Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T01:29:37.505Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cacao Residues in Ancient Maya Vessels from Rio Azul, Guatemala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Grant D. Hall ,
Stanley M. Tarka Jr. ,
W. Jeffrey Hurst ,
David Stuart  and
Richard E. W. Adams
Grant D. Hall
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
Stanley M. Tarka Jr.
Affiliation:
Hershey Food Corporation Technical Center, P.O. Box 805, Hershey, PA 17033-0805
W. Jeffrey Hurst
Affiliation:
Hershey Food Corporation Technical Center, P.O. Box 805, Hershey, PA 17033-0805
David Stuart
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
Richard E. W. Adams
Affiliation:
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78285-0652
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Results of chemical analyses on residues collected from ceramic vessels found in an Early Classic period Maya tomb revealed that certain of the residues contained theobromine and caffeine, a clear indication that the corresponding vessels once contained cacao in some form. One of the vessels yielding cacao residues is decorated with hieroglyphs, two of which we believe have the phonetic values for the word “cacao” in the Mayan language. These findings are significant for three reasons: (1) a new method for recognizing ancient cacao use is demonstrated, (2) a novel way of verifying glyph interpretations is presented, and (3) data are generated that indicate what contents certain Maya vessels actually held, thus permitting useful functional interpretations.

Résumé

Résumé

Se comentan los resultados de análisis químicos efectuados sobre residuos recogidos de vasijas ceramicas encontradas en una tumba maya del período Clasico Temprano. Estudios revelaron que ciertos de los residuos contenían theobromina y cafeina, lo cual es una indicación clara que dichas vasijas alguna vez contuvieron cacao en alguna forma. Una de las vasijas que contiene residuos de cacao esta decorada con glifos, dos de los cuales pensamos tienen los valores fonéticos para la palabra “cacao” en la idioma maya. Estos descubrimientos son significantes por tres razones: (1) un nuevo metodo de reconocer la utilización antigua de cacao es demonstrado, (2) una manera de verificar las interpretaciónes de glifos es presentada, y (3) estan presentados datos que indican el contenido actual de ciertas vasijas Mayas, asi permitiendo interpretaciónes funcionales útiles.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , January 1990 , pp. 138 - 143
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Adams, R. E. W. 1986 Rio Azul-Lost City of the Maya. National Geographic 169: 420–451.Google Scholar
Ball, J. W. 1983 Teotihuacan, the Maya, and Ceramic Interchange: A Contextual Perspective. In Highland-Lowland Interaction in Mesoamerica: Interdisciplinary Approaches, edited by Miller, A. G., pp. 125–145. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Hall, G. D. 1986 Results of Tomb Investigations at Rio Azul— Season of 1984. In Rio Azul Reports Number 2, The Google Scholar
Hall, G. D. 1984 Season, edited by Adams, R. E. W.., pp. 69–110. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Hall, G. D. 1989 Realm of Death: Royal Mortuary Customs and Polity Interaction in the Classic Maya Lowlands. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Hammond, N., and Miksicek, C. H. 1981 Ecology and Economy of a Formative Maya Site at Cuello, Belize. Journal of Field Archaeology 8: 260–269.Google Scholar
Hurst, W. J., Martin, R. A. Jr., Tarka, S. M. Jr., and Hall, G. D. 1989 Authentication of Cocoa in Ancient Mayan Vessels Using HPLC Techniques. Journal of Chromatography 466: 279–289.Google Scholar
Kidder, A. V. 1947 The Artifacts of Uaxactun, Guatemala. Carnegie Publication 576. Institution of Washington, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Kreiser, W. R., and Martin, R. A. Jr., 1978 High Pressure Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Theobromine and Caffeine in Cocoa and Chocolate Products. Journal Association of Official Analytical Chemists 61: 1424.Google Scholar
Miksicek, C. H. 1983 The Macrofloral Remains of the Pulltrouser Area: Settlements and Fields. In Pulltrouser Swamp: Ancient Maya Habitat, Agriculture and Settlement in Northern Belize, edited by Turner, B. L. II and Harrison, P. D., pp. 94–104. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morley, S. G., Brainerd, G. W., and Sharer, R. J. 1983 The Ancient Maya. Stanford University Press, Stanford.Google Scholar
Stuart, D. 1986 The Hieroglyphs on a Vessel from Tomb 19, Rio Azul. In Rio Azul Reports Number 2, the 1984 Season, edited by Adams, R. E. W.. , pp. 117–121. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Stuart, D. 1988 The Rio Azul Cacao Pot: Epigraphic Observations on the Function of a Maya Ceramic Vessel. Antiquity 62: 153–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tozzer, A. M. 1941. Landa's Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 28. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Turner, B. L. II, and Miksicek, C. H. 1984 Economic Plant Species Associated with Prehistoric Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Economic Botany 38: 179–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar