Winner of the Society for Economic Botany's Mary W. Klinger Book Award

"A triumph of four-field anthropology. Botany, archaeology, linguistics, ethnography, and a small bit of physical anthropology are seamlessly united. . . . Without integration of the fields, few or none of the interesting conclusions in this work could have been reached."--American Anthropologist

"Contains a watershed of interesting and exciting information. . . . For those with a serious interest in food history and foodways, it is an invaluable source of up-to-date information on one...

"An essential addition to the bookshelves of Mayanists and anyone interested in long-term processes of culture change."--Edward Schortman, Kenyon College

"Spans time, space, and disciplines to present well-rounded and actively contested views of the southeastern Guatemala and the northern frontier areas of Honduras and El Salvador. The diversity of the authors and their themes brings something for every reader, including the Ch'orti'."--Judith M. Maxwell, Tulane University

The Ch'orti' area--located in present-day Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador--was once the southernmost...