Title idea (replace later):
Beverage Use — [Drink(s)] in [Place/Period]: [Hook/claim]
TL;DR
[One clean sentence: what drink(s), what evidence, why it matters.]
Snapshot
- Region / Culture: [e.g., Mesoamerica — Maya / Mexica]
- Period: [e.g., 600–900 CE (Classic)]
- Drink(s): [cacao / pulque / atole / pozol / balché]
- Evidence types: [residues, glyphs, iconography, ethnohistory, context]
- Context of use: [courtly ritual / feasts / markets / daily nourishment]
What the evidence shows
- Residues: [theobromine/caffeine; starch/lipids; fermentation markers]
- Texts & images: [glyphs like k’akaw, pouring/frothing scenes, deity links]
- Archaeology: [cup types, spouted jars, ladles, feasting middens, production areas]
- Caveats: [sample size, preservation, mixed contexts]
Production & preparation
- Ingredients: [maguey sap / cacao + chili / nixtamalized maize]
- Process: [tapping → fermenting; roasting → grinding → whisking; cooking → diluting]
- Vessels & tools: [cylinder cups, spouted jars, strainers, whisks]
- Flavor & texture: [spiced, foamed, thickened with maize, lightly fermented]
Social rules & settings
- Who drank: [elites/initiates/commoners; gender/age rules if known]
- When: [festivals, oaths, marriages, mourning, market days]
- Where: [palaces, plaza feasts, temples, households]
- Regulation & taboo: [sumptuary rules, penalties, ritual abstinence]
Why it matters
- Economy: [tribute, trade routes, cultivation/harvest cycles]
- Identity & ritual: [ancestor veneration, deity cults, political display]
- Health & labor: [calories, hydration, stimulants, sanitation]
Connections to the Tour
- Region page: [link to the region (e.g., /tour/mesoamerica/)]
- Related sections: [Customs & Beverages, Sites & Landscapes, Timeline entries]
- See also: [link to specific culture pages or artifacts]
Images
- Featured:
- Inline (1–3): [vessel / production scene / site context] with alt text.
Sources & further reading
- [Field/museum page — title, org] (URL)
- [Peer-reviewed study or preprint — title, journal/server] (URL)
- [Ethnohistoric source — title, book/codex] (URL if available)
Two quick micro-templates (drop in when needed)
Single drink (e.g., Pulque focus)
- Drink: Pulque (fermented maguey sap)
- Evidence: production installations; residues; ethnohistory (sumptuary rules)
- Use-cases: festival libations, oath-taking, healing contexts
- Key takeaway: [one-liner that ties economy + ritual]
Residue case study (e.g., Cacao cup)
- Object: Cylinder cup from [site], [context]
- Dating: [range]
- Residue: theobromine/caffeine (GC-MS)
- Implication: ritual cacao in [court/elite] setting
- Limitations: [n=1; contamination risk mitigated by …]
Turn this into a Synced pattern (so you insert it in 2 clicks)
- Create a new post → paste the template above (from TL;DR to Sources).
- Select everything you just pasted → Group (⋯ More → Group).
- With the Group selected → ⋯ More → Create pattern → Synced ON → name it Post Template — Beverage Use → Create.
- From now on, start any beverage post with **/**Post Template — Beverage Use (or via Patterns → Synced).
Category & tag checklist (for Beverage posts)
- Categories:
- ✅ One Region (e.g., Mesoamerica)
- ✅ Beverage Use (set this as Primary in Rank Math/Yoast)
- Tags (3–6): specific drinks & cultures, e.g.
cacao,pulque,atole,pozol,Maya,Mexica - Featured image: 16:9, ≤250 KB, descriptive alt (e.g., “Classic Maya cacao cup with k’akaw glyphs”)
- Excerpt: ~20 words (paste your TL;DR)
- SEO title formula: [Drink] in [Place/Period] — [Key finding] | Ancestral Spirits
- Meta description (≤155 chars): One crisp sentence from the TL;DR.
If you want, tell me the first specific beverage you’ll cover next (e.g., Pulque in the Basin of Mexico or Cacao at Copán), and I’ll fill this template end-to-end so you can publish it immediately.