Molecular Archaeological Investigations of Olmec Feasting in Ceramics from San Andrés , Tabasco, Mexico

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.