Shedding Light on the Nightshades (Solanaceae) Used by the Ancient Maya: a Review of Existing Data, and New Archeobotanical (Macro- and Microbotanical) Evidence from Archeological Sites in Guatemala

Abstract

Numerous taxa within the Solanaceae family are economically important today, and for New World taxa such as chilies and tomatoes, their histories are particularly well documented. What remains less clear, however, is the extent of nightshade used by the ancient Maya. This article reviews the ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archeological evidence of some of the major taxa in this large family, as well as providing new archeobotanical evidence in the form of macro- and microbotanical remains from Maya sites in northwestern Peten, Guatemala. This new evidence sheds additional light on the Solanaceae used by the ancient Maya in both domestic and ritual contexts. The absence of certain taxa in this family in the archeobotanical record of this region does not necessarily imply that these were not used in the past. Instead, it indicates that systematic collection of samples needs to be implemented if archeologists are to fully characterize past plant use among the ancient Maya.