Ritual drinks in the pre-Hispanic US Southwest and Mexican Northwest

Abstract

Chemical analyses of organic residues in fragments of pottery from 18 sites in the US Southwest and Mexican Northwest reveal combinations of methylxanthines (caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline) indicative of stimulant drinks, probably concocted using either cacao or holly leaves and twigs. The results cover a time period from around A.D. 750-1400, and a spatial distribution from southern Colorado to northern Chihuahua. As with populations located throughout much of North and South America, groups in the US Southwest and Mexican Northwest likely consumed stimulant drinks in communal, ritual gatherings. The results have implications for economic and social relations among North American populations.cacao | holly | US Southwest/Mexican Northwest | archaeology | ritual drinks

A Sensory Approach to Exotica, Ritual Practice, and Cosmology at Chaco Canyon†

“…Residue analyses of the vessels detected traces of theobromine, the chemical marker of cacao Hurst 2009:2110). Subsequent work by Washburn et al (2011) first presented evidence for widespread cacao consumption throughout the American Southwest, a notion which has been recently corroborated by evidence of theobromine as well as Ilex vomitoria in ceramic vessels from multiple sites and time periods throughout the American Southwest including Chaco outliers (Crown et al 2015). While evidence for the presence of cacao in ancient Southwestern contexts is increasing, the quantity of cylinder vessels and other forms bearing traces of theobromine in Chaco remains unique.…”

Ethical priority of the most actionable system of biomolecules: the metabolome

“…Within archeology, an explicit metabolomic characterization of ancient materials has begun (Velsko et al, ). Yet, archeological approaches to metabolomics have been around awhile; they may be concealed under a broader objective of “residue analysis,” revealing remarkable discoveries of human cultural practices through metabolites (e.g., Crown et al, ).…”

Drinking Performance and Politics in Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

“…However, archaeologists have also examined the consumption of stimulant drinks as well, including coffee, tea, cacao, and the varieties of holly drinks found in North and South America (Coe and Coe 2007; Joyce and Henderson 2010; McNeil 2006; Merrill 1979; Smith et al 2003). While scholarship in the Southwest/Northwest and Mesoamerica has largely focused on the drinks themselves, some attention has also been paid to the drinking vessels and paraphernalia (Crown and Hurst 2009; Crown et al 2015; Joyce and Henderson 2010; Mathiowetz 2011; Powis et al 2002; Putsavage 2008). Recent research suggests that both cacao ( Theobroma cacao ) and holly ( Ilex vomitoria ) were imported drink ingredients in the Southwest/Northwest (Crown and Hurst 2009; Crown et al 2015; Washburn et al 2011, 2013).…”

“…Potters began crafting Chacoan cylinder jars with Red Mesa Black-on-white designs that suggest manufacture in the AD 900s 1 . Cylinder jars also have the residue of caffeinated plants interpreted as cacao or holly (Crown et al 2015). Early cylinder jars are large and wide (average orifice diameter of 15.1 cm) 2 .…”

“…But based on a large-scale study, Putsavage (2008) argues that mugs were personal serving vessels used for a variety of drinks. Residue analysis of mugs from Chaco, Aztec Ruins, and southwestern Colorado suggests that some had cacao residue (Crown et al 2015). So, the consumption of caffeinated drinks did not cease with the termination of the cylinder jars.…”