Tasting Honey: Beekeeping and Consumption Patterns in Colonial Yucatán

Known as the beekeepers of Mesoamerica, Yucatec Maya communities developed a sophisticated system of beekeeping, wax extraction, and honey production for more than 2,500 years prior to Spanish colonization. Although this activity was modified as a result of colonial enterprise and the Columbian exchange, Maya communities continued to be the primary beekeepers under Spanish colonial rule since the 16th century. By focusing on changes and continuities in honey consumption patterns in colonial Yucatán, this presentation illustrates how both Spanish and Maya communities shaped each other in their relationship to honey. Spaniards in Yucatán learned about, experienced, tasted, and consumed Maya products that were new to them, while, at the same time, Maya people were changing their relationship with bees to satisfy the colonial demand for beekeeping products. Drawing from historical records, archaeological evidence, and colonial chronicles, this presentation argues that colonization was not a static process, but rather transformed the Spanish experience in the case of honey consumption, allowing the Maya beekeeping tradition to endure.