Nutritional Ethnobiology of the Highland Maya of Chiapas, Mexico

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This project involves the ethnographic field research of two senior and one junior cultural anthropologists from the University of Georgia. The project proposed to document the complete inventory of edible resources of the Highland Maya of Chiapas, Mexico, and to analyze the contribution of these resources to the Maya diet. It is well known that rural peoples exploit food sources that are not well recognized by non-locals, yet which can be important supplements in a dietary sense. Using standard methods of ethnographic interviews, formal data elicitation techniques, dietary recall and garden surveys, the use of local experts to collect food resources and document them, as well as formal interviews of a sample of 50 men and 50 women in each of two Mayan townships, the available food resources will be described and analyzed for their impact on the diet. This research is important because population pressure and deteriorating economic conditions have impacted negatively on rural diets in many areas of the world. This project will attempt to describe the complete range of local resources available in diets, and will stimulate new research into viable alternative diets which can help improve the long-term well being of this and comparable rural populations. In addition, the demonstration that little known edible resources are important food sources can advance our understanding of their place in the ecosystem and encourage their conservation and sustainable use.