Fermented Maize Drinks Are Placed in Elite Tombs at Copan

During the Late Classic period, approximately 600–900 CE, vessels deposited in elite contexts at Copan in present-day Honduras held fermented maize beverages. Microbotanical analysis found maize starch damage consistent with fermentation; tuber and chili residues indicate that some drinks may have contained additional ingredients. The evidence supports fermented maize drink as one element of Classic Maya ritual practice, including offerings that connected the living with ancestors or gods. Because the sampled vessels came from elite and funerary contexts, the findings should not be generalized into a complete account of everyday Maya drinking.