They found microscopic bits of corn, beans, squash (Cucurbita pepo var. Patisson) and various root crops.
Located in the hills of Yucatan settlement Escalera al Cielo (Escalera al Cielo) was in the pre-Columbian era elite residential settlement, which he quickly left the population at the end of the classical period (800-950 BC). This is evidenced by ceramic vessels, stone tools, jewelry and other artifacts found here.
The hypothesis that the Maya were engaged in cooking, using clay balls have been raised an international team of researchers in the pages of specialized publication Journal of Archaeological Science. However, so far has not found themselves balls which would prove their relationship with food preparation. As far as is known, said one of the study participants Stephanie Simms (Stephanie Simms) in an interview with Discovery News, modern descendants of the ancient Maya for this purpose, do not use the experience of their ancestors.
According to microscopic analysis, the beads were produced standard size of local clay. The authors believe the study, they fired at a fairly low temperature and repeatedly used for cooking. It appears that the clay beads were placed directly in the cooking pots to cook or heat food, just as it occurs in the oven. Presumably, the Maya did a shallow depression that faced it with stones or clay balls, then bred them over a fire and waited until the embers remain.
Then the hot stones were placed pre-wrapped in corn leaves roots, fruits and other food, which covered with earth and leaves to keep warm. Cooking in a microwave take different amounts of time, depending on the product, from hours to days or even a few days.
Clay beads, archaeologists found in different parts of the world: in the lower reaches of the Mississippi, in the south-eastern United States and South-West Asia. But there is an abundance of clay and stones almost there. Similar balls for cooking found in a large settlement Chatalhyuyuk (Catalhoyuk). This archaeological site of ancient settlement dating back to the late Stone Age (from 7500 BC. E. Before 5700 BC. E.) Is located on the territory of modern Turkey.
The famous German archaeologist Manfred Osman Korfmann (Manfred Osman Korfmann) noted that in Syria and Palestine before the rise in these areas of city-states, used almost exclusively in the bow, and the inhabitants of other regions of the Middle East prefer a sling. Onions in these areas, obviously, was not known until almost the end of the eighth millennium BC. e., while the sling has been known for thousands of years. With one exception - Chatalhyuyuk region, where about 6000 BC. e. used as a sling, and onions.
Anthropologist and archaeologist at the Washington National Endowment for the Humanities Charles Kolb (Charles Kolb) agree with my colleagues that, as he puts it, through the application of artifact made appropriate inferences. In particular, Kolb drew attention to the following fact. Clay beads of similar size, for example, could also be used as a sling stones. However, there was no need to repeatedly heat up in the fire these missiles. In fact, the sheer size of the balls indicates inefficient use them as projectile weapons. They are much more suited for cooking, not for fighting with their own kind.
Maybe clay beads are not required to make a meal out of chocolate, but it was the Maya learned to cook two and a half thousand years ago. In any case, archaeologists have found traces of chocolate on the plate so ago. Presumably chocolate could be used as a seasoning for more solid food. In Mexico today is prepared, for example, a dish with mole sauce of chocolate, which poured over the meat.
Residents still in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, the era of dishes prepared with herbs from cocoa, which are similar to a modern dish mall. Although often crushed beans mixed with liquid for the beverage. Fragments of the plates are dated about 500 BC, and the vessels for beverages that contain traces of chocolate, refer to the year 1500 BC. They have been found on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where at that time lived Olmecs.
