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

Patricia L Crown,Timothy J Ward,Ardith D Bravenec,Patrick D Lyons,Lori S Reed,Erin Redman,David A Phillips,Syed Ali,Laura Kebert,W Jeffrey Hurst,Jamie Merewether,Jiyan Gu,Kyle Woodson,Marlaina Berch

doi:10.1073/pnas.1511799112

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.

Highlights

Chemical analyses of organic residues in fragments of pottery from 18 sites in the US Southwest and Mexican Northwest reveal combinations of methylxanthines indicative of stimulant drinks, probably concocted using either cacao or holly leaves and twigs
It details the organic residue analysis of 177 samples of ceramics from 18 sites located in Arizona, Chihuahua, Colorado, and New Mexico
We have previously argued that ursolic acid may serve to distinguish I. vomitoria from T. cacao [7]

Summary

Introduction

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 discovery of cacao residues in ceramics from Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, demonstrated exchange with populations in the tropical areas where Theobroma cacao grew in the past as well as consumption of ritual drinks by at least A.D. 1000 in the canyon [1, 2] It raised questions about the time depth and geographic extent of this exchange in the US Southwest and Mexican Northwest. It details the organic residue analysis of 177 samples of ceramics from 18 sites located in Arizona, Chihuahua, Colorado, and New Mexico. We selected some samples from villages that lacked other known Mesoamerican trade items to avoid biasing the sample (Table 1)

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Conclusion