10,000 years of Oaxaca Cuisines from Mesquite Pods to Mezcal – Dr. Shanti Morrell-Hart (Brown University)

Contemporary Oaxacan cuisine holds iconic status, in a nation already
known—and even celebrated in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage—for
gastronomy. Countless festivals each year are devoted to individual
ingredients and special preparations, including chapulines, enchilados,
mezcal, quesillo, tejate, and at least seven moles. Though the origins of
specific recipes may be disputed, archaeological investigations have managed
to reveal a suite of culinary elements and activities through various methods
and proxies. From early domesticates in the Archaic period, to seed banks in
the Postclassic period, we see how food ingredients were hunted, cultivated,
tithed, and hidden away for protection. They were also inherited, treasured,
remembered—and sometimes forgotten.

Biography

Shanti Morell-Hart is an anthropological archaeologist and paleo ethnobotanist with a focus on ancient societies in Mesoamerica. Her published research tracks the origins and impacts of agriculture in the development of societies, contributions of plants to ritualized activity and healthcare, the range and diversity of quotidian botanical practices, and transformations in human-environment relationships, especially as related to narratives of collapse and resilience. Her teaching and supervisory interests include: foodways, ethnoecology, paleoethnobotanical analysis, spatial analysis, Mesoamerican societies, ancient history, and gastronomic heritage. She currently serves as Director of the Integrated Laboratory for Archaeological Sciences (ILAS) and the Paleoethnobotany Laboratory at Brown (PEBLAB).

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