The Erasure of Reverse Acculturation in Pre-Modern Latin America Through the Paper Trail of Cochineal, Cacao, and Copal

The diaspora of Europeanized individuals across the globe are often cited viewing academic institutions as the most credible means by which one can derive an understanding of history. With this in mind, I argue that one need not travel further than their local shopping mall, coffee shop, or even their kitchen to discover palpable evidence of a history worth understanding. When one peruses the red garments or cosmetics on the racks and shelves at a nearby retail store, unbeknownst to the modern-day consumer, the carminic acid used to color this merchandise can be attributed to the discovery of the cochineal dye made by Nahua natives in 17th century pre-modern Latin America. When one drinks hot chocolate, most don't realize that this widely popular drink contains the cacao bean -- an integral element of Aztec cultural drinks linked to a socioeconomic identity. The varnish used to polish the dining room tables in which we eat often contain copal resin, a resource used as an incense and deeply engendered in the ritual of Nahua religious demonstrations. Likewise, even euphemisms such as the "the unvarnished truth" -- a saying that implies a stripped-down aim at honesty in imparting a tough pill to swallow -- finds itself used in the dialogue of Americans across the nation. History is all around us: in the food we eat, the clothing we wear, and the products we use to refine the furniture within our homes, yet not all indigenous goods hijacked by colonial presences are created equal within the sphere of present-day capitalism. It is the commodities the Spanish Inquisition could sever from their intersection with Aztec supernaturalism that sport a notable reputation within modern-day consumerism today -- a concept that the average history class neglects. To be sufficiently informed on the historical origins of products part our day-to-day lives, one must understand the idea that Aztec history has, largely, created the world we experience in the present.