Uses of pre-Hispanic kitchenware from Central Nicaragua: implications for understanding botanical foodways

Archaeobotanical investigations in central Nicaragua are absent and preservation of organic remains is poor; therefore, we have applied starch analyses to samples from fragments of clay vessels excavated from layers dated to cal 1224 and 1391 CE at the Barillas site, Nicaragua. The approach to this dataset reveals the ways people interacted with edible plants in southern Central America. The scarcity of griddles recovered from ancient Nicaraguan archeological contexts has previously co-determined narratives on human mobility or cultural influence from the Mesoamerican culture area, due to the debatable presumption that this type of artifact necessarily entangles production and consumption of maize tortillas. In this article, we present results demonstrating evidence for the use of several starchy plants. The reconstructed culinary practices are vital for disentangling human–plant interrelationships and challenge earlier conceptions of ancient foodways in Central America. This research constitutes the first starch analysis in Nicaragua and the recovered plant remains belonging to manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz), chili pepper (Capsicum sp.), and maize (Zea mays L.) have provided empirical evidence of ancient foodways. Concomitantly, these results have invalidated the preconception that griddles were tools used exclusively for the production of maize tortillas.