MEXICO The spiciness of Mexican food is one of the world’s oldest culinary traditions still recognisable today, archaeological discoveries have suggested. The remains of at least ten varieties of chilli pepper have been discovered in caves in Mexico and dated to 1,500 years ago.
The peppers were found by a research team led by Linda Perry, of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, during excavations of two caves. “It shows us that ancient Mexican food was much like today’s,” Dr Perry said.