Schinus molle L. (Anacardiaceae)Chicha production in the Central Andes

Abstract

The authors located and experimentally reproduced an alcoholic beverage using Schinus molle L. drupes to explain the presence of large quantities of S. molle seeds in archaeological contexts associated with the Middle Horizon (550-1000 C.E.) site of Cerro Baúl, Moquegua, Perú. They discuss the production ofchicha de molle in the context of the archaeological site, the ecology of the plant, and the ethnobotany associated withS. molle in the Andes. Overall, S. molle was and is used today in a variety of ways regionally, and through both ethnobotanical and archaeological fieldwork, they establish a long-standing tradition of human-plant interactions withS. molle. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]