The Axolotl as Food and Symbol in the Basin of Mexico, from 1200 BC to today

Tate, Carolyn

doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0471-3_21

Cited by 19 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Moreover, axolotls were an important food source for early Mesoamericans. Sahagun called them the ‘food of gentlemen’, but there is abundant evidence that early Mesoamericans ate not only axolotls, but also frogs ( Kennedy, 1982 ; Tate, 2010 ; Wanderer, 2018 ). Coupled to the fact that axolotl embryos are very large and their development easily visible to the naked eye, this consistent proximity between people and amphibians makes it possible to consider that early Mesoamericans did actually observe developing embryos.…”

Section: Art Meets Embryology In Ancient Mexicomentioning

confidence: 99%

Aristotle, Buddhist scripture and embryology in ancient Mexico: building inclusion by re-thinking what counts as the history of developmental biology

Wallingford

2021

Development

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It has not gone unnoticed in recent times that historical writing about science is heavily Eurocentric. A striking example can be found in the history of developmental biology: textbooks and popular science writing frequently trace an intellectual thread from the Greek philosopher Aristotle through 19th century embryology to 20th century genetics. Few in our field are aware of the depth and breadth of early embryological thinking outside of Europe. Here, I provide a series of vignettes highlighting the rich history of embryological thinking in Asia and Latin America. My goal is to provide an entertaining, even provocative, synopsis of this important but under-studied topic. It is my hope that this work will spur others to carry out more thorough investigations, with the ultimate goal of building a more inclusive discipline.

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Section: Art Meets Embryology In Ancient Mexicomentioning

confidence: 99%

Aristotle, Buddhist scripture and embryology in ancient Mexico: building inclusion by re-thinking what counts as the history of developmental biology

Wallingford

2021

Development

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“…Axolotls were significant figures in Aztec life and culture. In marketplaces, raw and roasted salamanders constituted an important protein source for the population of Tenochtitlán (Tate 2010). Their name derives from a Nahuatl word variously translated as “water toy or game,” “aquatic monster,” “water twin,” or “water dog.” Many of these translations reference the linguistic and mythic connections between the axolotl and the Aztec deity Xolotl, the canine twin of Quetzalcóatl, and the god of twins and monsters .…”

Section: Materials and Symbolic Axolotlsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Axolotl in Global Circuits of Knowledge Production: Producing Multispecies Potentiality

Wanderer

2018

Cult. Anthropol.

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The axolotl is a noteworthy species of salamander, one both biologically remarkable and culturally significant. Native to the canals of Xochimilco, a neighborhood in Mexico City, the charismatic species has deep connections to Mexican history and identity, as well as serving as an important model organism for scientists studying regenerative biology. Drawing on fieldwork in Mexico with restoration ecologists engaged in conserving axolotl habitats, as well as on scientific papers and informal communications among scientists who use axolotls as model organisms, I examine the fate of the axolotl in and out of Xochimilco. Taking up the lives of both wild and cultivated axolotls, this essay asks what is at stake when a species is eliminated from one anthropogenic environment, the canals of Xochimilco, while being made to live in another, the laboratories of scientists studying developmental and regenerative biology. In the lab, axolotls are interpreted as plastic and flexible, potential models for reconfiguring human capabilities, injury, and aging. In the wild, the axolotl is a fragile sentinel species in need of protection that serves as an indicator of the fragility of the ecosystem more broadly. Conservationists interpret its failure to thrive as a message to human populations to reform and reconsider how they live in relation to the environment. This essay demonstrates how, through scientists’ care, axolotls come to represent different forms of potential and produce different insights into human life, enabling distinct imaginings of the future.

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“…The Société 's interest in the axolotls from Mexico was motivated by entertainment and application rather than scientific questions in the narrow sense, that is, by the animal's strange appearance and the fact that axolotls were known to be an important food source in Mexico (Tate, ). It was only when, shortly after their arrival, six of the original 34 animals were given to Auguste Duméril, professor of ichthyology and herpetology at the Muséum d ' Histoire naturelle in Paris, that the axolotls entered the realms of natural history with its interest in structure and classification.…”

Section: Acclimatization Zoos and Colonialism: The Axolotl Comes To mentioning

confidence: 99%

The history of the oldest self‐sustaining laboratory animal: 150 years of axolotl research

2015

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Today the Mexican axolotl is critically endangered in its natural habitat in lakes around Mexico City, but thrives in research laboratories around the world, where it is used for research on development, regeneration, and evolution. Here, we concentrate on the early history of the axolotl as a laboratory animal to celebrate that the first living axolotls arrived in Paris in 1864, 150 years ago. Maybe surprisingly, at first the axolotl was distributed across Europe without being tied to specific research questions, and amateurs engaged in acclimatization and aquarium movements played an important role for the rapid proliferation of the axolotl across the continent. But the aquarium also became an important part of the newly established laboratory, where more and more biological and medical research now took place. Early scientific interest focused on the anatomical peculiarities of the axolotl, its rare metamorphosis, and whether it was a larva or an adult. Later, axolotl data was used to argue both for (by August Weismann and others) and against (by e.g., Albert von Kölliker) Darwinism, and the axolotl even had a brief history as a laboratory animal used in a failed attempt to prove Lysenkoism in Jena, Germany. Nowadays, technical developments such as transgenic lines, and the very strong interest in stem cell and regeneration research has again catapulted the axolotl into becoming an important laboratory animal.

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The Axolotl as Food and Symbol in the Basin of Mexico, from 1200 BC to today

Cited by 19 publications

References 7 publications

Aristotle, Buddhist scripture and embryology in ancient Mexico: building inclusion by re-thinking what counts as the history of developmental biology

Aristotle, Buddhist scripture and embryology in ancient Mexico: building inclusion by re-thinking what counts as the history of developmental biology

The Axolotl in Global Circuits of Knowledge Production: Producing Multispecies Potentiality

The history of the oldest self‐sustaining laboratory animal: 150 years of axolotl research

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