[Aztlan] "Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas"

[Elaine Schele]

"Jennifer Mathews, associate professor of sociology and anthropology
at Trinity University, traces the roots of chicle, a sticky resin from
the sapodilla tree found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, and how it
gave rise to the chewing gum industry in her new book, Chicle. The
Chewing Gum of the Americas: From the Ancient Maya to William
Wrigley."

(Vocus) May 27, 2009 -- It may not seem like the type of book to come
from an archeologist who spends most of her summers working on
recently-discovered Maya sites in southern Mexico. But for Jennifer
Mathews, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Trinity,
tracing the history of chicle, a sticky resin from the sapodilla tree
found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, and how it gave rise of the
chewing gum industry was a story that needed to be told.

The Chewing Gum of the Americas: From the Ancient Maya to William
Wrigley (University of Arizona Press), is the first comprehensive look
at chicle, and includes chapters on how it was used by the ancient
Maya and Aztecs, the botany of the sapodilla tree, the boom and bust
of the chicle-based chewing gum industry, and the culture of the
chicleros - workers who collected the chicle resin in the heart of the
forests."

For the rest of the story:
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/Trinity_University/chewing_gum/prweb2462214.htm

Elaine