Archaeologists have found evidence to suggest that ancient Mesoamericans may have consumed tobacco as a drink, possibly for ritual and healing purposes.
For a study published in the journal Antiquity, a team of researchers analyzed chemical residues from cylindrical ceramic vases found in the archaeological zone of Cotzumalhuapa, an ancient city on the coast of Guatemala.
This study revealed physical evidence of tobacco use at the site during the Late Classic period (A.D. 650-950) of Mesoamerican history. Specifically, researchers detected traces of nicotine in the residues, indicating that the vessels contained tobacco infusions or other liquid preparations.
The results suggest an ancient ritual practice involving tobacco for which no previous physical evidence has been found in Mesoamerica—the historical and cultural region that extends across most of Central America and southern parts of North America.
"This is the first study based on residue analysis that has yielded positive results for nicotine in well-documented vessels recovered during archaeological excavations anywhere in Mesoamerica," study co-author Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos of Yale University told Newsweek.
"This study suggests that the people of Cotzumalhuapa employed tobacco for ritual and therapeutical purposes—both were closely linked—during the Late Classic period. In addition, it suggests that ritual practices in the region included using tobacco in liquid form, which is very rare due to the toxicity of tobacco infusions."
The widespread significance of tobacco in Mesoamerica is documented in historical sources and by other evidence, such as artwork depicting the leaves of the plant. But recovery of the organic remains of tobacco in archaeological contexts is rare, particularly from precolonial times.
"We knew that tobacco was a very important substance employed for a variety of ritual and therapeutic purposes in ancient Mesoamerica and across the New World," Chinchilla Mazariegos said in a press release. "However, archaeological evidence is scarce because the remains of tobacco rarely preserve well."
Cotzumalhuapa was one of the largest and most important cities in Mesoamerica during the Late Classic Period. But little is known about the ritual practices that took place at the site, which is located in the southern Maya area.
Despite its location, we do not currently know the language or ethnic identity of the ancient city's inhabitants, although Chinchilla Mazariegos does not discount the possibility that people of Maya ethnicity once lived there.
In the latest study, the researchers wanted to understand more about the rituals that once took place in Cotzumalhuapa, which is near the modern town of Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa. To do this, the researchers analyzed chemical residues from seven ceramic vessels discovered near the acropolis of El Baúl.
"We hoped that analysis of residues inside these well-preserved vessels would reveal details about the use of plants in ritual activities," Chinchilla Mazariegos said.
Residues from the vessels tested negative for the presence of the purine alkaloids, theobromine and caffeine, present in cacao; capsaicin, the pungent alkaloid from chili peppers; and the carotenoid pigment, bixin, found in achiote or annatto—an important food condiment and colorant. But residues from three of the vessels yielded positive results for nicotine, indicative of tobacco.
"This was unexpected because the shape of the vessels suggested that they were used to contain and consume liquids," Chinchilla Mazariegos told Newsweek.
The results suggest that liquid tobacco infusions were employed in ritual activities at Cotzumalhuapa.
"The use of tobacco in liquid form is relatively unusual, but has been documented ethnographically in the New World. Smoking the dried leaves or snuffing powdered tobacco are much more common practices," Chinchilla Mazariegos said.
Given the shape of the vessels in which nicotine was detected, it is possible that the tobacco may have been consumed as a liquid infusion.
"Note that we are not suggesting that people habitually consumed tobacco infusions. Instead, they were likely employed for specific therapeutical and ritual purposes," Chinchilla Mazariegos said.
But the researcher also said there are other possibilities for how the ancient people of Cotzumalhuapa used the tobacco infusions aside from drinking the liquid. For example, such infusions may have been applied topically, or used in other ways.
"Conceivably, they may have been offered to deities instead of being consumed by humans," Chinchilla Mazariegos said.
While the widespread use of tobacco for both ritual and medicinal purposes is well documented from early colonial to modern times in Mesoamerica, the study provides physical evidence that such practices took place several centuries earlier during the Late Classic period.
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Update 03/08/24, 12:10 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional comments from Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos.
Correction 03/13/24, 13:01 p.m. ET: This article was updated to clarify that the ethnic identity of the ancient people who once lived in Cotzumalhuapa is not yet known.
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