The Science and Performance of Ritual Drinking in Chaco Canyon

Summary

Consumption of caffeinated drinks made with cacao and perhaps holly is well documented for Chaco Canyon. Less understood is the context of consumption. Evidence for cylinder vessel production, use and termination particularly reveals aspects of drinking ritual, including frothing. New compositional analysis demonstrates how Chaco potters decorated pots with post-firing pigments on stucco, permitting repeated decoration and cleansing of drinking vessels. Changes in the sizes, shapes, and contexts of Chacoan drinking vessels reveal rapid shifts in how Chacoans drank caffeinated concoctions and in the associated ritual practice between around A.D. 900 and 1125

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Recent Analytical Contributions to Chacoan Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 13270