Mesoamerica: A Brief Overview

Summary

Professor Miguel Gutierrez's presentation delves into Mesoamerica, a region stretching from Mexico to Costa Rica, highlighting its rich cultural and historical significance. It discusses the area's advanced civilizations known for their cities, writing, agriculture, and monumental architecture. The lecture emphasizes Mesoamericans' remarkable achievements in astronomy, calendar systems, architecture, and agriculture, particularly their development of maize. It also addresses the nutritional wisdom behind traditional corn preparation, challenging misconceptions about pre-Columbian life and emphasizing the enduring legacy of Mesoamerican culture in contemporary society.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Mesoamerica is a significant geographic and cultural region comprising parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
• 🏛️ This region is renowned for its advanced civilizations that emerged independently, alongside Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and the Andean Highlands.
• 📚 Mesoamericans demonstrated profound knowledge in various fields such as astronomy, mathematics, and agriculture, contributing significantly to global civilization.
• 🗓️ They developed a highly accurate calendar system, surpassing the Julian calendar used in Europe at the time of the conquest.
• 🌃 Mesoamericans had a deep understanding of astronomy, including observations of axial precession, which is a slow wobble in the Earth's rotation over thousands of years.
• 🏰 The architectural marvels of Mesoamerica, like the pyramids, showcase their advanced engineering skills and alignment with celestial events.
• 🌾 Corn (maize) was domesticated in Mesoamerica around 7,000 to 10,000 years ago through artificial selection, a testament to their agricultural ingenuity.
• 🍲 The Mesoamerican diet was balanced and diverse, which contrasts with the vitamin deficiencies that arose when corn was consumed as a staple without proper preparation in other regions.
• 🔬 The Nixtamalization process, used to make corn more nutritious by boiling it in an alkali solution, was a significant Mesoamerican discovery that enhanced the bioavailability of nutrients.
• 👥 The legacy of Mesoamerican civilizations is still evident today in modern Mexican and Central American cultures, including culinary practices, family dynamics, and spiritual beliefs.
• 🌟 The accomplishments of Mesoamericans challenge the narrative that civilization was brought to the Americas by Europeans, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and celebrating indigenous contributions.

Q & A

What is Mesoamerica and which countries does it include?

Mesoamerica is a geographic and cultural area that includes all or parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Why is Mesoamerica considered one of the cradles of civilization?

Mesoamerica is considered a cradle of civilization because it is one of the places on Earth where civilization first emerged, characterized by large cities, writing, agriculture, public works, and monumental architecture.

What is axial precession and how did the Mesoamericans observe it?

Axial precession is a slow wobble in the Earth's rotation, taking about 26,000 years for one full cycle. The Mesoamericans observed this by making detailed astronomical observations over many years, which allowed them to notice the minute changes in the night sky.

How accurate were the Mesoamerican calendars compared to the Julian calendar?

The Mesoamerican calendars were far more accurate than the Julian calendar used by Europeans at the time of the conquest. They could accurately predict the winter solstice, unlike the Julian calendar which had significant inaccuracies.

What is the significance of the architectural achievements of the Mesoamericans?

The architectural achievements of the Mesoamericans are significant because their massive pyramids and temples are still standing today, showcasing their advanced knowledge of construction and alignment with celestial events.

How did the Mesoamericans contribute to the field of mathematics?

The Mesoamericans contributed to mathematics by independently developing the concept of zero and demonstrating an understanding of pi in their construction of massive pyramids.

What is the Badianus manuscript and what does it reveal about Mesoamerican medical knowledge?

The Badianus manuscript is a book written by the Aztecs that outlines dozens of cures for common ailments, identifying medicinal plants and their preparation methods. It reveals that Mesoamericans had a comparable or even surpassing understanding of medicine compared to European doctors of the same time period.

Why did Europeans who relied heavily on corn experience health issues like pellagra?

Europeans experienced health issues like pellagra due to a niacin deficiency, which was caused by their exclusive consumption of corn without the necessary dietary balance. Additionally, the bioavailability of niacin in corn was not properly utilized due to a lack of alkali cooking methods that were known to Mesoamericans.

How did the Mesoamericans process corn to make it more nutritious?

The Mesoamericans processed corn by boiling it in an alkali solution, known as nixtamalization, which made the vitamins and minerals in corn more bioavailable, preventing deficiencies that were seen in populations that did not use this method.

What is the significance of the development of corn in Mesoamerica?

The development of corn in Mesoamerica is significant because it represents one of the earliest and most successful examples of artificial selection in agriculture, transforming a wild grass into a staple crop that has become a major food source worldwide.

Why is it important for modern descendants of the Mesoamericans to know about their ancient civilizations?

It is important for modern descendants to know about their ancient civilizations to understand their cultural heritage, contributions to global civilization, and to counter negative narratives that underestimate or dismiss their historical achievements.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Introduction to Mesoamerica

Professor Miguel Gutierrez introduces the topic of Mesoamerica, a region encompassing parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Mesoamerica is highlighted as a cradle of civilization, with a history of advanced societies characterized by urban development, writing systems, agriculture, public works, and monumental architecture. The presentation aims to correct common misconceptions and emphasize the region's significant contributions to global civilization, suggesting that further research or coursework is necessary to fully appreciate the depth of Mesoamerican accomplishments.

05:00

🔭 Mesoamerican Achievements in Astronomy and Mathematics

This section delves into the Mesoamerican civilization's advanced knowledge of astronomy, including their observation of axial precession, a phenomenon that takes approximately 26,000 years for the Earth to complete. The Mesoamericans' calendars were more accurate than the Julian calendar, even surpassing the Gregorian calendar in some aspects. The discussion also touches on the impressive architectural feats, such as the alignment of structures with celestial events, and the mathematical prowess of the Mesoamericans, who independently developed the concept of zero and had an understanding of pi, essential for the construction of massive pyramids.

10:01

🌾 The Transformation and Cultural Significance of Corn

The paragraph discusses the domestication and development of corn (maize) in Mesoamerica, a crop that does not grow wild and was artificially selected and bred by the ancient Mesoamericans from a small grass-like plant called teocinte. The process of transforming corn into various food products, such as tortillas, is explored, emphasizing the use of lime (calcium hydroxide) in the preparation process, which increases the nutritional value of corn. The narrative also contrasts the balanced diet of the Mesoamericans, which prevented vitamin deficiencies, with the unbalanced diet of Europeans who relied heavily on corn, leading to health issues like pellagra and kwashiorkor.

15:02

🍲 The Role of a Balanced Diet and Nixtamalization in Mesoamerican Culture

This section highlights the importance of a balanced diet in Mesoamerica and the process of nixtamalization, which involves boiling corn in an alkali solution to make its nutrients, including niacin, bioavailable. The contrast is drawn between the Mesoamericans' health and the vitamin deficiencies that affected Europeans who consumed corn without this preparation. The paragraph challenges the idea that the use of lime in nixtamalization was accidental, suggesting that the Mesoamericans were observant and analytical in their food preparation, leading to a significant nutritional discovery.

20:03

🌱 Challenging Misconceptions and Recognizing Mesoamerican Contributions

The paragraph addresses the distorted image of ancient Mesoamericans perpetuated by media and the importance of recognizing their scientific, intellectual, and cultural contributions. It emphasizes the active role Mesoamericans played in shaping the world while maintaining a respectful relationship with their environment. The paragraph also discusses the broader implications of acknowledging Mesoamerican achievements, including combating negative stereotypes and the myth of European civilization being the sole contributor to global progress. It calls for a reevaluation of the narrative surrounding colonization and the importance of understanding the pre-colonial greatness of Mesoamerica.

25:04

🏺 The Living Legacy of Mesoamerican Civilizations

The final paragraph invites reflection on the enduring legacy of Mesoamerican civilizations in contemporary culture. It suggests that many elements of modern Mexican or Central American culture have roots in ancient Mesoamerican practices, from cooking and family interactions to language, prayer, and festivals. The paragraph concludes by encouraging an exploration of these cultural ties and a celebration of the living Mesoamerican heritage that continues to influence the present day.

Keywords

💡Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica refers to a geographic and cultural region that includes parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. It is significant as one of the cradles of civilization, with a history of high civilization and continuous human habitation for thousands of years. The video emphasizes Mesoamerica's contributions to global civilization, highlighting its advanced cities, writing systems, agriculture, and monumental architecture. The script mentions Mesoamerica's importance in the context of its historical and cultural achievements, such as the development of complex calendars and the construction of massive pyramids.

💡Axial Precession

Axial precession is described in the video as a wobble in the Earth's rotation, similar to a top running out of energy. This astronomical phenomenon takes approximately 26,000 years for the Earth to complete one full cycle. Mesoamericans are noted to have observed this precession, indicating their advanced knowledge of astronomy. The video uses axial precession as an example of the deep astronomical understanding of the Mesoamericans, showcasing their ability to track and calculate celestial movements over long periods.

💡Mesoamerican Calendars

The Mesoamerican calendars are highlighted in the video as an example of the region's advanced timekeeping system. These calendars were more accurate than the Julian calendar used by Europeans at the time of the conquest. The video points out that the Mesoamericans' calendars could predict the winter solstice with remarkable precision, even into the modern era, as was the case with the misinterpretations surrounding the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012.

💡Monumental Architecture

Monumental architecture is mentioned in the context of the impressive structures built by the Mesoamericans, such as the massive pyramids that are still standing today. The video emphasizes the engineering and planning required to construct these buildings without the use of draft animals like horses or cattle, which were not present in Mesoamerica. The architectural achievements are used to illustrate the Mesoamericans' advanced mathematical and engineering skills.

💡Artificial Selection

Artificial selection is the process by which humans selectively breed plants or animals to emphasize desirable traits. The video discusses how ancient Mesoamericans used artificial selection to develop corn from a wild grass called teocinte. This process took thousands of years and demonstrates the Mesoamericans' deep understanding of botany, biology, and genetics. The script uses the development of corn to show how Mesoamericans actively shaped their environment and contributed to agricultural advancements.

💡Niacin Deficiency (Pellagra)

Niacin deficiency, leading to the disease pellagra, is discussed in the video as a health issue that affected populations outside of Mesoamerica who relied heavily on corn as a food source. The video explains that while corn contains niacin, the way it was prepared in Europe (without the alkali treatment used by Mesoamericans) made the niacin bio-unavailable, leading to deficiency diseases. This contrasts with Mesoamerican practices, where the use of lime in cooking (nixtamalization) made the niacin and other nutrients bioavailable, preventing such deficiencies.

💡Nixtamalization

Nixtamalization is the process of boiling corn in an alkali solution, such as lime, which increases the nutritional value of the corn by making certain vitamins and minerals more bioavailable. The video explains that this traditional Mesoamerican method was crucial in preventing vitamin deficiencies associated with a corn-based diet. Nixtamalization is presented as an ancient food technology that has significant health benefits and is still used today in modern food production.

💡Reciprocal Relationships

The concept of reciprocal relationships is introduced in the video as a core element of Mesoamerican worldviews and philosophies. It emphasizes the idea that the ancient Mesoamericans maintained a respectful and balanced relationship with their environment and all of creation. This concept is used to challenge the stereotype of indigenous people as passive and to highlight their active role in shaping their world while maintaining harmony with nature.

💡Decolonization

Decolonization is mentioned in the context of acknowledging the advanced civilizations that existed in Mesoamerica before European contact. The video argues that understanding the greatness of Mesoamerican civilizations is essential for an honest conversation about colonization and decolonization. It challenges the myth that Europeans 'civilized' the Americas and suggests that recognizing the achievements of indigenous peoples is crucial for decolonizing perspectives.

💡Living Culture

The term 'living culture' is used in the video to emphasize that the legacy of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations is still present today in modern Mexican and Central American cultures. It suggests that many current practices, from food preparation to family interactions and festivals, have roots in Mesoamerican traditions. The video encourages viewers to explore these connections and understand the ongoing influence of Mesoamerican culture in contemporary life.

Highlights

Mesoamerica is a geographic and cultural region that includes parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

The region is one of the cradles of civilization on the planet, with a history of high civilization and continuous human habitation.

Mesoamerican civilizations were characterized by large cities, writing, agriculture, public works, and monumental architecture.

Mesoamericans had a vast understanding of astronomy, including observations of axial precession.

They developed an accurate system of timekeeping, more precise than the Julian calendar used in Europe at the time of the conquest.

Mesoamerican architecture, such as pyramids, is impressive for its precision and alignment with celestial events.

The Mayans independently developed the concept of zero and had an understanding of pi.

The Badianus manuscript by the Aztecs outlines numerous cures for common ailments, showing a comparable understanding to European medicine of the time.

Mesoamericans domesticated and developed key crops like chiles, avocados, tomatoes, corn, cacao, and beans.

Corn, or maize, was developed through artificial selection by ancient Mesoamericans from a wild grass called teosinte.

Tortillas, a staple in Mesoamerica, are made from a simple recipe of corn, water, and lime (calcium hydroxide), not citrus lime.

The process of nixtamalization, boiling corn in an alkali solution, increases the bioavailability of nutrients in corn.

Europeans who relied heavily on corn without the nixtamalization process suffered from vitamin deficiencies like pellagra.

Mesoamericans maintained a balanced diet, preventing the vitamin deficiencies seen in populations that consumed corn exclusively.

The legacy of Mesoamerican civilizations is still evident in modern Mexican and Central American culture, including cooking, family interactions, and festivals.

Understanding the contributions of Mesoamericans is crucial for decolonization and recognizing the value of indigenous peoples.

Mesoamericans should be proud of their ancestry, which includes significant contributions to global civilization and culture.

Transcripts

hello this is professor miguel gutierrez

and this presentation is on mesoamerica

what is mesoamerica it's a geographic

region and cultural area which includes

all or parts of mexico guatemala

belize el salvador honduras nicaragua

and costa rica this region has been the

site of

thousands of years of high civilization

and tens of thousands of years

of continuous human habitation this

region is also very important on a

global level

because it is one of the cradles of

civilization on the planet

what that means is that along with other

cradles of civilization like

egypt mesopotamia china india

and the andean highlands it is one of

the places on the planet where

civilization first emerged

these first civilizations were

characterized by among other things

large cities writing agriculture public

works

monumental architecture etc in this map

of mesoamerica

indicated by the green shading you can

see that the largest part of mesoamerica

is in modern day mexico

even though it does not include all of

mexico

mesoamerica runs from central mexico

southward through most of central

america but not including

panama here is a short and very limited

list of just some of the accomplishments

of mesoamericans in the last several

thousands of years there's way too many

to go into any significant details in

this short powerpoint

these aren't necessarily the most

impressive accomplishments or the ones

of the greatest magnitude

but just a few things to keep in mind

when we consider the character

of mesoamerican civilization if you're

interested in knowing more about the

items on the list or countless more

please consider doing your own research

or taking a course on this

we could easily talk for the rest of the

semester just on this topic

these are just a few examples that point

to a much larger

understanding of the world first

much has been said about mesoamericans

and their vast understanding of

astronomy

one of the things that have caught my

attention is that mesoamericans

apparently had made observations on what

today is referred to as

axial precession which you can think of

as a wobble

in the earth's rotation like a top that

is running out of energy and starts to

slowly wobble on its axis

this wobble is not easy to see in fact

it takes about 26 000 years for the

earth to complete one full circle

one entire wobble if you will

at this rate you could see a very minute

change in the night sky over the course

of many

many years a circle has 360 degrees so

that would mean that the night sky would

seem to shift just

one degree over 72 years it would take

an entire lifetime

for the sky to barely change that's not

generally perceptible unless

you are really doing some hardcore

observations and calculations

you would also have to devote massive

amounts of time thought

and energy into developing observatories

instruments

records and schools so that each

generation could build on the work of

others

similarly the mesoamerican calendars

used some of the observations from

astronomy

to formulate an astonishingly accurate

system of time keeping

throughout thousands of years in fact

the calendars used by the native people

of mesoamerica were far

more accurate than the julian calendar

which was the one being used by the

europeans

at the time of the conquest in the late

1400s and 1500s

when you consider that even the

gregorian calendar which is the one that

we use today

is still inaccurate because it's off by

about six hours each year

which adds up to a whole day off every

four years

that's what a leap year is supposed to

fix it's amazing that the mayans were

able to devise a calendar

thousands of years ago that could

accurately predict the winter solstice

in

our age in fact some of you might

remember that people were freaking out

about the world possibly ending back in

december 21st

of 2012 because of misinterpretations of

the mayan calendar

those of you that have ever been to any

of the temples or pyramids in mexico or

central america

know that the architecture of the

mesoamericans is pretty mind blowing

just consider that these massive

pyramids are still standing and in

fairly good shape today

when you also consider what it takes to

plan and construct these buildings

especially without draft animals like

horses and cattle which the

mesoamericans did not have

it becomes even more impressive also

these buildings and cities are precisely

aligned with some celestial happening

which coincide

symbolically with mesoamerican religions

just about every aspect of these

buildings has a special meaning behind

it

if you have not seen any of these in

person i would encourage you to go and

see them

the picture that you have here is

teotihuacan which was built about 2000

years ago and it's an incredibly

impressive city of course

all of the evidence and the

accomplishments in astronomy the

calendar and architecture

all definitively mean that the

mesoamerican civilizations

were phenomenally well versed in complex

mathematics

it's not possible to do the

above-mentioned feats and not

have a far-reaching understanding of

math just as really basic examples

it's fairly common knowledge that the

mayans came up with the concept of zero

independently of other world

civilizations

mathematicians have also pointed out

that in order to successfully compute

the dimensions of the massive pyramids

the ancients must have also had an

understanding of pi

3.14 those of you that have said that

mexicans can't do math

you should reconsider

one example in the area of medical

science is in a book called the

baviano's manuscript

seen here is a page from that book the

book was written by the meshikas or the

aztecs as they are frequently referred

to

the book itself has an amazing story in

the book

the authors outlined dozens of cures for

common ailments

they not only identify the medicinal

plant but also tell you how to prepare

the plant

so you can use it for the intended cure

some of the analyses of the book's

contents

have concluded that in the field of

medicine the mesoamericans had at the

very least

a comparable understanding to european

doctors of that same time period

they say that it's at least if not

surpassing european understanding of

medicine

at that time finally

in the area of agriculture we have a lot

of foods that you are familiar with like

the ones shown here

chiles aguacates gitomates and

tomatillos

corn calabasitas cacao chocolate

beans and these are just a few

just a very short list of the plants

that were domesticated and developed in

mesoamerica

for thousands of years mexicans and

central americans have been enjoying

these items which

they created for hundreds of generations

this has been in their culture in

mesoamerican culture for

thousands of years i'm going to focus on

one crop in particular which is very

important in mesoamerican culture

which is corn so when i refer to corn

maize or maize i'm talking about the

same crop

i'd like to start by telling you a

couple of stories about corn

and the first question that we have to

address with this crop is where in the

world does corn grow

wild and the answer to that is kind of a

phenomenal answer which is

nowhere corn doesn't grow wild anywhere

just about every plant that you can

think of grows naturally somewhere

on the planet but not corn and so if it

doesn't grow

naturally in the wild then we have to

shift the question

where and when was it developed and by

who

in other words this crop was created by

someone or a group of people

at a point in history it was developed

in what is today called mexico sometime

around

seven to ten thousand years ago but how

did that happen

how do these people actually create a

new crop

and the general answer is that first and

foremost

thousands of years ago the ancient

mesoamericans had an

intimate and robust understanding of

botany biology

genetics and everything that goes along

with that including mutations

and they also had an understanding of

what today we call artificial selection

artificial selection is when human

beings select

for desired traits they see certain

characteristics which they like in a

species

and then try to pass on those

characteristics on to future generations

of the species

it's the way humans have derived

countless domestic dog breeds from wild

wolves

it's different than natural selection

where nature simply runs its course and

where certain traits are selected for

naturally without human intervention

those traits are adaptations which gave

a species an

advantage in their natural habitat

so in the case of corn this is not a

plant that developed naturally on its

own

human beings around 10 000 years ago

started selecting certain traits in this

plant

and consequently they developed it into

what it is today

so what was their starting point their

starting point is a plant called

tiocinte or tiocinte this plant still

appears throughout mesoamerica today

but if you would see it today you would

just think that it looks like some sort

of grass

which is true the ocean is a grass corn

is a grass so thousands of years ago the

ancient mesoamericans ran into this

plant

and they saw some potential in it to

develop it into something different

and in this insert on the right you can

see what a quote unquote corn cob

would have looked like it's incredibly

small

but if you start selecting for certain

traits and pay close attention to

mutations

you can little by little over the course

of thousands of years start to modify

this plant

and so here you have on the left what

the ocean looks like compared to a u.s

quarter

and modern corn on the right with a

modern corn cob in relation

to a u.s quarter this is actually the

same plant that has been developed and

subjected to artificial selection for

thousands of years

to the point where you have an almost

unrecognizably different looking plant

the most common way of consuming corn in

mesoamerica for thousands of years and

even today is not by eating elotes not

by eating corn on the cob

but by consuming corn products such as

tortillas

so what are the ingredients for

tortillas

well we can guess that the main

ingredient is of course

corn and of course you would have water

and there's only one more ingredient

tortillas

for thousands of years have only really

had three ingredients

and i'm fascinated by how many people

don't know what they are

i get a lot of wrong guesses when we do

this in class people

incorrectly guess that it has flour or

sugar or salt or lard

lard as we know today would not have

been available to the ancient

mesoamericans because they did not have

domesticated pigs

pigs cows horses and other livestock

were introduced to the americas by

europeans in the late 1400s and 1500s

so no they do not have manteca they do

not have lard

the third ingredient is lime in spanish

they refer to this as

cal now when i say lime i'm not talking

about a citrus lime

make sure you do not think that lemons

are part of the recipe here

i'm talking about this chemical called

calcium hydroxide

the consistency when you touch it is

just like a chalky powder so those are

the ingredients for making tortillas

you boil the three together and it turns

into a new product called

nista mal you can't just call it corn

anymore

it's something different it's nishtamal

now these are really groundbreaking

ideas the mesoamericans had a very long

time ago

they create corn their own crop and then

they develop

all these methods of growing it

cultivating it harvesting it

cooking it processing it and making all

kinds of foods out of it

in the picture on the right you have

what's called a metate it's a grinding

stone where you grind the boiled corn

and come up with this

masa this nishta mal masa

this is one of the foundations of

mesoamerican cooking

what can you make out of this masa you

can make all kinds of stuff

you can make tortillas obviously

gorditas pupusas and all of the other

similar foods

you can slightly modify the masa for

tamales you can make atoles which are

the corn based drinks

and a whole lot more so here's another

element of the story about corn

corn outside of the americas has a very

interesting story

nobody on earth had ever seen corn

outside of the americas until 1492

when christopher columbus gets lost and

arrives by accident in the americas

he gets off his boat and he sees all

kinds of things that he had never seen

before

and one of them is this crop called mice

so he takes it back to europe and it

eventually becomes very popular over

there

europeans grow it eat it and find corn

so valuable as a food source to the

extent that many people especially poor

people

came to rely on corn as a primary source

of food

however something went awry

among populations that heavily relied on

corn they started getting these diseases

and from the descriptions that we have

of their symptoms modern nutritionists

know exactly what they're referring to

but just think for a second why would

people outside of the america start

getting sick from

eating a lot of corn because this

question boggled european doctors for a

while

we can take some guesses as to why

they're getting sick maybe the soil in

europe is not adequate to grow corn

maybe europeans are displaying a food

allergy to a food product that they have

never had before

well what we know today is that what

they were experiencing

are actually vitamin deficiencies the

picture on the right is called polagra

which is a niacin or vitamin b3

deficiency

shown here by inflammation of the skin

that looks like sores

and the one on the left is kwashiorkor

which is a protein deficiency

especially among children when they get

enough calories but not enough protein

and they show these protruding bellies

among other symptoms

these diseases happened and still happen

to some extent

in many places where there were people

who heavily relied on corn

as their primary food but these diseases

generally were not

happening in mesoamerica which is odd

that the people in the americas who have

so many corn dishes and consume so much

corn would be fine

and other people will eat a lot of corn

and get sick

why are they getting sick there's two

main reasons

the first one is a balanced diet when

nutritionists and doctors tell you about

the importance of a balanced diet

that's not just a loose suggestion that

is very

important if you completely cut a

vitamin or mineral out of your intake

you can get terribly sick and it could

possibly even lead to your death

as popular as corn has been in

mesoamerica

the people there were not consuming

exclusively corn

mesoamericans have this phenomenal

variety in diet

and they've had a tradition of that for

thousands of years and we still do today

if you would go to my grandma's kitchen

on any given day she's 96 years old in

mexico

there's always a variety of dishes she's

not rich by any means

she lives in a rural place in the

countryside in the rancho

but there's always frijoles tortillas

along with several other mostly

plant-based dishes like nopales or papas

or whatever

a balanced diet is heavily embedded in

the culinary practices of mesoamerica

so first and foremost these people in

europe were not eating a balanced diet

they were consuming mostly or

exclusively corn

that's not good you can take the most

nutritious thing on the planet

but if that's all you eat you're gonna

get sick the second reason of why people

outside of the americas got sick but not

mesoamericans

is an ironic story i mentioned that one

of the diseases common among people that

eat

almost exclusively corn is called

pellagra

caused by a niacin deficiency well it

turns out that corn has niacin

in it along with a whole bunch of other

vitamins and minerals

so how are you suffering from a niacin

deficiency

when all you eat is corn which has

niacin in it

and the answer to that is

bioavailability which means that the

niacin inside of the corn is there

but your body for some reason can't

absorb it and it goes right through you

so why wasn't that happening in

mesoamerica

you remember this slide the ancient

recipe for tortillas

it turns out that the way to make those

vitamins inside of corn available to

your body is by cooking the corn in an

alkali solution you have to change the

ph of the water in which it's boiling

the ryzen ph in essence unlocks

the nutrients and now your body can use

them how do you change the ph of water

to make it more alkaline

well an easy way is by adding cal lime

so when europeans started cooking corn

they decided to skip a step

they were cooking corn but they were not

making nista mal

they were doing this and that little

omitted step made a

big difference in the people's health

they were losing out on all the

nutritional value corn had to offer

even today there's a word in english as

odd as it might sound

nice stamolization no joke this is a

real word

next symbolization refers to boiling

corn in an alkali

solution it's somewhat of a standard in

the modern food production industry for

tortilla chips and stuff like that

to boil corn and cal because it's much

more nutritious that way

but let's not forget this is the

technology that mesoamericans

discovered and developed thousands of

years ago and so we have a very pressing

and provocative question

how and why did the ancient

mesoamericans come to put gal

in the nista mal there's a lot of

articles out there that speculate that

this was all an

accident i don't quite agree with that

at some point it may have been an

accident but eventually it became

standardized all throughout mesoamerica

and extended to other parts of the

americas as well

when an accident happens and you're not

really paying attention it just remains

an accident but when an accident happens

and you are observant

receptive and analytical it becomes a

discovery

so if there was an accident made at one

point these people were savvy enough to

figure out that there was some value to

it

to say it was a mistake downplays the

countless interventions by our ancestors

in developing this very

important discovery the story

is a lot longer than this and i have a

lot more to say on this topic and the

development of nistaman

if you're interested in talking more

about this just ask me in class

but suffice it to say for now that what

this all suggests

is a people that really valued

exploration

scientific endeavors their own nutrition

and that they had lots of time to

experiment and look for ways for

bettering and developing themselves

so let's look a bit at who exactly were

the mesoamericans

we have a huge challenge today in the

united states in the 21st century

overcoming the idea that most of us have

about what it must have been like to

live in mesoamerica

500 or a thousand years ago when we

think about these ancient mesoamericans

we think of

like the movie apocalypto or any other

similar depiction

we think of butt naked indians running

through the jungle trying not to get

eaten by a jaguar

or trying not to get killed by other

indians they must have had a

horrible existence we have really got to

start thinking differently

because the evidence that we have says

that that's not what was generally

happening in mesoamerica

but through movies and other media

representations that's all we really see

of these people so yeah let's get rid of

that

the evidence we have is of people that

have placed a high premium on scientific

exploration

intellectual development critical

observation creativity

adaptation and hard work so yes we have

a very distorted image

of the ancient mesoamericans if you are

mexican or central american

if that's your ancestry then that also

means you have a very distorted view

of yourself these are not

passive people these are people that are

taking a very

active role in shaping the world while

still maintaining a respectful and

reciprocal relationship with all of

creation

and i must emphasize the key words here

are reciprocal

relationships it's a bit beyond the

scope of this

presentation but this is consistent with

native america in general

that native american religions and

spiritualities native american

worldviews and philosophies

very much emphasize relationships where

you give

and you receive where you reciprocate

where you are in balance in your

relationships

the ancient mesoamericans even though

they were acting on the world and

creating all of these different plants

and foods and structures and so on

at the very forefront of their

understanding of their place in the

world

is reciprocal relationships with all of

creation

so perhaps the most important question

is why should we care

why should we even look at this idea of

mesoamerica today

here's a few really quick points at the

beginning of every semester

when we do in-person classes i ask

students

what reasons do mexicans central

americans and the so-called latinos have

to be proud of themselves

what are some points of pride for them

the most popular answer is a very

redundant answer where people say

mexicans should be proud because they

come from a proud people

well that doesn't tell me anything give

me a specific

thing that's special about your group of

people

and it's fascinating and tragic that

most mexicans and central americans that

i've talked to

don't seem to be aware that they come

from people that first

invented civilization on the planet

that's something we should all know and

a pretty good reason to be proud

we are coming from cultures that have

been in development for thousands of

years

these civilizations made contributions

way beyond native america

they contributed to humanity in general

when you just think about foodstuffs

that are important everywhere in the

world

how many of those came from mesoamerica

a whole bunch

tomatoes the squash family pumpkins

calabasitas chiles corn

chocolate vanilla beans these were all

domesticated by mesoamerican

ingenuity and these are all

contributions to the

world this is extra problematic when the

modern descendants of the ancient

mesoamericans don't know about these

achievements

because in the united states we are

bombarded with a narrative that says

that mexicanos and centro americanos

have no valuable contributions to the

united states or to anyone

that we don't do anything good for this

country besides take welfare

and other nonsense like that there are

some politicians

like republican steve king from iowa

who has repeatedly attacked mexican and

central american

immigrants and said that non-whites have

not contributed to civilization

if somebody tells you that your people

have never contributed and

are not valuable and you don't know

about this mesoamerican stuff

you might be tempted to believe them or

at least don't know how to defend

yourself

the ridiculous irony is that steve king

was a representative for

iowa the leading corn producer in the

united states

it's sometimes even called the corn

state king and his republican friends

must be under the

delusion that white men created corn

we have to know about these

contributions and accomplishments

generally

and finally there is a nasty and

tenacious attitude

that europeans brought civilization to

the americas

that they civilized the mexican centro

americanos and other

indigenous peoples that is flatly wrong

there were already civilizations here in

the western hemisphere for

thousands of years before it was

happening in europe

but if you choose to believe this myth

in any way shape or form

that is you believe that europeans

civilize the native people here

then you at some level believe that

colonization

was a good thing so if you want to have

an

honest conversation about colonization

and decolonization

you have to first acknowledge the

greatness and the impressive nature of

mesoamerica and native america overall

you had to understand who you were

before you were colonized

otherwise there is no decolonization

otherwise colonization doesn't sound so

bad

because these good europeans civilize

these backwards but naked indians

remember that europeans came for our

goods

not for our good

for the last slide just a question for

you to consider

in what ways can we still see the legacy

of ancient mesoamerican civilizations

as a living culture today you should not

assume that mesoamerican culture died

under cortes and the conquistadores in

1521

not true there there's

many many elements that for thousands of

years

have been prevailing here in north

america and they're still here with us

today

you should make it a point to understand

what those things are

many of the core elements of what we

consider modern

mexican or central american culture are

actually rooted in ancient mesoamerican

practices

whether it's the things you cook and the

way you cook them

or the way you interact with your

families the things you say the way you

pray the festivals you celebrate

many of those things point to a

mesoamerican living

culture that is still here with us today

thank you