Pineapples in Ancient America
Author(s): J. L. Collins
Source: The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 67, No. 5 (Nov., 1948), pp. 372-377
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science
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PINEAPPLES
IN ANCIENT
AMERICA*
J. L. COLLINS
Dr. Collins (Ph.D., Universityof California,1923) has b,eengeneticistand head of the
Departmzentof Genetics at the Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii since 1930. In
1938-39 he coiduilctedani,expeditiotii11to South Aimiericato look for wild anld semniwild specics of pincapples, covering areas in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia.
IN
of Sunday, November foundationstocksfromwhichthesedomesticvariTHE earlymorning
3, 1493, the fleet.of vessels under the com- eties were derivedare stillto be foundin tropical
inColumbuson his second America,but theyare generallysmall-fruited,
mand of Christopher
seedy.None
voyageto the NewsWorld, made a landfallin the feriorin eatingquality,and extremely
or
lesserAntillesof the West Indies. A landinlgwas of these can be singled out now as the formia
gave riseto thedomesticpineapplesof
made on the firstislandtheyapproached,to which formswlhich
Columbusgave the name "Marie-Galante."They todayor evenofthosevarietiesin thepossessionof
soon returnedto theirshipand sailed fora larger, theIndiansat thetimeofthediscoveryofAmerica.
The pineappleappears to have been used very
mountainousislandvisiblein thedistance,on which
theylandedMonday,November4, 1493. Columbus littleby the nativeAmericantribesin theirreliforwhichreasonit has not been
gave to this island the name "Guadeloupe." Ac- gious ceremonies,
cordingto the chronicleof Peter Martyr,here,at foundas a motifforpotterydesigns,templeornaan Indian village,theyfoundpineappleplantsand ments,and other decorations,as were corn and
fruits,"the flavorand fragranceof whichaston- potatoes.There is some evidence,however,that it
ishedand delightedthem."This is thefirstrecorded may have figuredin some of the religiousritesof
the Indians of Mexico, for Acosta in his History
contactof European people with the pineapple.
Althoughthe pineapplerepresenteda new and of theIndies gives a detaileddescriptionof an Inexotic fruitto these Europeans who sailed witlh dian god whichhe describedas holdingin his left
Columbus,it appears to have been a commonand hand a whitetargetwithfivepineapplesmade out
elementin the diet of the inhabitants of white feathersand set in the formof a cross.
an important
How Since this god was used by the Indians previous
of tropicalAmericain pre-Columbiantima-es.
and used bytheIn- to the introduction
the image was
of Christianity,
widelythefruitwas distributed
dians is to some degree indicateJby the records probablymade long beforethe comingof Euroleft by those adventuroussouls who penetrated peans. This would then indicatethat the Indians
manytropicalregionsduringthatromanticperiod of Mexico wereacquaintedwithpineapplesin preof explorationand adventurefollowingthe dis- Columbiantimes.
coveryof the New World.
Thompson believed that the Maya Indians of
accordedto Central America were not acquainted with the
The pineapplesharesthedistinction
all the major foodplantsof the civilizedworldof pineapplebeforethediscoveryofAmericabyEurohavingbeen selected,developed,and domesticated peans. He discussesthispossibilityas follows:
timesand passed on to us
by peoplesofprehistoric
The pineapple (Ananas sativus) possibly did not reacli
throughone or moreearliercivilizations.The pine- the Mayas untilshortlyaftertheconquest.The Prospero
agri- Indianswho were entirelycut offfromSpanishinfluence
apple, like a numberof othercontemporary
cultural crops such as corn, potatoes, tobacco, were foundto be cultivatingthe pineapplewhen first
beans,and peanuts,originatedin theAmericasand visitedbyEuropeansin 1646 (Cogolludo,Book XII, Chap.
This, of course,is not directevidencethatthe pinewas unknownto the people of the Old World be- 7).
apple was knownto thesetribesbeforethe arrivalof the
America.
of
forethe discovery
Spaniardsin the new world,as manyof the articlesinThe Indians of tropicalAmericahad developed troducedby thempassedfromtribeto tribeand werewell
varietiesof pine- establishedin remoteareas long beforeEuropeanshad
and nameda numberof different
so far. Pineappleswere certainlycultivatedin
apples,selectedby themor theirancestorsbecause penetrated
Cueva regionpriorto the conquest (Oviedo, Book
of theirsize of fruits,good quality,and absenceof the
XXIX, Chap. 29) and on the MosquitoCoast (M. W.)
seeds. Wild pineapples that are probably the and theUsamacintlabasin (Tozzer, 1912).... In viewof
the close relationsbetweenthe Chiriquiarea and the
* Published with the approval of the directoras Miscel- Mayas as demonstrated
into Chichen
by the importation
laneous Paper No. 46 of the Pineapple Research Institute, Itza of gold objects fromthis region,it is not unlikely
of the two areas were interchanged.
thatfoodnrodiicts
Universityof Hawaii.
372
THE SCIENTIFIC
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MONTHLY
MAT1
The island of Guadeloupe in the West Indies, where pineapples were firstseen by people from the Old Wor
when Columbus landed here on his second voyage to the New World in 1493.
The Relacion Breve relates that Father Ponce was received during his journey to Yucatan in 1588 at many of
the Maya villages with gifts of pineapples.
Thompsonalso pointsout thatthereis no word
in thepresentMaya languageforthepineappleand
thattheSpanishpiiia is used.This,he believes,does
not necessarilymean that the pineapplewas unknownto the Maya beforethe Spanish Conquest,
since the Maya Indians have accepted Spanish
words for other things,the earlier Maya terms
beingknowgionlyto a few of the older Indians
thepresenttime.In a letterto the authorin 194
Dr. Thompsonstatedthathe would now consid
thatthe Maya of the peninsulaof Yucatan did n
have thepineapplebutthattheMaya ofotherCe
tralAmericanregionsdid have it in pre-Columb
tinmes.
Stephensfoundwhat he believedto represen
pineapplemade of stucco 1nountedon a circu
in frontofa smallshr
base, used as an ornamnent
November 1948
3
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or altar amlonig the aincient ruinis OIn the sea-
qua in this samiiegeneral regioniin the year 1503:
coast of Yucatan at TuloC)m. His illustration, They make another wine of the fruitwe said is foundin
when viewed under low-power magnification,the Island of Guadeloupe, which is like a great pineapple:
shows a scalelike surfacewhich could represent it is plantedin greatfieldsand theplantis a sproutgrowfruitlets)of a pineapple ing out at thetopof thefruititself,likethatwhiclhgrows
the eyes (or individtual
out of a cabbageor lettuce.One plantlasts threeor four
presentsargumentsin favorof this yearsand bears.
fruit.Steplhens
towhn
beinginhabitedby the Indians at the timeof
Again,duringhis last voyagein 1503,Columbus
thediscoveryofAinerica,concludingthattheruins
found
pineapples growing at Belen, which is a
examinedin 1840-41 were not of great antiquity.
northof the mouthof the Panamna
short
distance
The followingis quotedfromStephens'account
According
to Irving's account, Columbus
Canal.
ofhiisvisitto theseruins:
in 1503 landed on the island of Guanaja a short
Near the foot of the steps overgrown by the scrubby distanceoffthecoastofHonduras,wherehe traded
wild palm, which covers the whole cliff,is a small altar witha large canoeload of Indians who were quite
with ornamentsin stucco one of which seems intendedto
in
and who hacl
represenita pineapple. These wanted entirelythe massive different appearanceand clothing
characterof the buildinigsand are so slight that theycould apparentlyjust arrivedfromYucatan. They had
alnmostbe puslhedover with the foot. They stand in the come intenton tradingwith the Indians of the
open air exposed to strong easterly winds and almost to island and broughtcottoncloth,copper utensils,
the spray of the sea. It was impossible to believe that the
potteryvessels,cocoa, beer made frommaize,and
altarlhadbeenabandoned300 years.
wooden swords edged with sharp pieces of flinit
The 300 years would take the date back to about of a typefoundin Mexico at a later date.
the timeof the Spanish coniIn 1503, while Columbus was exploring the
1540, approximately
quest of Yucatan. Stephensbelievedthat the In- coastal area of Panama, "He again heard of a
dians had continuedto use these buildingslong nationin the interior,advancedin arts and arms,
and being armed like the Spanw'earingclothiing
aftertheconquest.
A. M. Tozzer, who has made comprehensive iards." These incidentsindicatetradingbetween
studiesof the cultureof thepre-Columbianinhab- the interior and the coastal area where pineapples
itantsof CentralAmerica,statedin a personalcom- were found by Columbus.
In 1519, only twenty-six years after Columbus
mun.cationthat he was sure this ornamentmentionedby Stephenscould not have representeda firstsaw the pineappleson the island of Guadeloupe, Pigafettarecordedpineapples growingin
pineapple.
Cook states that the pineapple was known in coastal areas of Brazil, wlhichis probablythe first
Peru beforethearrivalof the Spaniardsand gives record of pineapples on the mainland of South
the Inca name (Achetpalla)
for it; on this he bases
his beliefthat the Inca Indians were acquainted
witlhthisfruit.This is theonlyindicationwe have
so far foundthat the Indians of the west side of
SouthAmericaknewthepineapplebefore1492.
De Oviedo, who lived in the New World from
1513 to 1547, voiced his beliefthat the pineapple
fruitwhenhe observed
was an old and well-known
that"In all theseislands [West Indies] it is a fruit
whichI hold old and verycommon,because they
are foundin all theseIslands and on TierraFirme"
[mainlandof Centraland SouthAmerica]. He deby the InscribedthreedistinctvarietiesgrowYn
of
dians of Haiti and producedthefirstillustration
a pineapple.This is a pen drawingused to supplementh-isdescriptionof a pineapple,whichhe admittedlackedexactness.
Columbusfoundpineapplesbeing cultivatedin
fieldsby the Indians in 1502 at a place he called
Puerto Bello on the Atlanticcoast of what is now
the countryof Panama. His son Ferdinand reportedfindingpineapplesbeingcultivatedat Vera374
America.
Benzono, who lived in Mexico from
Geronmmo
1541 to 1555, recordspineapplesbeing grown in
Jean de
that country,and about this same timne,
Lery again recordspineapplesgrowlingin Brazil.
Whetherthis representsa new area for Brazil or
whether it was the same as reported by Pigafetta
yearsearlier,we do not know.
some twenty-two
In 1565 Sir JohnHawkins, sailing in his slhip
JesusofLubeck,stoppedat a place alongthecoast
of Venezuela known then as Sante Fe, in order to
take on supplies of wiaterand provisions. Here he
receivedfromthe Carib Indians, who were describedas naked savages armedwithpoisonedar-
rows, "hennes potatoes and pines." These latter
were pineapples "of the bigness of two fistes." The
inside of these pines was said to "eateth like an
apple but is more deliciousthan any sweet apple
suggared."
In 1595 Sir Walter Raleigh made his remarkable expedition some 400 miles up the Orinioco
Riverin northernSouthAmerica.He reportshavTHE SCIENTIFIC
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MONTHLY
ing securedquantitiesof pineapplesfromthe 1ii- ings, twelve (and possibly more) show isolatedl
dians in trade at various points while ascending pineappleplantsas a partof the nativevegetation.
the river.This observationwas made one hundred From thesepaintingswe may concludethatpineand two yearsafterthe discoveryof America,and appleswere a commonfeatureof thenorthBrazilone mightwellarguethatthepineapplescouldhave ian coastalarea in theearlypartofthe seventeenth
been introducedinto this area in the intervening century.
Laufer,in discussingthe migrationof the pineyears and thatit does not necessarilyrepresenta
believedthattheabsenceof the seeds in the
do
apple,
times.
Neither
pineapplearea of pre-Columbian
be- cultivatedspecies was inducedby long-continuedl
we know about the amountof communication
and thusservedto indicateu
tweenthe Indians of the coastal area of Panama. asexual reproduction
to exist in pre- great age for the cultivatedspecies. This belief
where pineapples were knowhV
10~
I
~
~~~~~~2
0~~~~~~~~~~
This map, showing the distributionof pineapples in tropical America at the time of the discovery, is based upon
records left by the early explorers.
Columbiantimes,and the tribesin the interiorof
the country.However, the fact that Sir Walter
Raleighfoundthemin someabundanceand thatthe
Indiansalso madea kindofwinefromthemargues
fora long-timepresencein a countryinhabitedby
primitivepeople havinglimitedmeans or inclinationfortraveland transportation.
In 1637 Frans Post, a Dutch painter,came to
officialwlhilethe northern
Brazil as a government
of the
part of Brazil was under the domilnation
During his stay in Brazil, he
Dutclhgovernment.
painteda large numberof landscape,seaport,and
the countryand customs
villagescenesportraying
typicalof Brazil at thattime.Amongthesepaint-
that long-continued
asexual reproductioninduces
or causes the loss of seed production,at one time
quitecurrentin regardto seedlessfruitsin general,
has been shownto be erroneous.Seedlessnessusuallyfirstappearsin plantsas a resultofmutationin
the chromosomes(a lhereditary
change) or as a
consequenceof hybridization,
which is thereafter
perpetuatedby theasexual metlhod
ofpropagation.
It is not difficult
to call to mnind
examplesin horticultureof plants long propagatedasexually that
stillproduceseeds. In the cultivatedpineapplein
Hawaii, new mutations(reversemutations)have
beenfoundand perpetuated
byasexual propagation
which permit the developmentof seeds in the
375
November 1948
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Therefore,the records they made of pineapples
beingpresentin different
placesmaybe acceptedas
evidence of their establishmentthere beforethe
countrywas invadedby these semicivilizedEuropeans.
to the
The medicinaland otherqualitiesattributed
pineappleby the early travelersand colonistsindicate a long-timle
association with the fruitto
provideforthedevelopment
ofthesebeliefs-much
longer indeed than the short period of sketchy
Europeancontactwiththepineapple.These beliefs
regardingthe medicinalqualitiesof the pineapple
musthave been developedby the Indians through
7b1~pA
theirlongassociationwiththe fruitand passed on
to the newlyarrivedEuropeans, who then made
.;
4l
thesequalitiesa matterof record.
The area or place of origin of the pineapple,
whence it whs disseminatedto other tropical
Americanregions,is still a matterof some uncertainty,
but opinionof botanistsgenerallyfavors
a regionin South Americanear themiddlepartof
the Parana River and the drainageof the Iguassu
Brazil,ParaRiver,a regionincludingsoutheastern
0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~t
This
area also
guay,
andNorthern
Argentina.
t{grostav~~~~~~C,
seemedto be indicatedbythestudiesofthedistributionofwild speciesofpineappleby Bakerand Collinsin 1938 and 1939.
In thisregionlivedtheTupe-GuaraniIndiansin
pre-Columbiantimes (some still do so), a hardy,
warlikepeoplewhomigratednorthward
intelligent,
and westwarduntil some branchesof the tribes
crossed the Amazon and reachedthe seacoast of
northernSouth America.The Carib Indians who
Brazil continuedthe northoccupiednortheastern
ward expansionand had extendedintothe islands
of the CaribbeanSea before1492. These tribesare
believedto-have carriedthe pineapplealong with
themand introducedit to othertribesin thesenew
areas,and theyin turnpassed it on to theirneighboring tribes.Thus, by a dual process of tribal
migrationand bordertradingbetweentribes,the
pineapplewas spreadthroughout
tropicalAmerica.
formerlyseedless variety.Thus, the commercial
seedlessvarietyhas suddenlyrevertedwhileunder
cultivationto a seedy condition.The seedlessness
ofthepineapplecannotbe consideredas an indicationof itsage as a cultivatedplant.
The earlyexplorersof Americawere primarily
interested
in thesearchforgold,finding
a sea route
to the Indies, or carryingthe gospel to the native
peoples,whomtheylooked upon as heathens,and
probablyhad littleinterestin transporting
plants
fromone part of the newl countryto another.
C4 2L_2;A,6
vv~~tY4
} t~sJt;
,->
~~VI4~44OC4Ih1A/
9.}v
C
ttfne'
!u .z~
o(oAj
JE1 4.Sd
V"t
Vr tssaf
L.*
WA
n
.
J;-Y
-it
W
Ovied about^ 150 It aperdivi
bt
12. I
1
e
itoyo
h
is
h His
published in Seville in 1535. (Reproduced from the handwritten manuscript No. HM 117 by permission of the
Huntington Library, San Marino, Californiia.)
376
We are somewhatpuzzledas to theinterpretation
to be giventhreereferences
indicatingthepossible
presenceof the pineapplein the Old World many
centuriesbefore the time of Columbus. These
statements
cannotbe ignoredin thepresentdiscussion of pre-Columbianpineapplesand are accordinglyincluded,togetherwith the general opinion
regardingthemi.
Layard and Rawlinsonbothdescribesome stone
carvingson the walls of the ancientAssyriancity
ofNinevehin whichare showndifferent
articlesof
food servedat a banquet,includingone thatboth
THE SCIENTIFIC. MONTHLY
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JUA~
a pineapple.Rawlinwriterslistedas representing
HancH. LQnomafne
io
exact
so
is
son stated that "The representation
gdUn.--,,1940.
ummohoNana, B-Iafi1.-&
thatI can scarcelydoubtthe pineapplebeing injmngt
norumThBu-.
the
about
doubt
some
expressed
Layard
tended."
twm,
quod
to: Item pa,.
i,ur,od
Assyriansbeingacquaintedwiththe pineapplebut
184j. Nana f .
t,conmeau-~
argued that "the leaves sproutingfromthe top
&'um1iClu Y2-1
iai,lotiga31
yamaromn:rar.
provedthat it was not the cone of a pine tree or bimino.
a o
fir."
,rodu&as:D
qwturMLffeus
The thirdreferenceto the presenceof the pineind. Ilb.z. la
inatusPeoftheOld Worldis
applein theancientcivilizations
ex Orr.tflei.ncn
~~~~~~~~Brafilia
ni gencrefru.
UU19neb
thatof Wilkinsonin Manners & Customsof the
anuum pa'r.na
AncientEgyptians. He states that "Among the
ius
I
~~~~~~~~~tribuitur
numerousproductionsof India metwithin Egypt
quosvulgusA.
withthatcountry 'CTVM
whichtendtoprovean intercourse
~~~nanazes
appelmay be mentionedthe pineapple,models of which
lit, lanta ctf
are foundin thetombsofglazed pottery.One is in
hum"Es,cu.uso
gm quian;
-F
6 ,
thepossessionof Sir RichardWestmacott."Wilk- pfitOwcram|Ave.utup;nucaienr:a
rnea
nfcentem.
inson seems to believe that the pineapplewas a
deperder.t,p productof India, but thereis no evidencethat it imcdiocnS s
f
de!e&a
ai. .
faotemporeinfrufla
mollia,hzc
was grown in India or Asia duringthat period. enJs,fpinis
cd odorcac (aporenonrecenti
durtaxat
Ilm & pul- fimul
Marco Polo, who visitedIndia and Asia centuries m&EAwU-liofutnt,
ctiamin longumtempusadfervcrum
laterand who describedwithconsiderableaccuracy pedeslon- uanturcSaccharo.
no
manyof the productsofthosecountries,mnakes
calledYayama by Oviedo. One
Drawing ofthepineapple
mentionof thepineapple.
of the three varieties described by him in his history of
forsurvivalbyits the Indies. (From Bauhin, J. Historiae Plantaruni UniThe pineappleis so constituted
and theabilityof versalis, 1651.)
methodofreproduction
v-egetative
these vegetativeshoots to remainalive for long tures, stated that the completed species indigenous
periods of droughtor neglectthat it is very im- to America exhibited all the characteristicsindicafrom tive of great age that are shown by the economic
probableit couldhave disappearedcompletely
these countrieshad it existed there.Other food- plants formingthe basis of ancient civilizations in
supplyingplantsknownto thoseregionshave sur- the Old World. He concluded that "The sum of
vivedthe passingof ancientcivilizations.The fact biological evidence leads to the conclusion that the
thatthe pineapplewas not handed down through cultivation of economic annuals of the New World
along with must reach back as far into human history as the
successivegenerationsand civilizations,
melons, origins of agriculturein the Old World." The pinesuchplantsas wheat,dates,pomegranates,
evidencethatit had never apple shares these characteristicsof great antiquity
etc.,seemsto be sufficient
along with the economic annuals of the same counexistedthere.
plants
of
family
the
try.
to
belongs
-The pineapple
A long period of prehistorical development for
knownas Bromeliaceae,whichincludesnumerous
plants,all except the cultivated pineapple is indicated by its wide disand epiphytic
speciesofterrestrial
one being native to America.This one species is tribution,the presence of several distinctcultivated
varieties, its use as food, wine, and medicine at the
indigenousto the west Coast of Africa.
of economiic time when America was discovered, and the abAmes,in discussingtherelationship
atnnualplantsand the developmentof humancul- setice of a recognizable wild progenitor.
?Ab6
sut
ile
-
&&UAwaJ
LA&L&A
V&&.
-
/
377
November 1948
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