They found pictorial references in the Mural of San Bartolo, in Petén, Guatemala. According to archaeologists Karl Taube, William Saturno, and David Stuart, tamales may date from around 100 AD. The preparation of tamales is likely to have spread from the indigenous cultures in Guatemala and Mexico to the rest of Latin America.

Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC. Tamales served to honor the birth of a child, Florentine Codex Origin

The English 'tamale' is a back-formation of tamales, with English speakers applying English pluralization rules, and thus interpreting the -e- as part of the stem, rather than part of the plural suffix -es. Tamale is an anglicized version of the Spanish word tamal (plural: tamales). Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, herbs, chilies, or any preparation according to taste, and both the filling and the cooking liquid may be seasoned. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. ( November 2021)Ī tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used. This article should specify the language of its non-English content, using for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code.

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