Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

By 1909, Mexico City had a little more than 720,000 inhabitants, 250 schools, and almost 1,000 pulquerías -drinking establishments serving pulque, a fermented beverage made of the maguey plant. Today, pulquerías have almost disappeared; but just a century ago, people enjoyed gathering there. Since their beginnings in the 1530s, pulquerías became an integral part of the life of Mexico City’s inhabitants. These taverns offered pulque to take out, but far more importantly, a space where men and women drank, talked, danced, and enjoyed themselves as a part of their daily social life. These spaces represented an important place in the city’s lower-class culture and daily life. In this dissertation, I explore the social and cultural development of these businesses. I focus my discussion on the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century when there was a constant effort of making of Mexico a modern nation like England, France, or United States. Under the influence of liberalism, authorities increasingly sought to control the behavior of the population, especially in the public arena with the goal of creating hardworking and moral citizenry. They saw pulque as the core of social evils, and pulquerías, as centers where inebriated urban masses abandoned their daily routine, procrastinated, and fought. Consequently, authorities strictly regulated schedules, facilities, and all activities taking place in pulquerías. Patrons and owners resisted those regulations in different ways; especially customers, through their everyday practices, developed a vigorous and multi-faceted response to the processes of modernization. 13 Within these places, alcohol consumption fostered an environment of free interaction and gave men and women a platform in which they could demand and contest explanations about the behavior of their neighbors, partners, and coworkers. Their discussions and fights prove to be significant to the understanding of the regulation of the neighborhood dynamics as well as valves of escape during changing times. By analyzing the historical intersections of popular culture, nation building and modernization programs, and lower class responses to these reforms this dissertation contributes to the study of the cultural and social history of Mexico.

Les traditions alimentaires constituent l’un des moyens fondamentaux par lesquels les groupes culturels s’expriment et interagissent les uns avec les autres. Le cacao est un breuvage particulièrement bien étudié pour son rôle dans la cosmologie et la vie sociale maya, mais il ne s’agit pas du seul breuvage ayant occupé un rôle central au courant de la période Classique. Dans les dernières années de recherche archéologique en Mésoamérique, des preuves iconographiques et épigraphiques ont montré que les Mayas consommaient également le pulque, préparé avec la sève d’agave. Les vases et les bols en céramique de type Fine Orange, répandus à travers la région maya mais n’ayant jamais fait l’objet d’analyses de résidus auparavant, auraient pu servir à accueillir ces boissons élémentaires aux pratiques culturelles. Ces derniers étaient importés sur de longues distances en dehors de leur zone de production, suggérant qu’ils occupaient un rôle particulièrement important. La présente étude vise à identifier la présence de pulque et de cacao en relation avec la céramique Fine Orange dans le sud des Basses-Terres mayas à l’aide d’analyses de résidus organiques. Le site à l’étude, Ucanal au Guatemala, est idéal pour examiner cette question, puisque les fouilles archéologiques sur celui-ci ont révélé que ses habitants avaient des relations politiques et économiques sur de longues distances et avaient accès à des céramiques Fine Orange importées. Des méthodes de l’archéologie expérimentale ont été employées afin de mettre en place un cadre de référence pour les traces chimiques du pulque. La chromatographie en phase gazeuse couplée à la spectrométrie de masse a été employée sur les échantillons céramiques pour l’identification des biomarqueurs présents, comme la théobromine et les hopanoïdes. Un tel projet avait pour but de mieux étudier la possibilité que les anciens peuples mayas des Basses-Terres utilisaient la céramique Fine Orange pour le service et la consommation de boissons rituelles. Les résultats pourraient aussi permettre d’explorer la possibilité que les interactions entre les peuples de différentes régions étaient médiées par le partage de traditions alimentaires, plus particulièrement les boissons. / Food traditions are one of the several fundamental ways through which cultural groups express themselves and interact with each other. Cacao is a beverage that is particularly well studied for its role in Mayan cosmology and social life, but it is not the only beverage that played a central role in Maya foodways during the Classic period. In recent years of research in Mesoamerica, iconographic and epigraphic evidence has shown that the Maya also consumed pulque, prepared with agave sap. Fine Orange ceramic drinking vases and bowls, widespread across the Mayan region, could have been used to serve these drinks. They were exported long distances outside of their region of production, indicating that they were of particular importance. The present research aims to identify the presence of pulque and cacao in relation to Fine Orange ceramics in the Southern Maya Lowlands using organic residue analyses. The site under study, Ucanal, Guatemala, is ideal to examine this question since archaeological excavations have revealed that its inhabitants had political and economic relationships over long distances and had access to imported Fine Orange ceramics. Experimental archeology methods were used to establish a referential framework for the chemical traces of pulque. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry analysis was performed on ceramic samples to identify the presence of possible biomarkers, such as theobromine and hopanoids. Such a project aimed to further investigate the possibility that ancient Mayan peoples of the Southern Lowlands used Fine Orange ceramics for the serving and consumption of ritual drinks. The results would help explore the possibility that interactions between peoples of different regions were mediated by shared food traditions, particularly ritual beverages.