Alimentos e hábitos alimentares na Amazônia descritos nas crônicas quinhentistas: modos, diversidade, vestígios

Abstract

The aim of this work is to highlight the foods and eating habits described in the 16th Century Chronicles. Stories that record the adventures of the first three known Iberian expeditions, which from Peru headed towards the Brazilian Amazon, daring to sail along the Amazon River. The explorers of these three endeavors had the opportunity to interact, friendly or not, with populations from different and numerous nations present along the banks of the great river. In the reports, food is not the main subject discussed, but the fact is that all the chroniclers in their lines, superficially or indirectly, describe at some point some food and/or the way in which it is prepared. We highlight the foods and preparation methods described in the chronicles; the denominations used by the explorers, based on the names given by the locals or the nomenclatures coined and borrowed, similarly, from products known and existing in other places. We draw attention to the fact that many of these foods and eating habits are still part of the diet today and are highly appreciated by the Amazonian people. In our research work we pay attention to the marks, the traces, the subtext, the detailed facts, sometimes neglected or given little attention by those who painstakingly described them. Of the expeditions that have more than one report, and that managed to be found and reached us, we had the arduous task of crossing information, to try to fill in some of the gaps that will always exist. The research carried out, which materializes in this historical work, aims to bring new perspectives and elements in defense of those who understand the Amazon as a living place, inhabited for thousands of years and capable of feeding a dense population, upon the arrival of Europeans.