Resumen de Mesoamerica in a Bowl: The Botanical and Cultural Heritage of Crescentia L. Vessels
Xitlali Aguirre Dugua, Alejandro Casas
Trees of the Neotropical genus Crescentia produce hard-shelled fruits used to manufacture bowls. In this work we analyze the role played by these vessels in the material culture of Mesoamerican peoples through archaeological, ethnohistorical (including 19 works and three tribute lists), and linguistic evidence (including 40 native languages). The earliest archaeobotanical record of Crescentia was found in Belize, estimated at least 2400 BP, whereas the first European description was made by Fernández de Oviedo in 1526. Historical texts written from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries tell that the main use of these vessels was as drinking cups (especially for cacao). Current ethnographic evidence reveals the validity of a close association between Crescentia bowls and traditional beverages based on cacao. Terms for designating these trees in 29 indigenous languages from eight linguistic families, with the oldest ones from the Amuzgo-Mixtec and Mixe-Zoquean lineages, confirm that Crescentia vessels constitute an entity clearly distinguishable from Lagenaria. New areas of ethnobotanical, ethnographic, and archaeological research are highlighted for understanding the role played by these vessels in utilitarian and symbolic aspects and the factors that support their persistence among Mesoamerican peoples up to the present.
