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. 2012 Aug 28;109(35):13944-9.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1208404109. Epub 2012 Aug 6.

Ritual Black Drink consumption at Cahokia

Patricia L Crown  1 , Thomas E Emerson, Jiyan Gu, W Jeffrey Hurst, Timothy R Pauketat, Timothy Ward
Affiliations

Ritual Black Drink consumption at Cahokia

Patricia L Crown et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Chemical analyses of organic residues in fragments of pottery from the large site of Cahokia and surrounding smaller sites in Illinois reveal theobromine, caffeine, and ursolic acid, biomarkers for species of Ilex (holly) used to prepare the ritually important Black Drink. As recorded during the historic period, men consumed Black Drink in portions of the American Southeast for ritual purification. This first demonstrated discovery of biomarkers for Ilex occurs in beaker vessels dating between A.D. 1050 and 1250 from Cahokia, located far north of the known range of the holly species used to prepare Black Drink during historic times. The association of Ilex and beaker vessels indicates a sustained ritual consumption of a caffeine-laced drink made from the leaves of plants grown in the southern United States.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Beakers from Greater Cahokia and the hinterlands (Linda Alexander, photographer). [Used with permission of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey].
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Map showing distribution of Ilex vomitoria and Ilex cassine and Cahokia area sites used in study. Distribution data from http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/. (Ron L. Stauber, draftsman).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Pauketat TR, Lopinot NH. Cahokian Population Dynamics. In: Pauketat TR, Emerson TE, editors. Cahokia: Domination and Ideology in the Mississippian World. Lincoln: Univ of Nebraska Press; 1997. pp. 103–123.

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