Dr. Ryan Kashanipour
Assistant Professor of History
University of Arizona
Wednesday, April 23
5:00pm
Haury 215
Consumed in healing rituals by elites in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica, chocolate became an object of debate among an array of early modern Spanish priests, physicians, and botanists. Was it healthy? Could it heal? Was it magical? And why did native peoples love it so much? This talk will explore chocolate’s contested qualities, using printed recipe books, botanical manuscripts, and Inquisition denunciations and investigations.