Lime Dipper (Palillo)

Accession Number1986.008.0061

VesselNuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)

Datecirca 1600

DescriptionA 5-centimeter silver stick from the 1622 galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha is a lime dipper, or palillo. Andean peoples have long utilized leaves from coca plants as a stimulant. By putting a wad of dried coca leaves in the cheek and then sucking them, fatigue-reducing alkaloids in the leaves are released and consumed. This “chewing” of coca leaves is supplemented with lime (pulverized shells), which aids the release of the alkaloids. Lime is carried by coca users in specialized vial-like containers called poporos. The lime powder is extracted from the poporo and carried to the mouth via a dipping stick called a palillo. A bird that tops this Atocha palillo is likely a South American curassow (paujil). Curiously, it has one eye open and the other closed. Two loops served an unknown function. The stick shows some corrosion and might have once been longer. No corresponding poporo has been found.