Pre-Incan Brewery Unearthed in Peru's Andes (Chicha)

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 7/30/04 | Reuters - Miami

[NormsRevenge]

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have unearthed what they say may be the oldest known brewery in the Andes, a pre-Incan plant at least 1,000 years old that could produce drinks for hundreds of people at one sitting.

The University of Florida said on Thursday that its archeologists and researchers from the Field Museum in Chicago found the brewery at Cerro Baul, a mountaintop religious center of the Wari empire that ruled what is now Peru hundreds of years before the Incas.

At least 20 ceramic, 10- to 15-gallon (38- to 57-litre) vats were found at the site some 8,000 feet up in the mountains of southern Peru.

"You get the idea that this is massive production, not just your basic household making beer to consume by itself," Susan deFrance, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Florida, said in a statement.

Patrick Ryan Williams, assistant curator at the Field Museum, said the site was remarkable for its size. Small-scale brewing is known to have been done in the Andes for thousands of years, he said by telephone from Peru.

The Wari civilization thrived from about A.D. 700 to 1000, conquering all of what is modern Peru before swiftly and mysteriously declining.

The brewery is thought to have produced "chicha," an alcoholic drink derived at the time mainly from a berry of the molle pepper plant. Modern chicha is made from corn.

Last year University of Florida archeologists discovered what they think are halls for "ritual intoxication" at Cerro Baul, where Wari noblemen apparently feasted and drank.

Mike Moseley, associate chairman of anthropology at the university, said the halls "become a place where politics are negotiated and economic decisions are made."

Williams said each nobleman would have consumed up to 2.6 gallons (10 litres) of chicha per ceremony.

The site appears to have been destroyed in a closing rite. The Wari burned the structures, threw their mugs into the embers and laid down a half-dozen necklaces of semiprecious stones as they left, said Moseley

[NormsRevenge]

..20 ceramic, 10- to 15-gallon (38- to 57-litre) vats were found at the site some 8,000 feet up in the mountains of southern Peru

ceramic "kegs" :-]

[NormsRevenge]

The "Coors" of their day.

The Wari civilization thrived from about A.D. 700 to 1000, conquering all of what is modern Peru before swiftly and mysteriously declining.

Ya don't think maybe it was the chicha?

[NormsRevenge]

I wonder what their jingle would be? lol

[FreedomSurge]

Chicha is nasty. It is made by peasant women who chew up corn which they spit into a vat where it is left to ferment.

[BipolarBob]

The site appears to have been destroyed in a closing rite. The Wari burned the structures, threw their mugs into the embers and laid down a half-dozen necklaces of semiprecious stones as they left, said Moseley.

Them Pre-Incans knew how to throw a kegger. Prolly make Animal House look tame. What it must have been like! Kick back, make a sacrifice or two and drink some good old chicha. It doesn't get much better than that.

[uglybiker]

PING

[quark]

"This Bud's Peru!"

[glock rocks]

The site appears to have been destroyed in a closing rite. The Wari burned the structures, threw their mugs into the embers and laid down a half-dozen necklaces of semiprecious stones as they left, said Moseley.

We always did that at the end of the keggers at my college. I'm sure the tradition carries on to this day.

[BipolarBob]

"The King of Incan Beers"

[phxaz]

are you saying it would be fine to drink the fermented spit of a wealthy woman?

[phxaz]

good one!

[Right_Handed_Writer]

"said the halls "become a place where politics are negotiated and economic decisions are made." "

And we sit here and say bad things about Teddy Kennedy. Look at the great traditions he is carrying on!

[MarkeyD]

[Cyber Ninja]

Last year University of Florida archeologists
discovered what they think are halls for
"ritual intoxication" at Cerro Baul, where Wari
noblemen apparently feasted and drank.

How far is the Kennedy Compound from U of F?
Who is funding this research?

[Spok]

Dang, those guys really WERE civilized. Maybe that's what Cortez was actually looking for!!

[vetvetdoug]

"hiccup"

[NormsRevenge]

lol.. Oh Yeah!

[VadeRetro]

Williams said each nobleman would have consumed up to 2.6 gallons (10 litres) of chicha per ceremony.

They must have had kidneys like a plow horse.

[NormsRevenge]

maybe this is what TahRayZaa drinks.. it mind explain some of her facial expressions. ;-)

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

That is true.
While driving from Cochabamba to the Champari Bene,
I saw small flags flying from cane poles.
I asked my driver if that showed they had fish bait.
HE said "no, it is chicha.
They also cover the crocks with cheese cloth, this
keeps out most of the flies and other vermin.