- Ancient pink pepper berry beer tells story of multicultural influences - 

MESA, Ariz. -- Dec. 15, 2025 -- As early as graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh, Mesa Community College  (MCC) archeology faculty Kirk Costion, Ph.D., has been fascinated with the ancient, Indigenous Huaracane settlement in the middle of the Moquegua Valley of Southern Peru. 

Conducting field research in 2006 for his doctoral dissertation at the site, located on the Yahuay Alta, a steep and sloped area at an elevation of more than 5,200 feet above sea level, he and his team discovered evidence pointing to the production of a traditional ancient beer, chicha de molle, brewed with Peruvian pink pepper berries by the Huaracane (Middle Horizon AD 600-1000). 

But the finding has a twist–only the Wari Empire, another Indigenous group in the area, was typically known for crafting the fermented beverage, sometimes combined with maize and served for rituals, celebrations and social bonding. 

“Our evidence suggests the beverage was made and served by the Huaracane in ways that were atypical of how the Wari typically served this beverage,” said Costion. “Our interpretation is that the Huaracane didn’t simply adopt a Wari practice but instead adapted to fit in with their own cultural practices. These findings are important because they give us insight into the complex cultural negotiations and entanglements that occurred in this colonial frontier.”  

Costion and his co-author Matthew Biwar, Ph.D., archeobotanist and assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Penn., wrote about these findings in an article titled “Foodways and Frontiers: Investigating Middle Horizon Huaracane-Wari Culture Contact in the Middle Moquegua Valley.” The article was published online by Latin American Antiquity. 

The prestigious quarterly journal specializes in original articles, reports and comments on the archaeology, ethnohistory and visual culture of Latin America, the Caribbean and all regions in the continental New World south of the current U.S.-Mexico border. The journal is published by the renowned Cambridge University Press of Cambridge, England.

“This is my first publication in Latin American Antiquity which is an important achievement because it is probably the most widely read academic journal regionally focused on Latin America,” Costion added. 

The Moquegua Valley during the Middle Horizon period (A.D. 600 to 1000) has always been fascinating to Costion. A culturally dynamic region, it is where two major state level societies, the Wari and Tiwanaku, organized colonies in a region already inhabited by the Huaracane.

 “I am particularly interested in how ancient cultures interacted with each other in multicultural frontier contexts and the Moquegua Valley is the perfect place to study this,” he noted. “I was interested in the Huaracane because many researchers had already studied the Wari and Tiwanaku but few researchers had investigated the local Indigenous inhabitants of the region and how they adapted to the colonization of their valley.”

The Mesa resident is in his 11th year as an archeology faculty at MCC having also taught at Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota for five years prior to being hired at MCC.

Interested in learning more from Costion? Enroll in one of his Buried Cities and Lost Tribes courses—Old World or New World—offered in the spring 2026 semester. Review the class schedule at mesacc.edu/schedule. 

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Media contact: Dawn Zimmer, dawn.zimmer@mesacc.edu, 480-461-7892

Mesa Community College (MCC), which is celebrating its 60th anniversary during 2025, is nationally recognized for its excellence in university transfer, career and technical programs, civic engagement, and innovative education. Serving more than 25,500 students annually, MCC offers a range of degree and certificate programs across its two campuses and additional locations. MCC students contribute more than 8,500 hours of community service annually. MCC serves as a key resource for education, workforce development, and lifelong learning. The college enhances student success through Guided Pathways with Integrated Support Services. A Hispanic Serving Institution, nearly 50% of MCC students are first-generation college attendees, and it boasts the largest Indigenous student population among Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) colleges, supporting students from 22 Arizona tribes and additional out-of-state tribes. Our award-winning faculty are committed to helping students achieve their goals through high-quality education, training and undergraduate research opportunities. Located in the East Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, MCC is one of 10 MCCCD colleges. Learn more at mesacc.edu/newsroom.

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