Cahokia's Black Drink

[MO816]

Very interesting!! Check it out
I wonder if the drink was good??

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-rfe080112.php

[arb]

Six times as powerful as coffee, thats a pretty powerful stimulant. I bet it was pretty bitter. Yaupon hollies are commonly used in my area as a landscaping plant. I was always told as a kid that holly leaves and berries were poisonous, but the same is said of many psychoactive plants. Interesting article.

[Mojave]

http://www.arrowheadology.com/forums...ing-vessel-51/

[tomclark]

Tastes like Mate Tea a bit, in fact I think it's related. You can pick it all over Florida except far south....and from landscapings that haven't been poisoned (good luck with that). I gather it by pounds a few times per year. And Red Mangrove leaves. And....and....

It's just tea. If you drank enough coffee (or water) you'd puke, too.

[Palmwood]

I wonder if parasite or bacteria control were part of the use. Internal bugs had to be a problem for them.

[Indianpriest]

Interesting stuff, I think its great we can figure out what type of drinks and foods that indians would consume for food or ritual!
So I see that type of Holly is not in the midwest and for the most part the midwest didnt take the "black drink" . I still would like to see the plant or try and grow it in garden.
Thanks for posting article!

[Amber]

Very cool. The name says it all Yaupon holly (ilex vomitoria). I was also told when younger that holly trees were toxic we had one growing in front of our house as kids....thinking about it though it was the only holly tree anywhere around and we had not planted it. My parents bought their acreage when I was four and it was undeveloped and was just pastureland at the time in the middle of nowhere near the Trinity river.
I had some Argentinian neighbors and was introduced to Mate tea which basically is crack in a cup. I still remember the looks on their faces when I first tried it. I don't know if they expected me to spit it out or were waiting for some side effects, but it was great and when they offered a second cup and I accepted. The grin on the older womans face was priceless.

[painshill]

Thought you might be interested in the following excerpt (from Wiki)

"Native Americans used the leaves and stems [of Ilex vomitoria] to brew a tea, commonly thought to be called asi or black drink for male-only purification and unity rituals. The ceremony included vomiting, and Europeans incorrectly believed that it was Ilex vomitoria that caused it (hence the Latin name). The active ingredient is actually caffeine, and the vomiting was either learned or as a result of the great quantities in which they drank the beverage coupled with fasting. Others believe the Europeans improperly assumed the black drink to be the tea made from Ilex vomitoria when it was likely an entirely different drink made from various roots and herbs and did have emetic properties."

The last sentence now looks to have been disproved.

[eddies]

now i see how they had the push to build those big mounds,