SAN FRANCISCO - Chili peppers have been spicing up meals in the Americas for more than 6,100 years, making them one of the region's oldest domesticated food sources, according to a study published in the journal Science.
An international team of researchers traced the long history of the chili pepper by analyzing starch microfossils recovered from grinding stones, sediments and charred ceramic cookware from seven archeological sites ranging from the Bahamas to Peru.