Posted on 02/16/2007 11:14:32 AM PST by blam
Contact: Gregory Harris
gharris@ucalgary.ca
403-220-3506
University of Calgary
Red hot chili pepper research spices up historical record
Archaeologists trace domestication and dispersal of Capsicum species Next time you're shaking Tabasco sauce on your eggs or dried chili pepper flakes on your pizza, you might pause to thank the indigenous Latin American cultures of more than 6,100 years ago that made it possible.
Three University of Calgary researchers, together with international colleagues, have traced the earliest known evidence for the domestication and spread of chili peppers by analysing starch microfossils recovered from grinding stones, sediments and charred ceramic cookware. In a forthcoming article in the journal Science, they report that common varieties of chili peppers (Capsicum species) were widely used in a region extending from the Bahamas to southern Peru.
"Until quite recently it's been assumed that the ancestors of the great highland civilizations, like the Inca and the Aztecs, were responsible for most of the cultural and agricultural advances of the region," says Dr. Scott Raymond, U of C archaeologist and one of the authors of the paper. "We now have evidence that the indigenous people from tropical, lowland areas deserve credit for the domestication of the chili pepper."
Dry, arid areas favour archaeological preservation, whereas tropical regions typically don't -- especially when it comes to foodstuffs. "A relatively recent discovery is that the cooking process doesn't completely destroy the evidence of starchy foods, and traces can still be recovered from the cooking vessels," says Sonia Zarrillo, another co-author of the paper and a U of C PhD student.
The authors report on seven sites throughout the Americas where they found starch grains from chili peppers, the oldest being from sites in Ecuador that date back 6,100 years. These Ecuadorian sites represent the earliest known village sites in the Americas, and were excavated by a team from the University of Calgary, led by Dr. Raymond.
In 2005, international researchers who had gathered at a University of Calgary archaeology conference began comparing notes about an unidentified starch they had recovered from sites around Latin America. Dr. Linda Perry, the lead author of the paper and a researcher with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, subsequently identified the starch as Capsicum.
"It was surprising to find that the chili pepper, which is technically a fruit, left behind evidence of starch, which is more often associated with foods such as maize and root vegetables," says Dr. Ruth Dickau, a U of C post-doctoral researcher and one of the paper's authors. "So much of the research on the origins of agriculture in the region has focused on staple crops, but now here is one of the first condiments that we're able to trace -- it's quite interesting."
Researchers speculate that villagers may have begun growing peppers for household use even farther back than 6,100 years ago, but so far can't pinpoint when domesticated chili peppers first entered the diet.
Although it is generally agreed that the genus Capsicum originated in Bolivia, the centres of domestication of the different species and their dispersal patterns remain speculative, the authors write. With the European conquest, the chili pepper spread around the world and is now associated with the cuisine of many different cultures.
Early Latin American peoples would have found chili peppers, which are rich in vitamin C, to be an excellent complement to fish and starchier foods like maize, beans, yams and corn. "It's also an excellent disguiser," Raymond notes. "If something's not tasting quite right, you can always throw a few chilis in the pot."
Me too. I'm waiting for an habanero breakfast cereal...:)
They are red hot!
OMG..............I can't believe I forgot beer.......Shame on me.
O-o-ok...gov_bean_ counter sells Preparation H and Izzy Dunne sells Tidy-Bowl. I suppose that picture means you sell deodorant? Why the heck is that guy sniffing his own armpits? Yuk!
I'm not quite ready for an habanero cereal, in fact I probably never will be as I don't eat cereal as a rule, but I get your drift :)
Is there a Grammy for this category?
My old cable had a Chinese network. They had a game show that consisted of people eating hotter and hotter foods until all but one dropped out! They had men and women actually taking the clothes off trying to cool down. The item that put everyone over the top was some sort of large Chinese cookie that was made of nothing but ground up chile peppers!
I've been growing one type of chile pepper or another for over 20 years. I dry some, freeze others and turn more into salsas, sauces, and jelly.
The worst experience I ever had was when I put cherry peppers next to habaneros....the cherry peppers actually came out totally unedible. The cross pollination, totally accidental, was disastrous. We just went ahead and pulled up the entire row of cherry peppers.......
That sound PAINFUL!!!!!!!!!!
There was a BBQ place in Des Moines, IA (of all places) called Big Daddy's that specialized in Bahama "goat pepper" sauces. Big Daddy passed on a few years ago but the little restaurant still sells his stuff and its been picked up by the Hy Vee Grocery chain. Goat peppers and Habaneros look quite similar, like little Japanese lanterns. Its a good idea to handle them with a plastic grocery bag over your hand during the chopping routine and what ever you do, avoid getting the oil in your nose or eyes.
and then there is A$$ Blaster hot sauce. Rating 7000
Put =but
No wonder Anthony Kiedis distanced himself from Al Gore at the Grammys.
Glad you enjoyed them.
At the same time I sent them to you I also sent some to a member in Taiwan. In the pack I sent him I included my email address. I didn't hear from him for a while and forgot his screen name.
I got an email from him thanking me for the peppers and telling me that he had been banned at F.R. He didn't say why and I wonder if eating those peppers drove him mad and got him banned.
I also discovered this while running peppers that got a little too hot in my coffee mill.
Wise advice. It is also important to be extremely careful (especially men) when using the bathroom after handling ot peppers of any kind.
Years ago a Thai woman taught me a trick if the pepper heat is too intense for your taste. Place about a teaspoon of salt on your tongue and hold it there for as long as possible. DO NOT SWALLOW. The salt will draw out saliva containing the "heat." When you feel the need to swallow spit out the salt and rinse your mouth with cold water.....repeat if needed.
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