期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:2015
卷号:112
期号:37
页码:11436-11442
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1511799112
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:SignificanceThis article presents the results of a large-scale National Science Foundation-funded study of organic residues from archaeological sites in the US Southwest/Mexican Northwest. It reveals widespread use of two different caffeinated plants, cacao and holly, as the basis for drinks used in communal, ritual gatherings. This is the largest study of its kind, both in terms of numbers of samples and in terms of temporal/spatial scope. It is the first to argue for holly beverage consumption in the US Southwest/Mexican Northwest. The combined evidence for cacao and holly beverage consumption has implications for our understanding of distant resource acquisition and shared cultural practices in North America. 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.