Introduction

Abstract

We first met in 2004, a pivotal time in both our careers. We had both recently-finished our PhD work (Peres in 2001 at the University of Florida, VanDerwarker in 2003 at the University of North Carolina), we were both actively searching for academic jobs, and we were both incredibly serious about holistic approaches to food and diet. We began our earnest conversation in the small village of Tres Zapotes, in southern Veracruz, Mexico, in one short week of overlapping travel schedules. We had both been invited to participate in the Tres Zapotes Archaeological Project by Dr. Christopher Pool (University of Kentucky), Tanya as the project zooarchaeologist and Amber as the project paleoethnobotanist. Our one week of overlap began a deep abiding friendship, a productive professional relationship, and laid the groundwork for the development and completion of this volume. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.