Ellen Messer is a biocultural anthropologist with strong interests in ethnobotany, food, nutrition and traditional medicine. She lives outside Boston, Massachusetts. In this portrait she discusses how she became interested in the dietary welfare of the peoples of ancient Mesoamerica and contemporary Oaxaca, Mexico, and describes her methodology and the meaning of such central foods as maize, chili and chocolate. Topics: Biography Methodology Maize I Maize II Chili Chocolate Transcripts: English Spanish Photo Captions/Credits