Alcohol in Ancient Mexico (review)

This dissertation-turned-book is an ethnographic shot of tequila: what it lacks in volume, it makes up for in concentrated, intoxicating detail. It is a product of Bruman's wide travels throughout Mexico and his extensive study of ethnohistoric documents. Bruman blends these elements together with other then-current ethnographic studies to present a synopsis of the traditional use of alcohol in Mexico, arranged topically by beverage type. For each type, Bruman provides a map showing the geographical extent of its use, describes its production, and discusses its history.

From the time it was first written in 1940, Bruman's dissertation became a classic underground synthesis of ethnohistoric and ethnographic information on indigenous Mesoamerican alcohol use. Although the Second World War kept it from immediate publication, it enjoyed a wide dissemination in the ensuing decades as an unpublished work. In fact, Jim Parsons, former head of the Berkeley geography department, once called it "the most widely disseminated unpublished doctor's dissertation in the history of the Berkeley libraries" (xii). The University of Utah now presents what the rest of us have been missing all these years in its original, virtually unaltered form. A quick perusal of the references reveals that only five have a date later than 1940, two of which occur in the foreword by Peter Furst, longtime expert on Mesoamerican use of psychedelic substances. What we have, therefore, is a historical document; a state-of-the-art synthesis of alcohol use in Mexico as of 1940.

Bruman identifies five alcohol consumption areas in Mexico, defined on the basis of the major native alcoholic intoxicants traditionally used in these areas. These are: (1) the northwest cactus area, (2) the tesgüino area, (3) the tuna and mesquite area, (4) the pulque area, and (5) the mescal and jocote area. In addition to these, Bruman includes a sixth, somewhat less-definite area roughly corresponding to the Yucatán peninsula and parts of the Petén in which he describes several native intoxicants made from various materials including honey, palm sap, and maize.

Although each section is succinct, Bruman never skimps on detail. The presentation is so fact-rich that it almost reads like a series of expanded, heavily annotated encyclopedia entries. The casual reader expecting to find rollicking anecdotes of personal participation and inebriation amongst indigenous Mexicans will be sorely disappointed. Specialists will rejoice in the thoroughness of the research. Bruman uses conquest- and colonial-period ethnohistoric sources to infer the ancient extent of the practices he observed ethnographically. Although he is clear about the boundaries of his "drink areas," Bruman (3) readily acknowledges that the areas "are not absolute; they are synthesized from overlapping regions of individual drinks. Their boundaries are based on the relative importance of the culturally most significant beverages insofar as such information could be obtained from the literature, manuscript sources, and field inquiry." In addition to defining these drink areas, Bruman also describes production methods for each intoxicant and even manages to fit in descriptions of native beliefs regarding their production and use. He supplements his work with three comprehensive appendices, including a checklist of the presence/absence of intoxicating beverages among several native groups, auxiliary herbs included in the production of the beverages, and an outline in which he classifies the various drinks according to the raw material from which they are produced.

The thoroughness and attention to detail exhibited in Bruman's work is rivaled only by the succinctness with which he delivers it. The main body of the text is barely 98 pages; add the three appendices and notes, and the total jumps to about 135 pages. Such inclusive brevity is difficult to accomplish and deserves praise.

Ironically, its conciseness may be the book's only flaw. Bruman's attention to detail and straightforward presentation do little to enhance its readability, especially for...