Salt was an important commodity in many ancient societies throughout the world. This was certainly true in pre-Columbian Mexico where archaeologists have long been interested in how salt was produced, distributed, and consumed. Despite this interest, Mesoamerican archaeologists have often had difficulty recognizing the material correlates of these salt-associated activities. This has certainly been the case for my own research in the Valley of Mexico. My presentation highlights the results of an ethnographic study of traditional saltmaking I undertook at Nexquipayac, Mexico in 1988. I discuss how this study of the rapidly disappearing craft informs the efforts of archaeologists to better understand ancient saltmaking in pre-Columbian central Mexico.