Ancient Use of Coca Leaves in the Peruvian Central Highlands

Bibliographic Data

ID2629565
AuthorsLidio M Valdez (0000-0003-1931-2728, MacEwan University, corresponding author), Juan Taboada (corresponding author), J Ernesto Valdez (San Cristóbal of Huamanga University, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume71
Issue2
Pages231-258
Publication date2015-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Anthropological Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-7710 • E-ISSN: 2153-3806
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3998/jar.0521004.0071.204
OpenAlexW2313822159
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited61

Coca, of the genus Erythroxylum, is a stimulant and painkiller that played key roles within the Inka state. As reported by the early Spanish chroniclers, coca was the most important plant offering during public rituals. Likewise, important landmarks within the Inka domain regularly received offerings of this precious leaf. Its high value is indicated by the fact that not only the living chewed the leaves on a regular basis, but also the dead carried coca leaves in their mouths. We still do not know when coca leaves were first used in the Peruvian central highlands. This uncertainty is largely due to the lack of coca leaves recovered from highland archaeological sites. Several leaves recently found at Convento in the northern part of the Ayacucho Valley are the first direct evidence from an archaeological context that, based on ceramic stylistic grounds, dates to sometime between the end of the Early Intermediate Period (ca. 1–550 ce) and the beginning of the Middle Horizon Period (ca. 550–1100 ce). The botanical identification also indicates that the source of the coca was the Pacific coast. This paper reports this unique finding and discusses its implications

Ancient history · Archaeology · Coca · Context (archaeology) · Geography · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · History · Latin American history and culture · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies