At the beginning of our research, we started by looking at foodstuffs transferred during the Columbian Exchange. We knew that we wanted to focus on representation in art, but that still left us with a wide spectrum to choose from. As we continued reading and looking through materials, we agreed on an interest in the Indigenous cultures and the way foodstuffs were represented prior to European influence. From there, we started analyzing the cultural, spiritual, and culinary way this food was represented in Mesoamerican communities. However, because of colonization, there is limited information directly from these communities, and more of the information comes from colonizers taking notes on these communities. 

At this point, we decided to focus on how foodstuffs were represented and experienced differently in the New World versus the Old World. We decided not to focus on a specific European country, but rather on the expansion of these foods once they reached Europe. There were lots of differences, but strangely enough, there were similarities as well.

As for research techniques and methods, we started by searching for Indigenous art featuring Mesoamerican foodstuffs that were transferred. We did this by searching through ArtStor, a database for art, as well as looking through museum collections. We started reading some books, like Mary Norton’s Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures, that discussed Native Americans’ use and spiritual connection to certain foods. One of the foods this novel focused on was chocolate. Because of the timeframe we were working with, we decided to focus on chocolate but emphasize that this research can be continued for many other types of foodstuffs, like potatoes, tobacco, and corn. After this decision, we looked through ArtStor, museum collections, and books for information on chocolate both Pre- and Post-Columbian Exchange. 

Some interesting pieces of information that we uncovered in this research include how chocolate was religious and ritualistic for the Mesoamerican cultures. Mayans are known for their blood sacrifices, but upon discovering chocolate, they believed that chocolate was a substitute for blood. On a related note, colonizers knew that chocolate was spiritual for these cultures, and that is a major reason why it took so long to integrate chocolate into European culture. Europeans seemed to look down on chocolate drinkers because they felt that partaking in a different culture’s religious experience was to turn their back on Christianity. However, once chocolate became more normalized in Europe, there are many works of art, like poems, that show chocolate in a Holy sense. 

After collecting all of our data, we uploaded and organized our information into Scalar, in order to publish it. The copyright information varies based on the piece of information. Each photo/art piece is linked to its origin, which shows its personal copyright information. Most are public domain, creative commons, or non-commercial. Be sure to check before using. Other than that, the rest of the information produced by us is public domain. 

A special thank you to our internship director Dr. Abby Mann and our mentor Dr. Carolyn Nadeau for all of their help and support throughout this project, as well as thanks to Illinois Wesleyan University for their resources.

-Rosie Abraham IWU ‘24 and Georgia Sharwarko IWU ‘26