Pre-Hispanic and Colonial Food Practices and Traditions in Mendoza (Central-Western Argentina). A Contribution from Archeology and Ethnohistory

Abstract

This paper reviews the archaeological and ethnohistorical data related to food practices among societies of the province of Mendoza (central west Argentina) during prehispanic and early colonial periods. Based on data from different geographic areas of the region we discuss food customs-including procurement, processing, cooking, consumption and disposal-As social practice. We identify long-Term trends from the earliest occupations (ca. 11000 years BP) to the eighteenth century and define two periods when great changes in diet occurred: About 2000 years ago and from the Spanish conquest onwards. Through time we see the consolidation of culinary traditions, some of which are still maintained in rural Mendoza.