David L. Lentz

Where do you work?

I work at the New York Botanical Garden.

What do you do?

I am a paleoethnobotanist who specializes in plant use practices of the ancient Maya and other indigenous peoples of Central America. Mesoamericans developed unique and diversified subsistence strategies that changed dramatically through time. We can learn much from their successes and mistakes, so the focus of my research is to unravel the intricate web of interactions between Mesoamericans and tropical rain forests of the past.

What inspired you to do what you do?

My first inspiration in paleoethnobotany came from a teacher in graduate school, Dr. Vorsila Bohrer, who clearly demonstrated how, by examining charred plant fragments, pollen residues, and other remains, one could piece together the story of the way prehistoric people fed, housed, worshiped, and medicated themselves using the fruits and occasional abundance of nature.

Besides your work, what other interests do you have?

I have always loved music, especially jazz, blues, and classical. When time allows, I play guitar and the woodwinds. Plant collecting, hiking, and cross-country skiing are great sources of recreation too.

What keeps you interested in your work?

New challenges keep me interested in my work. The project sponsored by NGS at the Cerén site in El Salvador is a good example. The site was covered by volcanic ash in circa A.D. 590, and the preservation of plant materials is excellent. So I have the good fortune to examine the contents of kitchens, storehouses, sweat lodges, and other buildings where things were left in place by the original inhabitants 14 centuries ago. It is a rare and exciting opportunity to study pre-Columbian household economics and agricultural practices.

What was your most exciting moment in the field?

I happened to be working in Honduras when archaeologists uncovered the tomb of what was thought to be Mah K’ina Yax K’uk’ Mo’, an early ruler of Copán. I was invited to enter the undisturbed tomb found deep inside the center of a large temple and examine the botanical remains, all in place since the final interment. The air was thick, musty, and I imagined it was filled with the exhausted breath of the king’s last retainers. The burial had many unusual aspects to it, including what was left of a stucco-covered garment, pots filled with pigments and other curiosities, exotic stones and shells, and the remains of a codex, or ancient text. It was a day not to be forgotten.

What goals have you set for yourself?

The completion of a unified analysis of plant utilization practices from all status levels and time horizons at the major ancient Maya sites.

How would you suggest getting started in your field?

Talk to botanists and archaeologists who are active in the field; volunteer at a botanical garden or archaeological excavation; and take courses in taxonomy, economic botany, and archaeology.

What resources can you suggest to the layperson interested in your field?

I would recommend two articles that I wrote for Latin American Antiquity, “Foodstuffs, forests, fields, and shelter: A paleoethnobotanical analysis of vessel contents from the Cerén site, El Salvador” (1996) and “Maya diets of the rich and poor: Paleoethnobotanical evidence from Copán” (1991).

For easier reading, try “Volcano Captured Corn, Chiles and House Mice” by J.N. Wilford from the April 8, 1997, New York Times and “Ancient Menu Dug Up in El Salvador” from the Geographica section of the May 1998 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

The New York Botanical Garden has a good Web site at http://www.nybg.org.

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