58 



Table 3 — 



Species 



Turbinella angulata 

 Vasum muricatum 

 Ollva caribaeensis 

 Oliva reticularis 

 Oliva sayana 

 Olivella dealbata 

 Olivella nivea 

 Mitra florida 

 Prunum a. virgineum 

 Prunum guttatum 

 Conus mus 

 Conus regius 

 Conus sozoni 

 Conus spurius atlanticus 

 Melampus coffeus 

 Unidentified fragments, 

 mostly Strombus sp. 



Subtotals: 



PELECYPODA 



Area imbricata 

 Area zebra 

 Anadara notabilis 

 Glycymeris decussata 

 Glycymeris undata 

 Isogomon alatus 

 Isogomon radiatus 

 Pinctada radiata 

 Pecten laurenti 

 Lyropecten nodosus 

 Spondylus americanus 

 Lima lima 

 Lima scabra 

 Ostraea equestris 

 Ostraea frons 

 Crassostrea virginica 

 Lucina pensylvanica 

 Phacoides pectinatus 

 Codakia orbicularis 

 Chama florida 

 Chama macerophylla 

 Chama sarda 

 Chama sinuosa 

 Pseudochama radians 

 Trachycardium magnum 

 Trachycardium muricatum 

 Antigona listeri 

 Antigona rigida 

 Dosinia elegans 

 Tellina listeri 

 Tellina radiata 

 Arcopagia fausta 



Subtotals: 

 99 species Totals: 



Continued 







Entire Fragments 



Total 



57 



39 



96 



2 







2 



14 







14 



lOI 



5 



106 



3 







3 



I 







r 



3 







3 



2 







2 



3 







3 



4 







4 



2 







2 



5 







5 



2 







2 



3 







3 



2 







2 



— 



1022 



1022 



1628 



4445 



6073 



7 



2 



9 



6 







6 



5 







5 



18 



I 



19 



38 



2 



40 



I 



3 



4 



I 



I 



2 



I 







I 







I 



I 



I 



5 



6 



75 



36 



I I T 







I 



1 







I 



1 



I 







I 



2 







2 



2 







2 



5 







5 



8 



I 



9 



7 







7 



8 







8 



9 



4 



13 



37 



I 



38 



47 



3 



50 



I 







I 



I 



I 



2 







2 



2 



I 



3 



4 



I 



I 



2 







I 



I 



4 



14 



18 



52 



48 



100 



I 



2 



3 



340 



134 



474 



1968 



4579 



6547 



Many other molluscs are eaten as delicacies today. 

 The mangrove swamps of the north-coast cienaga 



MOLLUSCA IN THE MaYA LoWLANDS 



and much of the west coast abound in mussels. Prob- 

 ably many species are used. Most popular are the 

 "Ribbed Mussels," here Modiolus demissus grano- 

 sissimus, which are harvested in great quantities in 

 the manglares (mangrove swamps) near Progreso 

 and Dzilam Bravo, and probably elsewhere. 



Several varieties of oyster are available year-round 

 in the peninsular restaurants, and are ever-present 

 in the smaller pueblos. Most popular is the oyster 

 we eat in the north, Crassostrea virginica, here a 

 diminutive but very tasty race now supplied mostly 

 from beds in the Laguna de Terminos, but found on 

 the entire periphery of the peninsula. In Campeche, 

 the specialty in restaurant or street-stand is the 

 "Campechanito," a 14-oz. glass half-filled with baby 

 shrimp (immaculately cleaned) capped with dime- 

 sized but tasty baby oysters (Ostrea frons ?). Both 

 these delicacies now come from Champoton. 



Cittarium pica is a beautiful, nacreous shell, with 

 a most unattractive snail in residence. But this ani- 

 mal, when boiled, is much tastier than the larger 

 conchs, and makes a delightful broth, frequently 

 consumed by natives of the Caribbean coast of the 

 peninsula. I am told that the same is true of many 

 other intertidal species, notably the Nerites. 



Both ancients and moderns (among the latter 

 particularly in Campeche) have been devoted eaters 

 of the species of Pomacea, choice, fat, freshwater 

 snails, common in archaeological deposits from 

 Dzibilchaltun and Mayapan in the north to Bar- 

 ton Ramie, Uaxactun, and Piedras Negras in the 

 south. At Tikal, 195 were found in excavations (to 

 1964), their archaeological context not yet evalu- 

 ated. Thompson (1939, p. 181) notes that these 

 snails, called hute [jute] in Spanish, hooties in Creole, 

 were eaten in large quantities in British Honduras 

 at the time he wrote — and they probably are today. 



Prof. Alfredo Barrera Vasquez (verbal informa- 

 tion) has noted what may be a unique practice in 

 the New World. In the cenote at Kaua, 18 km. east 

 of Chichen Itza on the modern highway to Vallado- 

 lid, a large freshwater gastropod (which we have 

 not seen, but from description may probably be 

 identified as a Pomacea') is eaten as a regional 

 specialty by visitors, who come equipped with salt 

 and lime juice as well as natatory intentions, and 

 picnic on the raw snails. At certain times of the 

 year, when the molluscs are loaded with brilliant 

 red eggs, these are carefully separated, spread at the 

 water's edge in zones where they are assiduously 



