United Fruit Company

Two people sit in front of large stone sphere eating bananas.

The Fruits of Extraction:  
United Fruit Company, Archaeology, and Harvard’s Peabody Museum 

One of the major suppliers of bananas in America is the United Fruit Company (currently known as Chiquita Brands International). Established in 1899 and based in Boston, the United Fruit Company grew to own nearly 3.5 million acres of land in Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and Costa Rica, which included numerous archaeological sites that were excavated with funds provided by the United Fruit Company. 

In Spring 2024, anthropology concentrators Abigail Cusick (Harvard ’24) and Sarah Faber (Harvard ’24) worked with Diana Loren and Jennifer Carballo from the Peabody Museum and Department of Anthropology to explore the complex relationship between the United Fruit Company, Harvard’s Peabody Museum and Department of Anthropology. The group examined cultural items, archives, and photographs at the Peabody to find links between the United Fruit Company and Harvard’s collecting practices in Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.  

The collaboration of the United Fruit Company, the Peabody and Harvard was responsible for the extraction of cultural heritage and Indigenous labor in the name of bananas and archaeology. The appropriation of land, commodification of plants, and funding of archaeological research by the United Fruit Company directly contributed to the commodification of Indigenous cultures by academic institutions in its network, including Harvard University and the Peabody Museum. It is clear these practices harmed Indigenous communities and extracted cultural heritage from countries of origin.  

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