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Food and Drink According to Maya religious beliefs, the gods created man from corn. Furthermore, corn was the staple food of the people; they used the grain to produce several different dishes, for example, tortillas and tamales. The tortilla can be used to scoop up food like a spoon and is always served with the meal, another way of looking at the versatility of corn. Tamales are made with corn dough (nixtamal or masa) filled with meat, vegetables or a mixture of both. The mixture is then wrapped in corn leaves; nowadays banana leaves are used. The Maya also made drinks with corn (and still do today) such as “pozol” and “atoles”. Cacao beans were ground to a paste and mixed with water to make chocolate. After the Spanish introduced cattle to the Americas, the drink was prepared with milk. Water was mixed with corn, fruit and other ingredients. “Balche”, a fermented alcoholic drink, was made from the bark of a tree and honey. There are two species of bee in the area: “kolel kab” and “xunam kab”. Honey and chewing gum were highly thought of. The purpose of honey was twofold; as a sweetener and to cure illnesses . Chewing gum was used for cleaning teeth and to help with digestion. The Maya also consumed beans, squash, tomatoes, avocado, chiles, chaya (a vegetable similar to a nettle which is rich in vitamins), mamey, chicozapote, iguana, deer, turtle, fish, oysters, manatee, hare, domestic or wild turkey, partridge, armadillo, quail, dog, tapir and wild boar.