Posted on 11/07/2018 8:56:01 PM PST by SunkenCiv
We may think of potatoes as the most basic of foods, given their modern ubiquity and low cost, but in the Moche culture in ancient Peru, archaeologists had assumed they were highly charged symbols of the elite because they were found only in artifacts. New research, however, has shown that our understanding of New World potato consumption is biased by the fact the starchy vegetable is nearly always consumed in its entirety.
In a forthcoming article in the Journal of Archaeological Science, researchers Guy Duke of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Victor Vásquez-Sanchez and Teresa Rosales-Tham of Arqueobios in Peru outline their method of starch grain analysis from ceramic and stone artifacts to investigate the use of potatoes in the Moche diet.
Their archaeological investigation focused on the site of Wasi Huachuma, located in the lower Jequetepeque valley of Peru, dating to 600-850 AD or the later years of the Moche culture. This site featured a platform mound, associated out buildings, burials, and a large residential area. The Moche civilization is well known for massive ritual structures like the pyramidal Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna, as well as for their extensively varied ceramic tradition that includes depictions of sex acts. Some Moche religious practices even involved ritual human sacrifice.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Two examples of potato-shaped ceramics from the Moche culture of Peru. L: Anthropomorphic potato vessel from 400 AD in the Larco Museum, Peru. R: Potato shaped vessel from the Larco Museum, Peru.L: LARCO MUSEUM / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CC BY SA 3.0. R: PATTYCH / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CC BY SA 3.0
I think Black Pepper also used to be used mainly by Nobility Sultans or High Priests. Amazing how much we take for granted in today’s world. Forks have their own separate history as well.
Very common fetish object among indigenous tribes, this mushroom is hallucinogenic though more normally found much farther north. It is often made into fetish themes in many cultures.
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I decided not to pursue a career in anthropology for three reasons; it is essentially a job for pigeon-chested, trout-shouldered, socialist dweebs, the few women in the field don't shave their armpits or wash their hair often enough, and it paid for shit - it is for trust-fund babies.
Good catch!
Who got the grant money to figure that one out?
“The second potato vessel is not a potatoe,”
Thank you Mr. Quayle.
It's just a matter of keeping your eyes open.
Notice how they try to soft pedal the human sacrifice component.
Human sacrifice is an abomination to the entire idea of the sanctity of life and the idea that people are valuable and have rights by the nature of their being.
Human sacrifice is essentially what the left does and sanctions, only their god is the state.
New research, however, has shown that our understanding of New World potato consumption is biased by the fact the starchy vegetable is nearly always consumed in its entirety.
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“All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much MUCH thicker in the middle, and then thin again at the far end. That is the theory that I have and which is mine, and what it is too.“
It’s also what that evil Conquistadore Cortez put an end to with the Aztecs.
“the flimsiest evidence dug out of the ground will be used by an archaeologist to dream up any number of Marxist fantasies.”
I visited an ancient American Indian dwelling on top of a mesa in Arizona. To get to the top you had to inch along a path that was in places half as wide as my feet. (We weren’t allowed to go up as it was too dangerous.) Every bit of firewood, food and water had to go up this path or be hoisted up. You can imagine how many people died on the way up or down. There was a bronze plaque stating, “Obviously, these people lived up here because of the gorgeous view.” We laughed our asses off.
At a nearby museum were human bones with cut marks indicative of cannibalism. Yeah, they lived up there for the view...sure.
steven lekson is the exception
I had the very same thought when I was at Mesa Verde, but the park ranger dude insisted that living on a cliff face freed up more agricultural space on top of the mesa. And whatever you do, don't use the word "Anasazi."
Here is a good snapshot of aboriginal life in Australia, before the Europeans came. Book Review of The Red Chief by Ion L. Idriess
Book review of The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico. First hand account by Bernal Diaz.
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