Mass Spectrometry Detects First Physical Evidence of Nicotine in Mayan Container
Archaeologists examining late period Mayan containers have identified
nicotine traces from a codex-style flask, revealing the first physical
evidence of tobacco use by ancient Mayans. The study published in Rapid
Communications in Mass Spectrometry reveals the flask is marked
with Mayan hieroglyphics reading, “y-otoot ’u-may,” (“the home of
its/his/her tobacco,”) making it only the second case to confirm that
the text on the exterior of a Mayan vessel corresponds to its ancient
use.
“Investigation of food items consumed by ancient people offers insight
into the traditions and customs of a particular civilization,” explains
Jennifer Loughmiller-Newman from the University at Albany in New York.
“Textual evidence written on pottery is often an indicator of contents
or of an intended purpose, however actual usage of a container could be
altered or falsely represented.”
Many of the Mayan flask vessels from the Kislak collection of the
Library of Congress examined in this study were filled with other
substances, such as iron oxide used in burial rituals, making it
difficult to detect the original content.
The most indisputable evidence of a container’s usage is obtained when
hieroglyphic text or pictorial illustrations on the exterior of a
container is consistent with the chemical analysis of interior residues.
For the current investigation, researchers analyzed samples extracted
from the Late Classic Maya period (600 to 900 AD) using gas
chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) and liquid chromatography mass
spectrometry (LCMS).
Nicotine—the signature alkaloid in tobacco—was identified as the major
component of the extracts from one of the 150 vessels in the collection.
The flask was determined to be made in southern Campeche, Mexico and
dates to around 700 AD.
Prior to the current discovery, the only existing evidence showing a
Mayan vessel to have the same content as indicated by hieroglyphic text
was the identification of theobromine, an alkaloid found in cacao, more
than 20 years ago.
“Our study provides rare evidence of the intended use of an ancient
container,” concludes Dr. Dmitri Zagorevski from the Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. “Mass spectrometry has proven
to be an invaluable method of analysis of organic residues in
archaeological artifacts. This discovery is not only significant to
understanding Mayan hieroglyphics, but an important archaeological
application of chemical detection.”
