordeterminants of intra-populational food distribution. Each site is located in

a distinct ecological zone and each zone has a different balance of foodresources, a different productive potential for maize, and a different suiteof available protein resources. Although the Maya had a shared ideology,each polity also carved out its own symbolic identity and may have usedritual foods as part of that identity. Indeed, there is isotopic evidence tosuggest that elite lineages used food as a means of social identification(White et al., 2001a). The source of socially valued foods, therefore,probably varied by site and possibly time period. This is reflected in therange of isotopic values.

The isotopic composition of bone is a reflection of long-term consump-tion. The differences observed are sometimes subtle, but some patterns inconsumption behaviour are observable. With the exception of Lamanai (allperiods) and Pre-Classic Altun Ha, males consumed more C4 foods(although the difference was marginal at San Pedro). The apparent lowerconsumption of C4 foods by males at Lamanai might be consistent with thehypothesis that maize was less valued where it was easier to grow (Whiteet al., 1993). However, it is not possible to know if either environment orculture were factors in the differences at Pre-Classic Altun Ha because thegeographic origin of the individuals in this mass burial is unknown.

The greater male consumption of C4 foods at all the other sites couldhave been caused by variation in snacking due to proximity during produc-tion or preparation, the use of food in the identification of gender, or areflection of social status. The latter explanation is preferred at presentbecause the gender pattern is consistent with the way that diet is associatedwith social status at these sites.

The most salient aspect of the data, however, is the consistent sex differ-ence in protein consumption. Greater carnivory among males is thecommon denominator but differences in the quantity and/or type of

protein consumed by males and females are found at all sites (except thelow status site of San Pedro) and vary by time period. Gender differencesin protein consumption could be due to an ideology that favours differen-tial access on a daily basis, gender roles in the production/procurement offood, or greater (or more frequent) participation of males in ritual involv-ing protein consumption. Except for samples from Cuello and San Pedro,most of the individuals in this study were elites of varying degrees whowould certainly have participated in public rituals. The sources of greateranimal consumption among males included marine-reef resources and

C4-fed animals. Greater animal protein consumption has been generallyassociated with high status (Pohl, 1985, 1990) and preferred protein wasgenerally sourced from higher trophic levels whether it came from foodwebs that were terrestrial (e.g. mammals rather than beans) or marine


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(e.g. large fish or mammals rather than crustaceans). Higher trophic levelanimals would only be accessed by hunting carnivores or accessing coastalareas. Both carnivores (e.g. jaguars) and marine resources had great ideo-

logical significance among the Maya and were used in ritual (Moholy-Nagy, 2004; Pohl, 1990). Therefore, the regular consumption of huntedanimals or marine resources by males might also support the interpret-ation of greater male participation in ritual. How much captured food wasused for public ritual versus domestic consumption is unknown. Proteinresources captured for public ritual may also have been species-limited,were not likely used for snacking in the wild and may not have been sharedwith women, unlike those captured for domestic use (regular or ritual). Itis possible that female dietary protein came dominantly from resourcescaptured for domestic use.

Deer and dogs were commonly associated with ritual (Carr, 1985;Clutton-Brock and Hammond, 1994; Pohl, 1983; Wing, 1978), and there isisotopic evidence that those used for ritual and feasting were exclusivelyfed maize from very early ages (White et al., 2001b, 2004). Considerableinvestment must have been made in producing these animals. If this invest-ment means that C4-fed animals were reserved mainly for ritual feasting,then the greater quantities of C4-fed meat in male diets could indicategreater male participation in ritual food consumption on a regular basis.Proponents of gender complementarity would argue that the ritual

consumption of such ideologically important food by males was only madepossible through the female effort of creating it. For example, Hastorf(1991) argues that the greater consumption of C4 foods by men in ancientPeru is a result of ritual consumption of the maize-based alcoholic drink,chicha, by males, and that the female labour used to produce chicha was animportant source of female status (Hastorf, 1991; Skar, 1981). An opposingargument could be that if male consumption of these foods was exclusive,the performance of consuming might have symbolically given males moredirect access to the supernatural, at least in terms of this aspect of the

ceremonialism. Such behaviour would be consistent with Clendinnens(1982) view that hierarchic and complementary behaviour can be interwo-ven in cultural practice. In this case, women could have been hierarchicallyexcluded from political and religious authority and some ritual practices,even when subsistence and ritual labours and some ritual practices werecomplementary.

It has been argued that elites exhibited more gender equality (Joyce,1996, 1999) as well as less (Haviland, 1997). Because the samples used inthis study are dominated by elites (with the exception of San Pedro and

Cuello), it is not possible to test this hypothesis within sites. However, thedifferential consumption of protein resources by sex among the elitestrongly suggests that males had greater access to socially valued and ideo-logically based foods. While it is likely that elite females displayed status


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through their proximity and contribution to public ritual, the differentperformance of food consumption suggests either identity differences orunequal direct involvement with the supernatural. Whether or not these

differentials can be equated with political or public decision-making poweris the cardinal question. It could be argued that even though labour of elitewomen is required for the successful completion of ritual by males, if theyare excluded from consuming the same foods as men, they are distancedfrom products of their labour, and separated politically and spiritually frommen.

By contrast, dietary differences are the weakest between the sexes at thelower order sites, San Pedro and Cuello, which also provide little archaeo-logical evidence for status differences and were probably much moreinvolved in food production than ceremony. It could be hypothesized thatwomen at lower order sites experienced greater equality.

The effects of the Spanish Conquest on gendered food behaviour can beexamined with Historic period data from Lamanai. During this period,status determination is not possible because the Spanish altered mortuarypractices involving traditional signifiers of status, i.e. grave structures andgoods. All individuals came from a church cemetery. Males and femalesconsumed identical protein sources. This shift might be reflecting the endof public ritual. However, males were still more carnivorous than females.Reasons for this differential could include:

1 A change in ritual practices. Spanish efforts at repressing traditionalpublic rituals may have resulted in the adaptation of private domesticrituals for their replacement. Traditional ritual foods may have beenabandoned, but the principles of differential performance in ritualfood consumption may have been maintained, resulting in thegreater consumption of protein by men.

2 A deeper traditional ideological behaviour that was masked duringearlier periods and dictated preferential male access to protein.

Differential access to preferred resources on a daily basis couldexplain the tendency for males to be generally more carnivorous inmost samples regardless of time period.

3 The inculcation of Spanish attitudes that devalued women andproduced a different ideological core. There are references toincreased abuse of women in the ethnohistoric documentsMesoamerica (Landa, 1566). There is also isotopic evidence thatculture change introduced by the Spanish in the Andes had adramatic effect on female status (Hastorf, 1991). As Silverblatt (1988:

441) notes: Spanish norms held men to be innately more suitable topublic life, economic activity, and positions of power.


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CONCLUSION

Hastorf (1991: 133) states that gender is created from division of labour,

differential access, social negotiation, production and reproduction.Archaeological, ethnohistoric and chemical lines of evidence for subsis-tence and diet indicate that all of these behaviours are gendered among theMaya, but expressed in different ways. Maya foods were highly imbued withideological meaning, symbolically consumed during ceremonial activities,and also promoted social and political meaning for both men and women.Archaeological evidence suggests that Maya women exercised agency andpower in the religious domain by controlling the food provided for cere-monies, as well as in the economic domain through their control of food in

exchange networks and the payment of tribute. However, although furthertesting will be needed, isotopic measures of food consumption suggest thatthere were gender differences in diet, and that these were most pronouncedamong elites. Lower order sites at both the earliest (Cuello) and latest (SanPedro) stages of the civilization showed the weakest gender differences infood consumption.

Dietary gender differences can be caused by variation in proximity tocertain foods during production or preparation, the use of food in theidentification of gender, or differential access related to social status.

Among elites, men were fairly consistently more carnivorous than womenand consumed more foods that might be considered ideologically import-ant such as maize, maize-fed animals and marine/reef resources. Gendereddietary differences vary by resource, time,and site location, which is consist-ent with Joyces (2002) view that female status and power were unevenlynegotiated over time and place. The differences seem to have been broadlydistributed but are not dramatic. Their meaning is still unclear, but it isargued that because elite males consumed more preferred foods, most ofwhich were used in rituals, elite women may not have participated in ritualfood consumption in the same way or to the same degree. While the produc-tion of Maya ceremonies involved complementary gender participation,female access to the products of their labour may have been more limitedand may even have resulted in less direct access to the supernatural . Thisinterpretation is consistent with the view that hierarchical behaviour canstill be embedded in complementary social systems.

The arrival of the Spanish seems to have brought an end to gender differ-entiation by protein type, but males continued to consume more proteinthan females in general. Whether this represents an underlying ideology ofpreferential access for males, a conversion of public rituals to private, or the

assimilation of Spanish gender values requires further research.


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Acknowledgements

I thank David Pendergast, Elizabeth Graham, Hermann Helmuth,Paul Healy, JaimeAwe, and the Department of Archaeology, Belize, for access to these samples.

Samples were analysed in the isotope labs of Fred Longstaffe, The University ofWestern Ontario, and Henry Schwarcz, McMaster University, who were involved invarious aspects of their isotopic interpretations in previous publications. I also thankRobert Jackson and Karyn Olsen for the figures.

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C HRISTINE D. W HITE holds a Canada Research Chair in Bioarchaeol-

ogy and Isotopic Anthropology at The University of Western Ontario.

Working with human remains primarily from Latin America and the Nile

Valley, she reconstructs living conditions, social structure, political and

economic behaviour, migration, colonization, warfare and marriagepatterns.

[email: [email protected]]

Documents

03 White 2005 Gendered Food Bahaviour Among the Maya