This civilization, which pre-dates the Aztecs, remains a mystery in many ways. But new research has found they brewed a tequila-like drink called pulque as a source of food and nutrition, not just to forget their woes.
Pulque is a milky-white liquor made from the maguey plant -- a relative of the agave used in tequila -- and is still popular among local residents. Traces of pulque have been found on pottery shards dating at Teotihuacan dating back to 150 B.C., according to a new study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Pulque was not just reserved for the upper classes, according to Marisol Correa-Ascencio, a doctoral student in chemistry at the University of Bristol (UK) and first author on the paper.
"The beverage was consumed by greater part of the population," Correa-Ascencio said. "It could have helped to compliment the diet of the people."
While ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures brewed beer and wine before the rise of the Teotihuacan culture, this is the earliest finding of an alcoholic beverage in Mesoamerica, Correa-Ascencio said.
Her colleagues used a new approach to identifying chemical residue on the pottery using a lipid biomarker, or a tiny fat molecule that had bonded with the ceramic molecules of the vase-like amphoras that held the pulque and were sealed with pine resin.
"The principle is that when you process food like cooking or storing, the lipids are absorbed into the ceramic matrix and get encapsulated," Correa-Ascensio said. "We take a potsherd, clean it, crush it and then perform lipid extraction."
The researcher said this is the first time this method has been used to identify an ancient alcoholic beverage. Pulque was widely used by the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1521, and remains in use today.
One expert on the Teotihuacan people says the method could be used to research the history of other cultures use of alcohol.
Read more at Discovery News
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