I propose that the localized production of the native Agave tequila plant, restricted to the Tequila Volcano area, gave the Huitzilapans an unusual advantage over their neighbors. I conclude that the Huitzilapans conducted private mortuary feasts and public annual feasts that commemorated the ancestors. My ceramic analysis explores further the practice of ritual consumption. I infer that the Huitzilapans had corporate kin groups that were ranked vis-a-vis each other. My settlement pattern study reveals the imprint kinship in the form of domestic architecture, patio group residences and family altars. At Huitzilapa, a Late Preclassic site on the flanks of Tequila Volcano (excavated by INAH archaeologists Jorge Ramos and Lorenza Mestas), I further investigate evidence for kin groups and ritual consumption. My analysis of the architectural features and zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figural elements on 82 ceramic models identifies the theme of ancestor worship and ritual consumption. As part of their mortuary rituals, the Teuchitlan people placed ceramic architectural models containing figurines, into the tombs of the dead. My study study of the organization of an early West Mexican society relies upon evidence drawn from both art and archaeology. Deep shade tombs, a hallmark of the Teuchitlan people, are the tangible archaeological remains of their social emphasis upon kin goops and principles of descent. I argue that during the Late Preclassic Period of Mesoamerican prehistory, the central organizing principle of this society was based upon descent, and that kin groups practiced ancestor worship as a manifestation of this social organization. This study focuses upon the Teuchitlan people of ancient West Mexico, who lived near Tequila Volcano, Jalisco from 300 BCE to 250 CE. These data suggest that ancient Maya feasts were events that cannot be simply recreated through painted ceramic vases or from reading historic records, and that if we are to appreciate the nuances of ancient Maya feasts, the archaeobotanical record needs to be considered and further evaluated.
The archaeobotanical results suggest that the participants of these feasts were served dishes and beverages made from ingredients collected from wild and domestic landscapes, and that plants with specific medicinal properties may have also been part of the menu. In this paper, macrobotanical results from a Late Classic (mid-to-late 8th century ad) feasting deposit from the site of La Corona, located in northwestern Petén, Guatemala, are presented. However, while feasting deposits have been identified across sites in the Maya world, few have been studied from an archaeobotanical perspective. Archaeologists working in this region have used various lines of evidence, including the study of scenes depicted on painted polychrome drinking vases and ethnohistoric sources written by Spanish colonists, to attempt the reconstruction of ancient Maya feasts. Ritual feasting was an integral part of ancient societies the Maya were no exception.
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