Mayan_trade_salt

Arguably the most important of these commodities was salt. Salt was not only an important part of the Mayan's diet, but it also was critical in the preservation of food. By covering meat and other food items in salt the Mayans were able to dehydrate is so that it would not rot. Salt, for the most part, was produced near the oceans by drying out large flats of seawater. After the flats were dry, the salt could be collected and moved throughout the empire.