An Aztec-inspired chili

#letslunch January challenge — chili.
My take — Aztec.
Go here for more great chili recipes!

Cowboys on the trail are often credited with the invention of chili, but given that chile peppers were being traded throughout the Americas thousands of years ago, I have to wonder if it doesn't predate the wild west by quite a wide margin.

Smithsonian researchers have found the starch grains characteristic of chiles at seven sites ranging from the Bahamas to southern Peru dating as far back as 6000 years. One cave had as many as 7 different kinds of chiles!

Chile peppers are almost always found in the company of corn, according to the researchers, and I have read where some native Americans claim the first chili had no beans, only corn. In Panama, chiles were found with both corn and yams, which to me sounds quite delicious!

Other common foods those ancient chefs worked with ....