BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The variety of preserved peppers found 1,500 years after being stored away in two southern Mexico caves reveals the people of that time ate interesting food, according to the lead author of a study.

The desiccated chilies belong to Capsicum annum, which includes modern-day ancho and jalapenos, and Capsicum frutescens, whose most famous member is the Tabasco pepper. Two of the peppers look similar to today's Tabasco and cayenne varieties.

"This shows there was very complex agriculture and really interesting food, because you don't grow seven different kinds of peppers if you're not making some really interesting food," said lead author Linda Perry of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The plant remains, described online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were discovered in Guila Naquiz and Silvia's Cave, two dry rock shelters in the Valley of Oaxaca in southern Mexico.

Perry and archaeologist Kent Flannery of the University of Michigan analyzed the remains to find not only a variety of pepper types but also clues suggesting the people used both fresh and dried peppers to whip up an array of spicy foods.

"They would have used fresh peppers in salsas or in immediate preparation," Perry explained, "and they would have used the dried peppers to toss into stews or to grind up into sauces like moles."

The aridity of the caves is what kept the spicy foods from decay. From around 500 to 1,500 A.D., the scientists suggest, the caves served as temporary camps and food-storage areas for the farmers from the nearby ancient city of Mitla.

(Agencies)