Paleoethnobotanical evidence of Early Formative period diet in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 29 (2020) 102047

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Paleoethnobotanical evidence of Early Formative period diet in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

T

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Éloi Bérubéa, , Guy David Heppb, Shanti Morell-Harta a b

Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton L8S 4L8, Ontario, Canada Department of Anthropology, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, 92407, CA, USA

A R T I C LE I N FO

A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Agriculture Mesoamerica Paleoethnobotany Early Formative period Maize Beans Phytoliths Starch grains Stable isotope analysis Ceramics Lithics

In this paper, we discuss dietary and possible medicinal practices of an Early Formative period (2000–1000 BCE) community transitioning from Archaic-style to Formative-style lifeways. The results we present come from the analysis of plant residues, including microbotanical and macrobotanical remains, which were excavated at the village site of La Consentida in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. Phytoliths and starch grains were recovered by sonication from twenty ceramic and lithic artifacts. The microbotanical analyses identified plant remains from four different families: Bombaceae (flowering plants), Dioscoreaceae (yam family), Fabaceae (bean family), and Poaceae (grasses, including maize). We also report on limited macrobotanical analysis, including a seed of guapinol (Hymenaea courbaril). Together, these results complement existing archaeological studies of lithic and ceramic artifacts from La Consentida, as well as stable isotopic analyses of human remains from the site.

1. Introduction The study of plant use in Early Formative period (2000–1000 BCE) Mesoamerica has largely focused on transitions to fully agricultural economies. Recent research indicates that, while Mesoamericans in some areas had access to early domesticated maize by approximately 7000 BCE, and bottle gourds and squashes likely earlier (Kennett et al., 2017; Piperno, 2011; Piperno et al., 2009; Ranere et al., 2009), regional variation in the adoption of agriculture was high (Pohl et al., 1996; Pope et al., 2001). Moreover, most settlements did not become fully agricultural until millennia later (Arnold, 2009; Clark et al., 2007; Rosenswig, 2015; VanDerwarker, 2006). Despite the dependence of later Mesoamerican groups on agriculture, some researchers (Arnold, 2009; see also Killion, 2013) have critiqued “agricentrist” models that tend to assume direct causation between transitions to agriculture, permanent settlement of the first villages, and hierarchical social complexity. Some settled Early Formative coastal groups appear to have cultivated plants in primarily horticultural economies but also incorporated significant quantities of estuarine and marine resources until as late as the Middle Formative period (1000–450 BCE) (Blake et al., 1992; Chisholm and Blake, 2006; Clark et al., 2007; Hepp et al., 2017; Killion, 2013; VanDerwarker, 2006; VanDerwarker and Kruger, 2012; Wing, 1978). Many of the first

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coastal villages, then, likely began as seasonal resource collection locales (see Lesure, 2009; Voorhies, 2004). In the Pacific coastal Soconusco, hereditary hierarchies may have begun as community members employed surplus estuarine and horticultural goods to accumulate social capital (Clark, 2004; Clark and Blake, 1994; see also Hayden, 2009; Lesure, 2011). One avenue to better understand the socioeconomic transitions of the Early Formative, particularly as they relate to plant foods, is the analysis of microbotanical remains associated with artifacts used for food processing and storage (Benz, 2006; Morell-Hart et al., 2019, 2014; Pearsall, 2015). The informal lithic industries at Early Formative sites, which resulted from bipolar flaking to produce abundant small, irregular flakes, are well documented (Clark, 1987; Clark and Lee, 2007, p. 113; Lowe, 1977, 1975, 1967). Less well known are the crafting and/or subsistence purposes to which these lithic industries were applied (see Davis, 1975; DeBoer, 1975; Green and Lowe, 1967; Isendahl, 2011; Lewenstein and Walker, 1984). Better understood, perhaps, are the uses of Mesoamerica’s first pottery. Early vessels included decorated wares used in probable feasting events (Clark and Blake, 1994), neckless jars (tecomates) perhaps employed in salt processing (Lesure, 2009, p. 185), and more broadly as “multipurpose cooking, storage, and serving” vessels suited to the semi-mobile settlement practices of some Early Formative communities (Arnold, 2003,

Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (É. Bérubé), [email protected] (G.D. Hepp), [email protected] (S. Morell-Hart).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102047 Received 6 May 2019; Received in revised form 7 October 2019; Accepted 15 October 2019 2352-409X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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17th–19th centuries, BC (Goman et al., 2013; Joyce and Goman, 2012). La Consentida’s chronology is supported by seven AMS radiocarbon dates (1950–1525 cal BC) from secure contexts located across the site (Hepp, 2019a). Material culture analyses germane to this report include those of ceramic and lithic artifact assemblages at La Consentida. The Tlacuache phase ceramic assemblage (Fig. 2) includes approximately 77% jars, 17% bowls (some of which are incised grater bowls), 6% bottles, and 1% tecomates, some of which were squash or gourd-like phytomorphs (Hepp, 2015, pp. 413–452). Some of the relatively rare decorations appear similar in style to those from far western traditions such as Capacha and Opeño (Kelly, 1980; Mountjoy, 1994; Oliveros Morales, 1974; Oliveros Morales and de los Ríos, 1993), though the formal vessel typology is similar to that of the highland Oaxacan Tierras Largas assemblage (Flannery and Marcus, 1994, figs. 8.2, 8.3, 8.9, 8.37). As an exemplar of the “Red-on-Buff” ceramic horizon, Tlacuache also shares certain hemispherical bowl and globular jar forms with Espiridión and Purrón phase wares (Flannery and Marcus, 1994; García Cook and Merino Carrión, 2005; Hepp, 2019b; MacNeish et al., 1970), though both highland assemblages have less vessel form diversity than does Tlacuache. Thus far, analysis of La Consentida's pottery indicates that jars were used in domestic and communal cooking events and likely also for storage. Food was likely served in bowls, which were more frequently decorated than other vessel types. Bottles probably held beverages such as maize gruel or beer (Hepp et al., 2017). Grater bowls suggest specific food preparation or even crafting activities, as we explore further below. The chipped stone assemblage from La Consentida is dominated by gray and black obsidian, though a few chert, chalcedony, and quartzite artifacts are also present (Acuña, 2018; Williams, 2012). Most of La Consentida’s chipped stone occurs as debitage with little evidence of usewear. Flakes often exhibit evidence of “bipolar” reduction, likely as a result of working small obsidian nodules on anvil stones (Jon Lohse, personal communication 2018). Rare formal tools (Fig. 3) include a possible obsidian biface fragment, a bifacially-flaked chert knife or drill preform, scrapers, and a relatively standardized category of trifacially-

p. 36, 1999). As vessel types diversified, bowls and bottles seem to have been employed as serving vessels while jars were used as cooking and storage containers (Arnold, 2003, pp. 36–38). By targeting residues from these different culinary tools, we are better able to define artifact uses as well as identify specific types of plant foodstuffs prepared by Formative people, and thus illuminate potential socioeconomic transitions that correlate with transitions in foodways. Here, we present the results of microbotanical analysis of twenty chipped stone, ground stone, and ceramic artifacts from the Early Formative period site of La Consentida in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. These findings, when considered alongside formal analyses of ceramic and lithic assemblages, as well as stable isotopic analyses of human and faunal remains (Hepp, 2015, pp. 413–452, 503–535; Hepp et al., 2017), indicate a community in transition from a broad, Archaic-style diet to the more agricultural economy of the Formative period. Maize microfossils indicate the storage and processing of different parts of the plant, as well as the presence of heat damage, likely from cooking. Evidence of maize and wild beans found in burial offering vessels suggests artifacts with multi-stage uselives, as they operated within the community’s subsistence economy before entering mortuary contexts. The results of this study also suggest the presence of tubers at the site, though this is not conclusive. While these paleoethnobotanical findings do not put to bed any of the major questions of Early Formative period subsistence studies, such as how informal obsidian flaking technology factored into the community’s subsistence strategies, they do complement other bioarchaeological and material culture studies by providing a more nuanced picture of the subsistence practices at an Early Formative period village site.

2. Background and site description La Consentida, located in the lower Río Verde Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico (Fig. 1), dates to the Early Formative period (Table 1). The site is approximately 4.5 ha in size at the modern surface and was probably home to a community of about 80 people during an occupation of approximately three centuries (Hepp, 2015, pp. 185–190). The site was situated 4 km from an ancient bay during its occupation in the

Fig. 1. Map of key Early Formative period sites in Mesoamerica. 2

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 29 (2020) 102047

Direct date on human remains from burial B12-I14 using XAD purification Structure 2 domestic area −21.6

Collagen from human femur (PRI-5423A/B (H6) Carbon-rich sediment (AA101268) Not provided by lab

LC09 B-F15 hearth in Platform 1 Carbon-rich sediment (AA92454)

flaked chert or chalcedony drills or burins. Also present in the assemblage are small and exhausted cores or nodules and semi-formal flake tools. La Consentida’s ground stone exhibits a transition over time from smaller, more portable, “multi-use” tools to larger and more task-specific artifacts such as manos and metates (Hepp et al., 2017), a trend also observed at contemporaneous sites (Arnold, 2009; Clark et al., 2007; Winter and Sánchez Santiago, 2014). This transition appears to have been concurrent with increasing dental attrition exhibited by human remains at La Consentida, an indicator that culinary practices were beginning to incorporate maize-processing activities common among later Formative period agriculturalists. In general, La Consentida’s chipped stone and ground stone tools are consistent with a community consuming a broad diet of mostly wild species, supplemented by horticultural goods. Change over time in the assemblage is consistent with a mostly Archaic-style, but increasingly agricultural, diet (Hepp, 2015, pp. 240–257). The reconstruction of ancient subsistence practices at La Consentida has included analyses of faunal remains, stable isotopes in human and animal bone, and the ceramic and lithic artifact assemblages mentioned above. As a proxy for plant and animal use, stable isotope values from human bone collagen and dental enamel indicate a diet transitional toward agriculture and containing more maize than some contemporaneous coastal Mesoamerican communities (Hepp et al., 2017). Faunal analysis demonstrates the exploitation of marine and other wild resources including fish, shellfish, a few mammals, a small number of birds, and reptiles. Though faunal analysis of probable feasting contexts recovered as much as 90% fish (by NISP) in screened deposits and 97% in flotation heavy fractions, human nitrogen isotope levels indicate relatively little overall marine resource reliance. This apparent discrepancy supports the hypothesis that the numerous fish recovered from these middens were viewed more as feasting foods and were not common components of the diet overall (Hepp et al. 2017; Pérez Hernández and Hepp 2015). This may suggest that marine and estuarine products were frequently special event foods, rather than dietary staples. Dental attrition increased along with the size and quantity of manos and metates (Hepp et al., 2017, pp. 708–710), likely indicating a shift toward tools and pathologies typically associated with agricultural communities (Cohen and Armelagos 2013; Larsen 1995; Mayes 2016). Together, isotopic, bioarchaeological, and technological evidence indicates a community shifting toward agriculture, while still consuming a fairly broad, Archaic-style diet. Dietary reconstructions have been limited, however, by a relative lack of analyzed botanical remains. Here, we present the results of microbotanical studies of artifact residues, alongside macrobotanical analysis of plant remains recovered with a human burial. Together, these analyses provide insight into culinary practices as well as additional context for understanding how this Early Formative period community interacted with its surrounding landscape.

3360 ± 45

cal cal cal cal

3. Materials and methods Paleoethnobotany encompasses the study of many aspects of ancient life including foodways (McCafferty 2008; VanDerwarker and Kruger 2012) and plant management (Morell-Hart et al., 2019, 2014). The direct investigation of ancient plant use provides us with the opportunity to examine daily activities that played a significant role in ancient societies (Dietler, 2007; Hastorf and Weismantel, 2007; Morehart and Morell-Hart, 2015). In this study, Bérubé carried out microbotanical analysis of artifact residues and Morell-Hart carried out limited macrobotanical analysis of floated sediment samples. Bérubé recovered residues from one washed and 19 unwashed artifacts (Table 2) excavated from communal cooking and feasting middens, domestic areas surrounding houses, and mortuary offerings at La Consentida. This analysis focused on phytoliths and starch grains. Phytoliths are inorganic silica bodies produced by

2435 ± 35

1880–1840 1825–1795 1785–1625 1755–1525 3420 ± 35

1690–1600 cal BC (p = .76) 1585–1530 cal BC (p = .20) 755–680 cal BC (p = .22) 670–610 cal BC (p = .11) 595–405 cal BC (p = .63)

1885–1635 cal BC 3435 ± 45

3335 ± 20

1885–1665 cal BC 3445 ± 35

BC (p = .08) BC (p = .04) BC (p = .84) BC

1900–1690 cal BC 3480 ± 40

1740–1710 cal BC (p = .10) 1700–1610 cal BC (p = .58) 1665–1610 cal BC (p = .65) 1575–1565 cal BC (p = .03) 730–690 cal BC (p = .14) 660–650 cal BC (p = .02) 545–410 cal BC (p = .52)

−25.2

Burned food adhering to pottery from LC12 H-F4-s2 midden Carbonized food (AA104836) −15.5

LC12 E-F10 probable hearth in midden Carbon-rich sediment (AA101269) −25.5

LC12 A-F19 occupation layer Wood carbon (AA101267) −27.2

LC09 A-F4 hearth in Platform 1 Carbon-rich sediment (AA92453) −24.0

Floor or occupation layer Wood carbon (Beta-131037) −24.4

1885–1740 1715–1695 1880–1835 1830–1745 1870–1845 1810–1800 1780–1690 1875–1845 1815–1800 1780–1680 1760–1660 1950–1640 cal BC 3480 ± 60 (Joyce, 2005)

cal cal cal cal cal cal cal cal cal cal cal

1σ calibration 2σ calibration AMS radiocarbon date (uncalibrated)

Table 1 AMS radiocarbon dates from La Consentida.

BC BC BC BC BC BC BC BC BC BC BC

(p (p (p (p (p (p (p (p (p (p

= = = = = = = = = =

.64) .04) .24) .45) .13) .02) .54) .11) .03) .54)

Material / lab number δ-13C, ‰

Context

É. Bérubé, et al.

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Fig. 2. A reconstruction of La Consentida Tlacuache phase ceramic assemblage. Illustration by Guy Hepp.

Bérubé only completed the last two washes, as the dry wash material had already been removed. Once extractions were complete, samples were sent to the McMaster Paleoethnobotanical Research Facility (MPERF) in Hamilton, ON. There, aqueous samples were centrifuged for 5 min at 3000 RPM to concentrate extracted residues in the distilled water solution. Each wash was then mounted separately on a glass slide and analyzed using a ZEISS polarizing transmitted light microscope at 400x. Throughout the process, pictures were taken and processed using Zen software. The microbotanical remains were identified using MPERF reference collections, published materials (e.g., Ball et al., 1999; Duncan et al., 2009; Pearsall and Piperno, 1993; Piperno, 2006; Piperno and Holst, 1998; Torrence and Barton, 2006) and online resources (e.g., Pearsall et al., 2006). Macrobotanical analyses were more limited and included the scan of 21 light fractions of flotation samples and the analysis of a single carbonized seed from a burial context. The seed was recovered in situ from just beneath the skull of B8-I10, a burial containing a male aged 15–18 years at death. The flotation samples were standardized to 10L of excavated sediment per sample, targeting middens excavated in Operations LC12 D, LC12 E, and LC12 H (Hepp, 2019c, 2015). Flotation was carried out in 2012 using simple bucket flotation (see Banning, 2000, pp. 214–215). Morell-Hart scanned the light flotation samples and took photos of the carbonized seed at the Cuilapan laboratory in 2014. Microscopy was carried out using a 1980 Bausch & Lomb microscope, with 7x–30x capability, and illumination was provided with a separate lamp. There were limitations to this equipment, in terms of both illumination and visibility of the specimens. Therefore, the flotation samples were simply scanned to assess the density of carbonized material.

plants (Piperno, 2006; Shillito, 2013, p. 71); starch grains are minuscule plant food storage units composed of polymers and sugar (Hardy et al., 2009). Both types of microbotanical remains are regularly recovered from artifacts in studies worldwide (Pearsall, 2015, p. 253). It is important to note that starch grains do not preserve well when exposed to heat (Henry et al., 2009), a factor that does not affect phytolith preservation. In general, artifacts selected for microbotanical analysis were chosen for their recovery from primary contexts, their exemplary nature in the archaeological assemblage, and their level of preservation. Once the artifacts were selected, Bérubé completed microbotanical extractions at the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) laboratory at Cuilapan, Oaxaca, following protocols previously established for research in the region (see also Bérubé, 2017; Morell-Hart, 2015). Each of the previously unwashed artifacts was washed three times to obtain three samples providing different types of information. The sediment recovered from the first wash, the dry wash, combines residue from the adhering soil matrix and some residue that may be associated with artifact use. The dry wash provides information predominately about the environment in which the artifact was deposited and the plants discarded in its vicinity (Mickleburgh and PagánJiménez, 2012, p. 2471; Morell-Hart, 2015; Morell-Hart et al., 2014, pp. 72–73; Pearsall et al., 2004, p. 427). The second wash, the wet wash, permits the collection of microbotanical residues from the surfaces of the artifacts, thus producing results that are more likely associated with artifact use. This wash may also contain trace materials from the surrounding matrices. The final sonicated wash targets the residues still present in the crevices of the artifact, providing results most closely associated with artifact use (Mickleburgh and Pagán-Jiménez, 2012, p. 2471; Morell-Hart, 2015; Morell-Hart et al., 2019, 2014, pp. 72–73; Pearsall et al., 2004, p. 427). For the reconstructed grater bowl-9020,

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Fig. 3. Examples of La Consentida’s lithic artifacts. A) Probable bifacially-flaked obsidian tool from initial earthen platform fill; B) Two views of chert blade, knife, or possible drill preform from burial B2-I3; C) Chert drill from burial B2-I3; D) Partial metate from domestic structure; E) Multi-use tool from fill surrounding domestic context; F) Mano/anvil from occupational surface; G) Mano/hammerstone from burial B2-I3. Photos by David Williams; illustrations by Guy Hepp.

Microbotanical analysis of the La Consentida materials led to the identification of plants from four different families (Table 3): Malvaceae (Bombacaceae), Dioscoreaceae (yam family), Fabaceae (bean family),

and Poaceae (grass family, including maize). Numerous additional starch grains were too damaged to permit identification, while potentially identifiable starch grains and phytoliths have been labeled

Table 2 List of analyzed artifacts (see Hepp, 2015, pp. 95–181 for more context information). Microbotanical Sample Number

Provenience

FS Number

Artifact

Archaeological Context

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

LC12 LC09 LC09 LC09 LC12 LC12 LC09 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC12 LC09 LC09

9321 9988 10054 10103 8913 8909 10075 8975(2) 9020 9946 8108 8975 9153 9389 9276 9647 9365 9677 10086 10071

Bifacial chert tool or core Chert drill tool Chert drill tool Chert drill tool Mano Metate Chert drill tool Sherd found in the ollita Grater bowl Grater bowl Olla Ollita Obsidian flake Obsidian flake Obsidian flake Ceramic sherd Ceramic sherd Ceramic sherd Ceramic sherd Ceramic sherd

Public event cooking midden Fill with burials Fill with burials Fill with burials Domestic structure Domestic structure Fill with burials Burial Burial Burial Burial Burial Probable feasting midden Domestic structure Public event cooking midden Public event cooking midden Public event cooking midden Public event cooking midden Probable feasting midden Probable feasting midden

H 0A Lot 12 B 1Y Lot 6 B 0Y Lot 4 B 0Y Lot 6 C 3A Lot 7 C 3A Lot 7 B 0Y Lot 5 A −1Q B9-I11 A −1Q B9-I11 A −1R B11-I13 A −1P Lot 8 B6 A −1Q B9-I11 E 0A Lot 7 G 0D Feature G-1 H 0A Lot 11 H −1Z Lot 10 H 0A Lot 15 H −1Z Lot 13 B 1H Lot 15 B 1H Lot 13

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Table 3 Microbotanical results. Cf identifications are put in parentheses. Unknown (“UNKN”) phytoliths and starch grains are potentially identifiable. Damaged starch grains are identifiable only as starch grains of a rough size and shape. No unidentifiable phytoliths or starch grains are tabulated here. Artifact

Microbot number

Arboreal spheres

Malvaceae (Bombacaceae)

9321-Bifacial tool or core 9988-Drill 10054-Drill 10103-Drill 8913-Mano 8909-Metate 10075-Drill 8975 (2)-Sherd 9020-Grater 9946-Grater 8108-Olla 8975-Ollita 9153-Flake 9389-Flake 9276-Flake 9647-Sherd 9365-Sherd 9677-Sherd 10086-Sherd 10071-Sherd

1

10

(1)

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

9 6 8 2 3 5

Dioscoreaceae

Fabaceae

Poaceae

Poaceae Zea mays

UNKN Phytoliths

2

1

13

1 (1) 1 (2)

(1)

(1) 1

8 9 6 4 2 7 4 5 10 7 8

2

1 (1)

1 (3)

4

(1) 11 3 (2) 5 2

“unknown” and given unique numbers, pending future identification. Four artifacts (8913-mano, 9946-grater, 9389-flake, 9677-sherd) yielded only unknown phytoliths, which did not allow for further interpretations. The following results focus on the 16 remaining artifacts with identifiable microbotanical remains. The analysis of the bifacial chert artifact (9321) led to the identification of two Poaceae (grass) rondel phytoliths in the dry and sonicated washes, one maize (Zea mays) starch grain in the wet wash, and one phytolith tentatively identified as coming from the Malvaceae (Bombacaceae) family in the dry wash, following Pearsall and colleagues (2006). Different parts of the maize plant produce unique microbotanical remains. The leaves produce cross-body phytoliths, the cupules produce rondel phytoliths, and the kernels produce starch grains like the one found on the chert tool, thus allowing archaeologists to

2

8 13 27 17 9 11 7 5 3 8 5 3 3 1 2 4 2 3 2

Damaged starches

UNKN Starches

2

2 1

1 4 1

1 5

1 1 3

2 2

2

identify which part of the plant was in contact with the artifacts analyzed (Fig. 4) (Bozarth, 1993; Mulholland et al., 1988). The presence of a maize starch grain in the wet wash suggests that this tool was in direct contact with maize kernels, flour, or dough, in a form that was somewhat or entirely uncooked given the condition of the starch. Analysis of La Consentida’s flaked chert drills provided unexpected results (Fig. 5). Two of these chert drills (9988 and 10103) produced rondel phytoliths from grasses (Poaceae), found in the sonicated and dry washes respectively. Two additional drill tools (10054 and 10075) produced two maize starch grains in the dry washes, the last representing a tentative identification. There was also a possible Dioscoreaceae (yam family) starch found in the dry wash of sample 10075. Two additional unidentified starch grains recovered from the dry and sonicated washes of a chert drill (9988), along with six heavily Fig. 4. A) Maize cross-body phytolith (9020-grater, sonicated wash); B) Maize rondel phytolith (9647sherd, wet wash); C–D) Slightly damaged maize starch grain under normal and polarized light (9321bifacial tool or core, wet wash). Images by Éloi Bérubé.

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Fig. 5. A–B) Maize starch grain under normal and polarized light (10054-drill, dry wash); C–E) cf. Dioscoreaceae starch grain under normal and polarized light (10075-drill, dry wash); F–I Heavily damaged starch grains under normal and polarized light (10075-drill, three washes). Images by Éloi Bérubé.

The 9647 and 9365 ceramic sherds came from the midden uncovered in Operation LC12 H. As discussed elsewhere (Hepp, 2015, pp. 459–461), this midden likely resulted from cooking and preparation for a large community event. The ceramics recovered from this context were almost exclusively globular jars (including large examples suggestive of preparation for communal consumption) which were deposited quickly, perhaps in a single event. A piece of carbonized material adhering to the interior of a jar fragment from this midden was dated to 3420 ± 35 BP (AA104836; carbonized food; δ13C = -15.5‰), or 1880–1625 cal BC (Hepp, 2019a). Two other ceramic sherds (10086 and 10071) contained grass residues and unknown phytoliths and were recovered from another midden found in Operation LC09 B. This midden contained decorated ceramics and a probable mask fragment, suggesting it resulted from a public event such as a feast (Hepp et al., n.d.). The grater bowl (9020) yielded compelling results. Three grass family phytoliths were recovered: one a glume rondel identified to the family level (wet wash), the second a bilobate Panicoideae form (sonicated wash), and the last a cross-body Zea mays leaf form (sonicated wash) (Fig. 4). There were two identified starch grains: one was from the Fabaceae (bean) family (sonicated wash), while the other is tentatively identified as maize (wet wash) (Fig. 6). Five other starches remain unidentified. This grater bowl was recovered as one of two ceramic vessel offerings (along with the ollita [8975] discussed below) with burial B9-I11, which contained the remains of a child aged 3–4 years (Aguilar and Hepp, 2015, p. 547). The analysis of the well-preserved ollita (8975), also recovered with the child burial B9-I11, revealed eight grass family phytoliths. Three of these permitted only tentative identification. One came from the Bambusoideae grass subfamily (sonicated wash), and the remaining four examples were from maize leaves (wet and sonicated washes) (Fig. 7). There was also a heavily damaged starch grain in the wet wash, which showed evidence of gelatinization through cooking (Henry et al., 2009). These residues may be related to the cleaning of the vessel using maize husks or to the presence of maize husk-wrapped foods. During the removal of dirt preserved within the ollita, an additional sherd was recovered. This artifact may have served as a lid when the ollita was placed with the child burial (Hepp et al., 2017: Table 2). This sherd was also analyzed and produced only one unidentifiable starch grain in the

damaged starches coming from the three washes (10054 and 10075), showed signs of exposure to heat (Henry et al., 2009). Other lithic artifacts provided fewer results. On the metate, in addition to the unknown phytoliths, only one damaged starch grain was found in the sonicated wash. The obsidian flakes also provided limited information, with results from one flake (9276) leading to the tentative identification in the sonicated wash of the only grass starch grain of this study, while another (9153) produced three damaged (unidentifiable) starches and two starch grains with identifiable characteristics that are currently unknown. The combined analysis of the ceramic sherds (9647, 9365, 10086, and 10071) led to the identification of 25 grass family phytoliths, two of which come from Zea mays (maize). One of these is a wavy-top rondel associated with maize cobs (Fig. 4). This phytolith came from the wet wash of the sherd 9647. In Mexico and the lowland Neotropics, wavy-top rondel phytoliths are exclusively identified as coming from maize (Piperno and Flannery, 2001, pp. 2102–2013; Pohl et al., 2007, p. 6871), which is not the case for all of Latin America, as some grasses growing in high elevations, such as the Andes, also produce wavy-top rondels (Logan, 2006, pp. 100–101). The other maize phytolith, recovered from the sonicated wash of the same ceramic sherd, is a crossbody associated with leaves (and less frequently, with husks). This type of phytolith can be produced by Zea grass species, including teosinte. While this phytolith could come from either maize or teosinte, we argue that it is more likely from domesticated maize. The early presence of maize in Oaxaca is well-documented. Maize cobs have been found in the Guilá Naquitz Cave and have been dated as old as 6250 cal. years ago (Piperno and Flannery, 2001; Ranere et al., 2009; Sluyter and Dominguez, 2006). Given the presence of diagnostic maize wavy-top rondel phytoliths and lack of diagnostic ruffle-top rondel teosinte phytoliths, combined with the documented presence of maize in Oaxaca for several millennia prior, it is more plausible that the cross-body phytoliths found in this study came from domesticated maize. Other ceramic vessel sherds from various contexts produced additional grass family residues alongside less diagnostic residues. A sherd from an olla (8108) recovered with human burials produced one damaged and two unknown starch grains. Other ceramic vessel fragments in this study were recovered from various middens at La Consentida. 7

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Fig. 6. A–C) Cf. Zea mays (maize) starch grain under normal and polarized light (9020-grater, wet wash); D–H) Fabaceae starch grain (single specimen) at different rotations under normal and polarized light, with diagnostic lamellae and fissuring (9020-grater, sonicated wash); I) Sonicated wash procedure for 9020-grater bowl. Images by Éloi Bérubé.

flotation sample yielded 10 g–120 g of material, most samples falling within the 20–40 g range. Each undivided sample was scanned in 2014 to establish the general density of carbonized material and rapidly identify diagnostic carbonized specimens. Of the 21 scanned light fractions, six contained no carbonized material, seven contained only tiny quantities (fewer than five specimens), and eight samples contained only a small quantity of material (fewer than 20 specimens). No carbonized specimen was large enough to be identified using the lowpower microscope and weaker illumination available during the 2014

sonicated wash. 4. Macrobotanical results The macrobotanical analysis of flotation samples has thus far yielded only general information about the recovery rates of carbonized material across samples. Each excavated sediment sample was processed with bucket flotation (Hepp, 2015, pp. 82, 212) using 1 mm mesh to collect the light fraction material. The light fraction of each

Fig. 7. A–C) Maize cross-body phytoliths recovered in the wet and sonicated washes of 8975-ollita (sonicated wash); D) removal of dry residue from 8975-ollita. Images by Éloi Bérubé. 8

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Fig. 8. A) Single carbonized Hymenaea courbaril seed (2 cm in length, 1.5 cm in width) recovered from burial B8-I10; B) contemporary Hymenaea courbaril seed (2 cm in length, 1.5 cm in width). Image of carbonized seed by Guy Hepp, image of modern seed by Shanti Morell-Hart.

Fig. 9. Grater bowl with usewear from B9-I11 child burial. A) Vessel after reconstruction; B) during the sonication process that recovered microbotanical residues of maize and wild bean. Image of reconstructed vessel by Guy Hepp; image of sonication by Éloi Bérubé.

dancing bells (Hepp, 2019c, fig. 7.19). The seed morphology is consistent with guapinol (Hymenaea courbaril), a taxon from the bean family (Fabaceae). Much like other genera in this family that are commonly consumed today (e.g., ice cream bean [Inga spp.]), the edible pulp surrounding the guapinol seed is eaten, while the seed itself is considered inedible. Guapinol pulp is dry in texture and savory in flavor, with a strong odor similar to nutritional yeast. Recorded uses for guapinol also include construction, resin for incense, and as a shade tree. The tree ranges through South America, the Caribbean, and Central America, and is commonly found in coastal Oaxaca (Rodríguez-Velez et al., 2009), especially on contemporary plantations (Quintero Castañeda, 2005).

scan at INAH Cuilapan. This lack of medium-sized identifiable remains such as maize, beans, or squash, or other specimens larger in size, would indicate either preservation issues or Formative Period disposal in other contexts not sampled in this study. Future analyses of the samples using higher-power microscopy will include studies of the smaller seeds visible in the samples, likely herbaceous species. The primary burial of a male aged 15–18 years and interred in an extended, prone position, did yield one perfectly carbonized seed (Fig. 8). The seed was located approximately 7 cm below the taphonomically crushed skull of the interred individual. The nearly total lack of large carbonized seeds anywhere else in this context (in addition to the generally poor preservation of macrobotanical remains across the site) suggest that this close association was intentional rather than representing incidental material in the burial intrusion pit (Aguilar and Hepp, 2015, pp. 545–546). Other possible offerings from this burial include ceramic vessel fragments, a partial musical instrument (ocarina), and a figurine depicting a human leg possibly decorated with

5. Discussion The macrobotanical and microbotanical analyses together yield unique insight into ethnobotanical practices at Early Formative period 9

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used to cook food, causing the starch grains to became partially gelatinized. Similarly, damaged starch grains came from lithics (the chert drills, the metate, and the obsidian flake). These artifacts could have been exposed to heat, damaging the starches adhering to them. However, these drills (10054 and 10075) do not show evidence of significant heat exposure, thus suggesting a second hypothesis: that these tools were used to process already-cooked plant foods. It is interesting to note that these two chert drills were also the only drills from which maize microbotanical starch grains were recovered. Could one of the processed cooked plants be maize? While we cannot confirm that possibility based on two artifacts, these results do provide information about one possible use of the chert drills. Finally, the presence of a starch grain likely from the yam family (Dioscoreaceae) in the dry wash of one chert drill (10075) is noteworthy. Although this identification remains tentative, it may suggest the presence of tubers as identified elsewhere in Mesoamerica (e.g., Devio, 2016; López et al., 2016; Morell-Hart et al., 2019, 2014). The chert drill could have been used to process these plants, although more research is needed to confirm the presence and processing of yam family species at La Consentida. Interpretations of macrobotanical remains are limited by the paucity of charred materials recovered from the site. This may result in part from poor organic preservation, and future excavations at La Consentida will include the collection of larger flotation samples. The recovery of the single guapinol seed in the emotionally and spirituallycharged context of a human burial may suggest additional botanical practices related to this taxon. The seed itself appears “sucked clean,” with no other visible carbonized residue from the fruit pod, and only minuscule amounts of carbonized residue remaining from the pulp. What awaits explanation is why it was charred, as it is not the guapinol seed but rather the resin that is used for incense, and no other charred remains were visible in this burial context. Other offerings recovered with burial B8-I10 suggest that this young adult male may have been a musician and/or dancer for his community (Hepp, 2019c, pp. 158–159). Perhaps this wild bean, with its medicinal qualities, was somehow affiliated with that role.

La Consentida. First, the microbotanical analysis of residues from 20 artifacts permits several observations. The presence of a bean family starch grain in the sonicated wash of the grater bowl (9020) suggests that wild or cultivated beans were processed at La Consentida. This starch grain more closely matches wild varieties of Fabaceae, as it does not match the general size or diagnostic morphology of economic domesticated species in the region such as beans in the genus Phaseolus. One maize kernel starch grain was also tentatively identified, along with a diagnostic maize leaf cross-body phytolith. Once again, this cross-body phytolith could have been produced by teosinte, but the absence of any diagnostic teosinte remains, the documented presence of domesticated Zea mays in the region for millennia prior, and to the presence of identifiable maize starches and wavy-top rondels in this study suggest that these cross-body phytoliths came from maize. The presence of wild species from the bean family (Fabaceae) and maize together in a grater bowl, combined with visible usewear (Fig. 9), suggests practices of food shredding or grinding, supporting the idea that plants were processed in this vessel. Since maize and beans are often combined in the diets of native peoples of Oaxaca today, the unidentified Fabaceae starch grain might have come from a species of non-domesticated edible bean such as guaje (Leucaena spp.), a garlicky seed often used as a condiment. The presence of a rondel phytolith (from a maize cob) and a cross-body phytolith (from maize leaves) on the ceramic sherd (9647) also indicates that maize was stored and cooked at La Consentida. This conclusion is supported by stable isotope analyses of human remains from the site (Hepp et al., 2017). In addition to starch grains recovered from the grater bowl, maize starches were found on two chert drills (10054 and 10075) and the bifacial chert artifact (9321). All of these starches, coming from maize kernels, were found in the dry and wet washes associated more with surrounding matrices than with artifact use. These tools may have been used to process maize, although the microbotanical remains could also have come from sediments surrounding the artifacts. In the latter case, some maize kernels or vessel wash water could have been discarded on or near the artifacts or in a midden that was later redeposited as fill. To summarize the results regarding maize indicators, the cross-body phytoliths in the wet and sonicated washes of the ollita from child burial B9-I11 suggest that this vessel served to store or process maize leaves or maize leaf-wrapped foodstuffs (Fig. 7). Many starch grains bearing evidence of heat damage (Henry et al., 2009) were also recovered in different washes of the vessel. The absence of maize evidence in the dry wash from the ollita suggests the vessel did not contain maize leaves when placed in the burial (Fig. 10). The vessel would have instead held plants earlier in its uselife, as demonstrated by residues in the wet and sonicated washes and the lack of maize in the sampled loose sediments. Many other microbotanical remains from La Consentida were identified to the level of the grass family (Fig. 11). By examining the remains found in the sonicated washes of artifact crevices, it is possible to identify which grasses likely relate to artifact use rather than to the environment surrounding the deposited objects. The bifacial chert artifact (9321), at least one chert drill (9988), and one obsidian flake (9276) seem to have been used to process grasses or cereals during their uselives. A few ceramic vessels (e.g., ollita [8975] and sherd [9647]) could have contained grasses or cereals, possibly for storage or cooking. However, the large number of grass phytoliths from sherds should be interpreted cautiously. Because of its very soft ceramic matrix, part of the clay and temper spalled into the water during wet and sonicated washes. The friable paste likely results from the relatively low-temperature firing of pottery at this early site (Hepp, 2015, pp. 88–89). It is, therefore, possible that the grass phytoliths come from the paste or temper and not from the vessel contents. Numerous unidentifiable starch grains were found during this analysis (e.g., on two drills, one metate, three sherds, and one chert flake), many of them showing heat damage (Henry et al., 2009). Three of these starch grains come from ceramic artifacts: the olla (8108), the ollita (8975), and a ceramic sherd (10086). These ceramic objects were likely

6. Conclusions Paleoethnobotanical studies can provide new insight regarding a wealth of subsistence and ritual activities. With evidence of plant consumption practiced by ancient people, it is possible to examine issues related to wild plant exploitation and horticultural or agricultural strategies (Abramiuk et al., 2011; Aceituno and Loaiza, 2014; Berman, Mary J. and Pearsall, 2000), diet, nutrition, and foodways (Aceituno and Martín, 2017; Mickleburgh and Pagán-Jiménez, 2012; Morell-Hart et al., 2019, 2014; Pearsall et al., 2004), and healing and medicinal practices (Abramiuk et al., 2011). Paleoethnobotany can also be used to examine ritual or communal practices such as feasting (Bogaard et al., 2009) and funerary activities. In this study, we have used paleoethnobotanical analysis to produce basic information about the plants used at La Consentida, as well as to suggest new possibilities about the role of several artifacts. The microbotanical analysis confirmed the presence of maize and wild beans while hinting at the possible presence of yam family species. This research also helped to clarify the role of some of La Consentida’s grater bowls, with one found to contain evidence of beans and maize. Elsewhere (Hepp et al., 2017, p. 710), these vessels have been interpreted as possibly used to process foods for weaning children, in part because the two most complete examples were found as offerings with children ages 2–4, the approximate age of the onset of linear enamel hypoplasias in the population (Hepp et al., 2017). Our present results provide additional context for this interpretation by revealing plant foods processed in these small vessels. Macrobotanical analysis also yielded interesting results. The relative paucity of larger-seeded materials in the flotation samples is not proof 10

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Fig. 10. 8975-ollita from B9-I11 child burial. A) Illustration of vessel in context with burial; B) Vessel before sediment removal; C) Vessel after sediment removal. Illustrations and images by Guy Hepp.

food production in a region that became heavily reliant on maize only in the last few centuries before European incursion (Joyce et al., 2017). In conjunction with faunal remains and bioarchaeological studies, these results have allowed us to elaborate on the economic considerations of a community in transition from Archaic-style to Formative-style subsistence strategies. In particular, our findings support horticultural practices based on a diverse selection of wild and domesticated resources and including the incorporation of maize. This horticultural economy was shifting toward greater maize reliance while settlement practices were also changing, though perhaps sedentism became more fully established first. We also find evidence of lithics used unexpectedly in maize processing activities and the complex uselives of ceramic vessels employed first in food processing or crafting practices and then again as mortuary offerings. Finally, we have limited but compelling evidence for the incorporation of plants in ritualized activities suggesting both a complex set of religious practices and a nuanced understanding of regional flora. Future paleoethnobotanical studies, aided by the improved recovery of macrobotanical remains

of absence but may indicate a combination of poor organic preservation and insufficient flotation sample sizes previously collected. The guapinol seed recovered from burial B8-I10 may indicate the special role this taxon played in the community as a favored foodstuff, a medicinal resin, an incense, or even a special shade tree. The results of paleoethnobotanical study of materials from La Consentida help to illuminate lithic and ceramic artifact use, as well as to reveal the subsistence strategies of a coastal village occupied during the initial Early Formative period. From a regional perspective, these results help to contextualize archaeological and dietary information from later in the Prehispanic period (e.g., Fernández 2004; Joyce 2005). Indirect evidence for landscape clearance as part of a mixed horticultural economy has been found to date back to the Late Archaic period in this region (Goman et al., 2013, p. 54), and our present results bolster existing stable isotope analyses (Hepp et al., 2017) in providing direct evidence of human activities during the transition to agriculture. The beginnings of significant maize consumption at La Consentida provide an important early chronological bookend for understanding 11

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Fig. 11. A–D) Single cf. Poaceae starch grain at different focal lengths and under normal and polarized light (9276-flake, sonicated wash); E) Bambusoideae (Poaceae) phytolith (8975-ollita, sonicated wash); F–G) two Poaceae phytoliths (9647-sherd, dry wash).

from Early Formative contexts in coastal Oaxaca, should help us to further examine diet, economy, and spiritual practices during a time of fundamental socioeconomic transformation.

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Acknowledgments This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1213955), a Fulbright-García Robles Scholarship (34115725), the University of Colorado, the Colorado Archaeological Society, the Montrose Community Foundation, McMaster University, Florida State University, and California State University, San Bernardino. The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia permitted the project (401.B. (4)19.2012/36/1160). Analyses at the Cuilapan, Oaxaca INAH laboratory were facilitated through the efforts of Marcus Winter and Cira Martinez López. We would like to thank our two reviewers, who provided helpful comments on our work. References Abramiuk, M.A., Dunham, P.S., Cummings, L.S., Yost, C., Pesek, T.J., 2011. Linking Past and Present: A Preliminary Paleoethnobotanical Study of Maya Nutritional and Medicinal Plant Use and Sustainable Cultivation in the Southern Maya Mountains. Belize. Ethnobot. Res. Appl. 9, 257–273. Aceituno, F.J., Loaiza, N., 2014. Early and Middle Holocene Evidence for Plant Use and Cultivation in the Middle Cauca River Basin, Cordillera Central (Colombia). Quat. Sci. Rev. 86, 49–62. Aceituno, F.J., Martín, J.G., 2017. Plantas Amerindias en la Mesa de los Primeros Europeos en Panamá Viejo. Lat. Am. Antiq. 28, 127–143. Acuña, J.E., 2018. Early Formative Period Exchange, Crafting and Subsistence: An Analysis of La Consentida’s Chipped Stone Assemblage (M.A. thesis). California State University, San Bernardino. Aguilar, J., Hepp, G.D., 2015. Appendix 5: Analysis of Human Remains, in: La Consentida: Initial Early Formative Period Settlement, Subsistence, and Social Organization on the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Colorado, Boulder, pp. 536–556. Arnold, P.J.I., 2009. Settlement and Subsistence among the Early Formative Gulf Olmec. J. Anthropol. Archaeol. 28, 397–411. Arnold, P.J.I., 2003. Early Formative Pottery from the Tuxtla Mountains and Implications for Gulf Olmec Origins. Lat. Am. Antiq. 14, 29–46. Arnold, P.J.I., 1999. Tecomates, Residential Mobility, and Early Formative Occupation in Coastal Lowland Mesoamerica. In: Skibo, J.M., Feinman, G.M. (Eds.), Pottery and People: A Dynamic Interaction. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, pp. 157–170. Ball, T.B., Gardner, J.S., Anderson, N., 1999. Identifying Inflorescence Phytoliths from Selected Species of Wheat (Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccon, T. dicoccoides, and T. aestivum) and Barley (Hordeum vulgare and H. spontaneum)(Gramineae). Am. J. Bot. 86, 1615–1623. Banning, E.B., 2000. The Archaeologist’s Laboratory: The Analysis of Archaeological Data. Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York. Benz, B.F., 2006. Maize in the Americas. In: Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, Domestication, and Evolution of Maize. Academic Press, New York, pp. 9–20. Berman, Mary J., Pearsall, D.M., 2000. Plants, People, and Culture in the Prehistoric Central Bahamas: A View from the Three Dog Site, an Early Lucayan Settlement on San Salvador Island. Bahamas. Lat. Am. Antiq. 11, 219–239.

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