Abstract
Adding to a thus far limited number of archaeological identifications of cacao residues in pottery in ancient Mesoamerica, this study presents the first such evidence from the southern Guatemalan piedmont in the Southern Maya Region. To save on cost, an original sample of 150 vessels from the site of Chocolá was reduced to 43 using semi-quantitative testing to determine the presence of fatty acids and carbohydrates, indicating plant remains. Including these 43, because of Hershey's generosity, all 150 samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography by the method of Hurst (Hurst et al. 1989, Hurst et al. 2002 and Powis et al. 2002). Cacao residues were found in ten vessels, or 6.7% of the 150 HPLC tested samples: (23.5% of the SQT-reduced sample) five bowls, three jars, and two plates, ranging in date from ca. 600 BCE–200 CE. Of the three sectors of the site, elite, administrative, and commoner/agricultural, distribution of all but one of the vessels was in the first and third sectors, suggesting consumption patterns in the ancient city and possibly, also, early intensive prehispanic arboriculture of cacao.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 526-534 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |
| Volume | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2017 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Archaeology
- Archaeology
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Cacao residues in vessels from Chocolá, an early Maya polity in the southern Guatemalan piedmont, determined by semi-quantitative testing and high-performance liquid chromatography. / Kaplan, Jonathan; Paredes Umaña, Federico; Hurst, W. Jeffrey; Sun, D.; Stanley, Bruce; Barba Pingarrón, Luis; Obregon Cardona, Mauricio.
In: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Vol. 13, 01.06.2017, p. 526-534.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Cacao residues in vessels from Chocolá, an early Maya polity in the southern Guatemalan piedmont, determined by semi-quantitative testing and high-performance liquid chromatography
AU - Kaplan, Jonathan
AU - Paredes Umaña, Federico
AU - Hurst, W. Jeffrey
AU - Sun, D.
AU - Stanley, Bruce
AU - Barba Pingarrón, Luis
AU - Obregon Cardona, Mauricio
PY - 2017/6/1
Y1 - 2017/6/1
N2 - Adding to a thus far limited number of archaeological identifications of cacao residues in pottery in ancient Mesoamerica, this study presents the first such evidence from the southern Guatemalan piedmont in the Southern Maya Region. To save on cost, an original sample of 150 vessels from the site of Chocolá was reduced to 43 using semi-quantitative testing to determine the presence of fatty acids and carbohydrates, indicating plant remains. Including these 43, because of Hershey's generosity, all 150 samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography by the method of Hurst (Hurst et al. 1989, Hurst et al. 2002 and Powis et al. 2002). Cacao residues were found in ten vessels, or 6.7% of the 150 HPLC tested samples: (23.5% of the SQT-reduced sample) five bowls, three jars, and two plates, ranging in date from ca. 600 BCE–200 CE. Of the three sectors of the site, elite, administrative, and commoner/agricultural, distribution of all but one of the vessels was in the first and third sectors, suggesting consumption patterns in the ancient city and possibly, also, early intensive prehispanic arboriculture of cacao.
AB - Adding to a thus far limited number of archaeological identifications of cacao residues in pottery in ancient Mesoamerica, this study presents the first such evidence from the southern Guatemalan piedmont in the Southern Maya Region. To save on cost, an original sample of 150 vessels from the site of Chocolá was reduced to 43 using semi-quantitative testing to determine the presence of fatty acids and carbohydrates, indicating plant remains. Including these 43, because of Hershey's generosity, all 150 samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography by the method of Hurst (Hurst et al. 1989, Hurst et al. 2002 and Powis et al. 2002). Cacao residues were found in ten vessels, or 6.7% of the 150 HPLC tested samples: (23.5% of the SQT-reduced sample) five bowls, three jars, and two plates, ranging in date from ca. 600 BCE–200 CE. Of the three sectors of the site, elite, administrative, and commoner/agricultural, distribution of all but one of the vessels was in the first and third sectors, suggesting consumption patterns in the ancient city and possibly, also, early intensive prehispanic arboriculture of cacao.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85019125599&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.04.017
DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.04.017
M3 - Article
VL - 13
SP - 526
EP - 534
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
SN - 2352-409X
ER -