Despite the analyses of thousands of flotation samples from Arizona and New Mexico, domesticated chili peppers are absent in the prehistoric record, and only one specimen of the chiltipine or “wild bird pepper” has been observed. In contrast, chilies have been identified in late prehistoric contexts near the site of Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico. Minnis and Whalen surmise, based on the absence of chili seeds, that an aversion to pungent flavors kept chilies out of Arizona and New Mexico until the arrival of colonizing Spaniards. In this article we report on the recent the discovery of charred chili seeds in two Arizona protohistoric Native American contexts. Based on other charred seeds found along with the chilies, in Arizona and New Mexico, we contend that the resistance to pungent flavors was mitigated by using chilies in combination with sweet flavors resulting in an emergent new Southwestern cuisine.

尽管对来自亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州的数千个浮选样品进行了分析，但史前记录中没有驯化的辣椒，并且只观察到了一个辣椒或“野鸟辣椒”的标本。相比之下，在墨西哥奇瓦瓦州 Paquimé 遗址附近的史前晚期环境中发现了辣椒。Minnis 和 Whalen 推测，基于没有辣椒种子，在西班牙殖民者到来之前，对刺激性味道的厌恶使辣椒远离亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州。在本文中，我们报告了最近在亚利桑那州两个原始美洲原住民环境中发现的烧焦辣椒种子。基于在亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州与辣椒一起发现的其他烧焦的种子，