|
 The first cup of primitive form of tea
was brewed by native Americans some thousand years ago,
scientists have claimed.
Inhabitants of Cahokia, a massive pre-Columbus settlement
near the meeting point of Missouri and Mississippi rivers in
Illinois, consumed a 'Black Drink' from ceramic beakers, the
'Daily Mail' reported.
The beverage, made from toasted holly leaves and stems,
was six times more potent than coffee.
"This finding brings to us a whole wide spectrum of
religious and symbolic behaviour at Cahokia that we could only
speculate about in the past," director of the Illinois State
Archaeological Survey Dr Thomas Emerson said.
Researchers tested pottery beakers found in and around
Cahokia for residues of 'Black Drink' because the vessels were
different and relatively rare.
It could have been created for special ceremonies and is
the first known evidence of a tea-like drink in what is now
the US.
A study of residues absorbed into eight porous, unglazed
mugs found traces of theobromine, caffeine and ursolic acid
which provided a chemical signature of the holly species Ilex.
The unique vessels with a handle on one side, a tiny lip
on the other and carved with symbols of water and the
underworld date to about 1050 to 1250 AD.
Cahokia was a city with as many as 100,000 residents in
its heyday - the largest prehistoric North American settlement
north of Mexico.
The pre-Columbian settlement at Cahokia was the largest
city in North America north of Mexico, with as many as 50,000
people living there at its peak.
Europeans were the first to record the use of what they
called 'the black drink' by Native American men in the
southeast. |
