Phytochemical Characterization of Chicha de Molle Production at Cerro Baúl

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Exploring Culture Contact and Diversity in Southern Peru" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Converging evidence from archaeological excavations and ethnographic research in the Peruvian Andes has demonstrated that the indigenous alcoholic beverage chicha de molle has a time depth of at least the Middle Horizon (600 CE – 1000 CE). The most impressive example of large-scale, pre-Hispanic production of chicha de molle hails from an exhumed brewery discovered atop Cerro Baúl, part of a Wari emissarial outpost abutting Tiwanaku settlements in the Moquegua Valley, and the finding has suggested this beverage's importance to Wari elites. Ripe drupaceous fruits of Schinus molle L. (Anacardiaceae) are still to this day harvested to produce a sweet, aromatic chicha and are added to maize beer (especially chicha de jora) to improve the flavor and increase the alcohol content. Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was employed to characterize potsherd residues and spent molle drupes recovered from the Cerro Baúl brewery, which were compared to experimental archaeology controls i.e. ethnographically produced modern chichas, including chicha de molle brewed both with and without maize as well as chicha de jora. Monoterpenoid and triterpenoid biomarkers identified, plus the presence of sesquiterpenoids, the phenylpropanoid safrole, and the aliphatic aldehyde decanal, strongly corroborate chicha de molle production at Cerro Baúl.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Exploring Culture Contact and Diversity in Southern Peru

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23785