It was used to treat medical ailments like an upset stomach or kidney issues. Cacao pods are found in many burial sites throughout Central and South America. The obsession with cacao is clear through archaeological evidence but recent findings trace the consumption of cacao back even farther to the Amazon rainforest. Ceramic containers found in the Mayo-Chinchipe region of Ecuador show that cacao was being used by the indigenous some 5,500 years ago.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Things got even more interesting when plant geneticists began studying the archaeological sites of the Amazon rainforest. In the wild, plants produce many compounds but most of the compounds evolved to keep creatures from consuming the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some plants can create bitter compounds or poison to prevent consumption and others create physical defences such as thorns. Some plants, on the other hand, create compounds that attract specific creatures usually with the hope of pollinating or spreading their seed. Consider nectar to attract pollinators or a sweet strawberry to entice an animal to eat it and spread its seeds once digested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When people decide to domesticate a plant, we want it to produce tons of huge sweet delectable fruit without all the nasty defences. If that plant does what we want it to, we plant it again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s use cacao as an example. The original wild cacao plant was likely focused on simply surviving and spreading its seed. If you took a bite out of the small seeds, you may have detected some sweetness but there was likely bitterness and astringency as with most wild plants. Overtime, however, someone likely stumbled across a cacao pod full of sweeter seeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps a cacao tree nearby had large fruit. Perhaps another tree was loaded with cacao pods. A plant breeder would experiment and cross these trees over generations until one of the resulting trees produced many huge sweet cacao pods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine you\u2019re walking through a remote area of the Amazon rainforest, and you\u2019re struck by the pristine environment and the lack of human interference. What plant geneticists are noticing, is that regions close to archaeological sites are chock-full of domesticated plant species including cacao and more than 85 other tree species.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Much of the vegetation in the Amazon basin has been influenced by the genetics of these domesticated plants. Their genetics are hyper dominant and geneticists are now realising that more of the forest is structured for human use than you may imagine.4<\/a><\/sup> The breeding work of the Mayans and Aztecs can still be seen today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cacao beans were traded all throughout the Pacific coast of South America to Central America and it even made its way to North America in what is present-day New Mexico and Utah.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n When archaeologists tested shards of pottery from Puebloan sites, they found chemical traces of cacao on specific vessels. Pottery shaped like tall pint glasses covered in elaborate designs were used specifically for drinking cacao and these were found 1200 miles (ca. 1,931 km) north of the growing region for cacao.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was clearly a valuable currency in this vast trading network. Cacao is a shining example of successful plant breeding during the pre-colonial Amazon region and it was cultivated for thousands of years before anyone from the Old World got a chance to try it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Spanish conquistadors explored Mexico in 1521, they noticed the Aztecs’ obsession with cacao. The Aztecs would remove the beans from the pods, ferment them, dry them, and then grind them. They would mix the resulting paste with water and doctor it up with chile peppers or other ingredients such as vanilla or honey to make a frothy beverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Spanish chronicler for Cortes noted that in the royal warehouses of the Aztec king, Moctezuma II, there were hordes of gold, precious gems, and cacao.6<\/a><\/sup> After the notorious episode of guns, germs, and colonization, Cortes brought many treasures back to Spain including cacao. Merchants like Francisco Carletti began importing cacao regularly in 1606 and it spread like wildfire throughout much of Europe.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cacao fit right in with other luxury imported goods and was reserved for the upper class and royalty. Although Europeans didn\u2019t believe in a divine connection through cacao, it was still revered for centuries as a delicacy and medicine for an array of ailments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scholars would drink chocolate for a leg up in brainwork. Thomas Gage, the famous British officer would drink two cups in the morning, two cups in the afternoon, and he stated<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/bartalks.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cacao-5394185_1920-2.jpg\")
<\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n