Chilli beans in diet 6,000 years ago

2007/02/22 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Nekazaritza
• Dietetika/Elikagaiak

In two deposits of Ecuador have appeared the oldest remains of chilli peppers of more than 6,000 years. Not the only tracks found: They have also been found in Venezuela, Peru, Panama and the Bahamas, glued to millstones, broken ceramic fragments and deposits. This means that the consumption of chilli peppers was common in the Neolithic in Central America.

For scientists it has been more surprising than the dating of the tracks the success of the technique used. To detect the traces of the chilli peppers they have had to look for microscopic specimens of starch, since they do not leave a visual mark. That is why it is more difficult to investigate the old use of chilli beans than that of wheat or corn. But the technique has been successful and has shown where the custom of using chilli peppers spread in the kitchen.