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# 2.5 Mayan Food Mayans consumed a wide variety of foods, their staple diet being maize. Agricultural produce was a key part of their cuisine, and they also hunted and fished for meat. A wide variety of vegetables, usually grown in domestic gardens, were consumed, along with a wide variety of frui...

# 2.5 Mayan Food Mayans consumed a wide variety of foods, their staple diet being maize. Agricultural produce was a key part of their cuisine, and they also hunted and fished for meat. A wide variety of vegetables, usually grown in domestic gardens, were consumed, along with a wide variety of fruits gathered from rainforests. Herbs and spices like cinnamon and vanilla, and cocoa, were used to flavor foods and create chocolate drinks. Mayans were among the earliest civilizations to create flavored chocolate drinks. A mead called balche, made from tree bark, was used in religious ceremonies. ## Maize Maize (or corn) was the main food of the Maya people, making up to 80% of their diet. To plant maize, holes were made in the soil using a sharp-bladed, wooden digging stick called a dibble. If the May rains didn't come, the whole year's crop could be lost due to dry soil. For thousands of years, the Maya worshipped the maize god, believing the first humans were made from maize dough. Because of this, when suffering from severe illness, they would eat nothing but corn. Maya farmers would plant maize wherever possible.