Arqueología de las bebidas fermentadas: el caso de la chicha mesoamericana

Abstract

The following study has the objective to analyze the archaeological ceramics (pots) recovered in Guachimontones, Mexico. In the absence of certainty about the job that was given to this artifact in antiquity, archaeometric techniques (chemical and starches) were applied to know about a specific application and subsequent operation within the social organization, taking as reference the idea that these jars used to prepare a fermented beverage. The results of the analysis indicated the use of the jars in the preparation of tejuino, complementarily comparison with ethnographic examples, where raw consumption alcohol- allowed us to infer the function of the beverage as a mechanism that allowed maintaining strong relations between the inhabitants of that space. The indicators suggest this functionality are: architectural structures emplaced around courtyards, provision and use of housing units, the presence of hearths, waste baskets, offerings (lithic and ceramics)