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Black Tea Time in Texas – A Ritual Drinking Vessel?

Posted on 15. Nov, 2009 by Shannon Graham in Archeological Excavations, Artifact Finds, Miscellaneous, Texas

If artifacts could speak, imagine the stories they would reveal. Of course this would remove some of the fun in piecing together clues from the past.

The focus here is an artifact discovered in central Texas, a large Lightning Whelk shell that has been modified by having the central collumella removed, a portion of the outside shell cut away, edges smoothed, and patterns etched into the outer surface. This artifact fits the description of a ritual cup/dipper as described in early European accounts of the southern Indians to serve the highly regarded Black Drink.

Black Drink was a concoction Indians brewed in the southeastern US from parts of the Yaupon Holly tree. Freshly harvested leaves and branches were placed in a pot and lightly parched in order to make the active ingredient, caffeine, soluble. This is the same reason coffee beans are roasted today. Water was added to the parched leaves and branches and then boiled which resulted in a dark colored liquid giving it the name ‘black drink’. It was then strained and served hot to the chief, special guests and high ranking officials in order of political and social class. Spaniards referred to this beverage as Casseena (or Cassina) and early settlers occasionally used it instead of their own coffee or tea. It’s also been called ‘white tea’ due to it’s purification qualities.

Accounts of black drink use vary. Some reports state that black drink use was used daily during tribal deliberations. Some accounts describe consumption of large quantities until vomiting occurred, possibly self-induced. The amount of caffeine is believed to be considerable and any physiological effects are from the caffeine.

In 1696, Jonathan Dickinson, a Quaker merchant who was shipwrecked off the coast of Florida, witnessed the brewing of the black drink among the Ais tribe o f Florida. The leaves were parched in a pot before being boiled. This initial heating makes the caffeine soluble which is the same reason coffee beans are roasted today. A gourd was then used to transfer the deep brown, boiled liquid to a large ceramic pot. Once cooled, the chief was presented with a conch-shell holding the beverage. The chief threw a portion on the ground and drank the rest. The remaining male members of the tribe were then served in order of social or political rank. Females, children and men of low status were not allowed to consume or even touch the drink. Dickinson relates that the chief and his colleagues sat drinking the beverage while talking and smoking for the better part of the day. That evening a skin was used to cover the bowl holding the drink transforming it into a drum. The men used the drum and accompanying rattles, danced and sang into the late hours of the night. No reference was made to vomiting after drinking this beverage.

We know from historical accounts and drawings that black drink was served in a shell dipper or cup. Both the drink and cup had religious significance and were intimately associated in the ceremonial life of the southern Indians.

In ‘Origins and Prehistoric Distributions of Black Drink ad the Ceremonial Shell Drinking Cup’, Jerald T. Milanich writes;

“The prehistoric usage of the drink has previously been investigated in studies of the Southern Cult (also called the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex), a n archaeological complex of certain objects and symbols widespread among southeastern horticulturalists by about A.D. 1200. The Southern Cult paraphernalia and art styles seem to have been associated with certain important individuals and had religious as well as political and social significance. .. Shell drinking cups engraved with cult symbols are common at the large prehistoric ceremonial centers associated with the cult, and in to instances, residues, thought to be from evaporated black drink, have been found in shell cups at such centers. The use of the cups and the black drink was an important part of the religion of the late prehistoric southeastern aborigines, a pattern that was still in practice four hundred years later at the time of European contact.

Central Texas dipper with ground lip.

Although it is not possible for the archaeologist actually to excavate the behavior connected with the black drink ceremonies, a great deal can be learned about its origins, distribution and significance by studying the various cultural and ritual contexts in which shell cups are found. Shell, except in extremely acidic soils, lasts for thousands of years. Archaeologists have recovered shells that may have been black drink containers and on occasion , fire hearths or burials have been found in association with the cups. By interpreting the relationships between these features and artifacts, inferences can be made about the behavior patterns associated with their deposition. In several instances, carefully controlled excavations have revealed what seem to be locations where black drink was used. However, only when the cusps are found in contexts that resemble those described in ethnohistorical or ethnological documents can we strongly postulate that the cups and the black drink were present together.”

The widespread distribution of the cups, which has been substantiated by historical and archaeological evidence, may indicate that the origins of black drink date back earlier than the Southern Cult. By the time of the cult, both a drink ritual and shell cups were evidently widely distributed in the Southeast’ but that such a drink was brewed from Ilex vomitorias(Yaupon Holly) is not certain. Archaeological evidence suggest that some type of drink was par to Hopewellian ceremonialism, which was distributed throughout the Southeast for several centuries after A.D. 1. Although such evidence is very tenuous, it does demonstrate that the use of shell drinking cups has a long history in the Southeast, extending back into the pre-Hopewellian Archaic cultures. Formalization of the taking of the drink as part of a religious ceremony may have also occurred over a long period prior to the appearance of Mississippian ceremonialism. There is also speculation that Mesoamerican religious-horticultural beliefs played a role in the formation of the black drink ceremonials, but the evidence is no conclusive.”

Nine different species of marine shells shaped into cups had been reported from archeological sites over the years, however a recent analysis revealed that many were incorrectly identified. The results now indicate that only three distinct species of previously documented shells have been made into cups; lightning whelk, emperor helmet, and horse conch. Of the three shell species, the lightning whelk has the widest distribution and is the one used most frequently as cups, possibly due to its availability and size. It can reach a length of sixteen inches and is most common along the Florida Gulf coast, occurring in the largest quantities off the coast of Lee County, Florida. Texas designated the lightning whelk as the official state shell in 1987.

Transforming a shell into a cup was not a complex process. The central columella which runs lengthwise inside the shell was removed which resulted in a long dipper-like cup. The freshly cut edges and original shell lip were then smoothed to form the finished product. The practice of drilling holes through the narrow ends of the cups was common and widespread possibly to facilitate the attachment of a thong for suspension.

Shell cups have been documented in mortuary situations where the cups were symbolically ‘killed’ by having the bottom of the dipper perforated or knocked out. It’s believed this was done in an effort to release the spirit of the vessel to allow it to accompany the deceased to the after-life. Another explanation is that the cups utilized in the black drink ritual by the officials were ‘killed’ to prevent use by nonsanctified individuals.

Stepping back a bit and looking at what we’ve learned from historical accounts, the black drink ritual of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex doesn’t appear on the surface to be too different from our own modern day ‘village elders’ sitting at the local gathering spot (café/Dairy Queen) sipping a warm caffeinated beverage discussing the business of the day.

Be sure to take a look at the links below for more information on Black Drink and the ritual drinking cups.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Replica shell Dipper & Roasted Yaupon Leaves
Another Texas Shell cup example

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1. Texas Topaz; True Gemstone Points
2. April ‘09 Site of the Month: Texas Beyond History.net

Tags: Arrowheads, artifacts, ceremony, conch, drinking cup, ritual, shell, whelk