Prehispanic Saltmaking in Belize: A Reply to Valdez and Mock and to Marcus

Abstract

In response to the comments on our 1989 paper “Prehispanic Saltmaking in Belize: New Evidence,” we agree with Valdez and Mock that it is possible that some Prehispanic saltmaking sites in Belize may have been oriented toward the preservation of animal-protein resources, but caution against extending the interpretation of their NRL site to the status of generalization. While we may have misinterpreted Marcus, we wish to clarify that we never implied that salt production was a causal factor in Maya state formation.

Salinas De Los Nueve Cerros, Guatemala: A Major Economic Center in the Southern Maya Lowlands

“…Shortly thereafter, a debate about the role of salt in the Classic Maya diet and economy began. This lasted for more than a decade (Andrews 1980(Andrews , 1983(Andrews ,1984(Andrews ,1998Dillon 1988;Dillon et al 1988;MacKinnon and Kepecs 1991;Marcus 1991Marcus , 1994Marquez 1982;Mock 1994;Pohl 1985;Valdez and Mock 1991;White et al 1993). One side argued for the biological necessity of salt in a meat-poor tropical diet, while the other held that salt was more of a luxury and could be obtained through other means, such as burning palm fronds.…”

An Ancient Maya Dock and Dam at Blue Creek, Rio Hondo, Belize

“…Other traders brought exotic goods to inland communities, likely using canoes built specifically for riverine transport rather than coastal activity. Goods found in the eastern Peten that probably arrived by this system include jade, unmodified shell and shell ornaments, sponges, obsidian and other exotic stone materials, commodities such as salt and probably textiles and other goods, as well as salted and dried fish 2 (Andrews 1983;Andrews and Mock 2002;Bozarth and Guderjan 2004;Garber 1989; Guderjan and Garber 1995;MacKinnon and Kepecs 1991;McKillop 2002McKillop , 2005Valdez and Mock 1991). Coastal sites such as Santa Rita may have served as a "cosmological broker" for shell, stingray spines, and sharks teeth (Chase and Chase 1988), which were readily available resources in their environs, and had high ritual value for elites and commoners alike throughout the lowlands.…”

Ancient Maya Tree Cropping

“…An under-standing of the coastal Maya diet is relevant not only to evaluating coastal subsistence strategies, but also to explaining the development of complex Maya society. Evidence points to restriction of seafood or marine by-products to elite or ceremonial contexts at distant inland Maya sites (McKillop 1980;Pohl 1983;Rice 1978;White 1989), although hypotheses continue to be advanced about whether or not dried fish was transported inland (McKillop 1993a;MacKinnon and Kepecs 1991;Marcus 1991;Valdez and Mock 1991). Faunal analyses from Cerros (Carr 1986), Cozumel (Hamblin 1980), Cancun (Wing 1975), and Moho Cay ( McKillop 1984) suggest that the coastal Maya had an adaptation focused on the exploitation of nearby aquatic and terrestrial resources that was distinct from the inland Maya diet (McKillop 1985).…”