What was the Olmec Food like?

The Olmec food Was a combination of products that came mainly from activities such as farming, fishing and hunting; The latter to a lesser degree.

During its period of existence, the Olmec civilization Developed techniques to make better use of their difficult natural environment and maintain a balanced diet with what they could obtain; Thus compensating for the lack of certain nutrients and making the most of the abundance of others.

Established in the gulf of southern Mexico, the Olmecs encountered the natural difficulties of living among large portions of dense jungle and unpredictable river bodies, having to adapt their livelihood activities, and thus their own diet, to these conditions.

To guarantee their subsistence, the Olmecs were characterized by combining the product of the culture and the fishing between them, creating species of"plates"that at that time offered a greater nutritional contribution.

They also exploited the consumption of wild plants and fruits of the area, such as guava, which were a fundamental part of eating habits.

Olmec food through agriculture and cultivation

Olmec agriculture

The Olmec agriculture Can be considered one of the fundamental pillars of this civilization. The main product grown and integrated into the Olmec diet for a long time was the corn , Which came to have an almost divine importance.

Other products that emerged from this activity and supplemented the diet were beans, squash, tomato, avocado, potato, etc.

The Olmecs had to go through a process of domestication of some products of the earth to include them not only in their diet, but also in some of their rituals and celebrations; Where they fulfilled a cultic function.

Some studies deal with the possibility that the Olmecs may have had contact with the cocoa , However it was not included within its basic nutritional load.

As part of the agricultural activity, the Olmec civilization made two large harvests, mainly maize, a year.

This, for the experts, reflected a great abundance of food at that time, which allowed a great distribution and an equal nutritional level among all the citizens. This not counting the obtained by the fishing and the hunting.

One of the earliest and best known combinations of items was nixtamal, a derivative of corn flour combined with ash and sea shells, strengthening its nutritional value.

Nixtamal

The abundance of fish

Being located between abundant fluvial bodies, the olmecas knew to take advantage of the rivers for a double function: the fishing and the culture by irrigation. In this way they were able to double the rate of production and obtaining of food.

The relationship of the Olmecs with the rivers resulted in the adherence to their diet of products such as clams, ducks, turtles, crabs, snakes and marine lizards.

As for the fish, it has been given a special importance to the sea bass and the blanket line, considered quite popular for Olmec food, mainly in the greater Olmec city, San Lorenzo de Teotihuacán.

The type of fish consumed varied in the different populations Olmecas according to the season and the river, or rivers that surrounded them. One of the most prolific species in most areas was catfish.

The Olmecs had the advantage of exploiting river fishing for their food when in neighboring regions such a practice was impossible.

This also facilitated the eventual development of trade and exchange routes with which they could obtain products absent in their region in exchange for their fishing.

Hunting products

Despite the nutritional advantages of fishing, protein is considered to be the lowest nutrient in the Olmec diet.

This was due to several factors: the difficulties posed by the density of the jungle for Olmec hunters and the absence of a sustainable population of wildlife.

It is known that the region inhabited wild boars, jaguars, tapirs, among others of medium size. Little is known to what extent the hunting and consumption of these animals was part of the Olmec basic diet.

Over time, the consumption of smaller wild animals such as rabbits, small deer, opossums and raccoons has been included in the Olmec diet, although it is not known at a level that meets the needs of the general population.

In spite of this, the main source of protein attributed to Olmec nutrition came from domestic animals, such as the dog.

The Olmecs domesticated a certain amount of animal species for a better control, like the turkey.

However, not all were intended for consumption. With the passage of time, the Olmecs reduced the consumption of their pets more and more.

Studies have dealt with the theory that over time they were neglecting and diminishing fishing and hunting practices, in the face of a continuous boom in agriculture.

The reasons for this may revolve around the difficulty of hunting, population growth, and low density of wild and domestic wildlife, which resulted in the alternative of an increasingly strong diet in land products.

Food Alternatives

As the Olmec civilization advanced and new economic and social structures developed, the population began to look for alternatives to their nutritional deficiencies in trade and exchange.

In this way they could be made especially with new plants, fruits and vegetables that not only added to their diet but began to produce for themselves.

Similarly with the products of the game, which was decreasing in viability and were used as a trade resource.

The Olmecs also managed a form of ceremonial feeding, which included items that were not mass-produced or whose characteristics were not considered essential to form part of daily consumption.

The changes of economic and social organization that faced the Olmec civilization in advanced years, together with the growth of a long-distance exchange system, allowed the Olmecs to import their products from other regions that were added as part of The constant diet.

References

1. Bernal, I. (1969). The Olmec World. Berkeley: University of California Press.
2. Clark, J.E., Gibson, J.L., & Zeldier, J. (2010). First Towns in the Americas. In Becoming Villagers: Comparing Early Village Societies (pp. 205-245). Brigham Young University.
3. Minster, C. (2017, March 6). Thoughtco Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com
4. . Olmec Archeology and Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge University Press.
5. Vanderwarker, A.M. (2006). Farming, Hunting, and Fishing in the Olmec World. Austin: University of Texas Press.
6. Wing, E. S. (1981). A Comparison of Olmec and Maya Foodways. In The Olmec & Their Neighbors: Essays in Memory of Matthew W. Stirling (pp. 21-28). Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections.