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HW7: Pre-Columbian Chocolate

All assignments for this course are listed on the day assigned, not the day due. Unless otherwise noted, assignments are due by blackboard by classtime

 


WORTH: 5% of semester grade

 

CAN THIS BE TURNED IN LATE?: NO

BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE (5% penalty if you do not).

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 7, the file name would be:

hussein_sa_7.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 7

In this assignment, you will interpret a number of primary sources in order to come up with a recipe for a chocolate beverage as it might have been made in the pre-Columbian Aztec world. That recipe will be in the next week adapted for modern kitchens and cooked by students in CUNY's culinary arts program. You will also later see a video of one of your recipes brought to life by your culinary arts colleagues at Kingsborough Community College.

But since our sources from the period (see below) were not cookbooks, you will need to patch together bits of evidence from all of them to come up with a single recipe. And you will have to explain in writing (details below) your choices as an historian when constructing the recipe.

SOURCES

You have four sources to use:

I. Translated passages and images from the Florentine Codex (described here)

A) Translated passage (to see the original in Spanish and Nahuatl, see right side page here and then look to first full paragraph on the upper left starting with "Laque vende cacau hecho [p]ara bever muelelo primero ")

B) Images (from the original codex)

 

II. Translated passage from Friar Diego de Landa's Yucatan Before and After the Conquest

 

III. Images from the Codex Tudela, a pictorial Aztec text.

 

IV. Translated passage from Francisco Hernández de Toledo's The Natural History of New Spain(explained here)

 

Your homework submission should consist of two parts: (1) a 175 - 285 word explanation of the choices you made (explained below) and (2) the recipe itslef. The explanation will help your classmates in CUNY's culinary arts programadapt your recipe and will allow you to demonstrate to your professor your analytic skills.

 

PART I: 175 - 285 WORD EXPLANATION

Since all of the sources contain information, you need to explain how and why you selected which piece of information for the recipe. For example, at times a particular source might be vague on a topic but a second source will be specific on that topic but vauge on others. For instance, if a source says to "cook" an ingredient does that mean to boil it inwater? Grill over a fire? Another source, however, might explain that more particular step specifically while remaining silent on everything else. Synthesizing the two source would allow you to come up with detailed cooking instructions. This portion of the assignment should be written as an essay with evidence woven in to support your claims.

HINT: Do not ignore the visual evidence; look for patterns or consistent imagery.

WRITING REQUIREMENTS:

A) Place a (CL) before your claim, an (EV) before your evidence, and a (WA) before your warrant (5% off assignment if you do not).

B) Be sure to use evidence in the form of direct quotations. Your quotations should be no longer than 10 words; if you don't know how to reduce quotations, see here and here(both very useful). (5% off assignment if you do not).

C) Make sure your quotations are not standing on their own (see here to refresh your memory)

 

PART II: The Recipe

Although you are no doubt familiar with recipes, be sure to list all of the ingredients at the top of the recipe your craft. Likewise, be a specific as possible in your instructions. Remember, your colleagues in this project are cooking students not historians (like yourselves).