image: Clay ocarina (figurine whistle) of a ball player from Ek Way Nal (Site 60 A), that was traded from an inland community and may have been used in salt rituals. view more
Credit: PNAS
Microscopic analysis of ancient tools from Maya salt works in Belize suggest that salt was used for food preservation, according to a study. More than 1,000 years ago, the Paynes Creek Salt Works, located on the shores of a lagoon in Belize, was a center of production for salt, a biologically and economically important commodity. Households maintained salt kitchens for producing standardized salt cakes and traded excess salt. Heather McKillop and Kazuo Aoyama used microscopy to examine wear patterns on 20 chert stone tools recovered from sites now under water. Despite the virtual absence of fish remains and other indicators, a majority of the tools exhibited wear patterns consistent with fish preparation rather than woodworking. The results indicate that preserved fish may have been an important component of the trade economy in this coastal area. Based on salt production at a modern site in Guatemala, the authors estimate that each salt kitchen could provide 3,444 people with dietary salt per day if half of the production was used for fish preservation. According to the authors, such preservation may have helped alleviate periodic food shortages.
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Article #18- 03639: "Salt and marine products in the Classic Maya economy from use-wear study of stone tools," by Heather McKillop and Kazuo Aoyama.
MEDIA CONTACT: Heather McKillop, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA; tel: 225-578-6178, 225-287-6928; e-mail: hmckill@lsu.edu
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences