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Scientists examined ceramic artifacts at the Santa Ana-La
Florida archeological site, a remarkably preserved village and
ceremonial center that was part of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture of
the Andes, and found abundant evidence of the use of cacao, from
which chocolate is made.
The study indicates cacao was domesticated roughly 1,500 years
earlier than previously known, and that it occurred in South
America rather than in Central America, as previously thought.
A tropical evergreen tree called Theobroma cacao bears large,
oval pods containing the bean-like cacao seeds that today are
roasted and turned into cocoa and multitudes of chocolate
confections, although chocolate at the time was consumed as a
beverage.
The scientists found evidence of cacao's use at the site over a
period starting 5,300 years ago - more than 700 years before
building of the Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt - until
2,100 years ago.
They found cacao starch grains in ceramic vessels and pottery
shards. They also detected residue of a bitter compound found in
the cacao tree but not its wild relatives, evidence that the
tree was grown by people for food purposes, as well as DNA
fragments from the cacao tree.
"They clearly drank it as a beverage, as shown by its presence
in stirrup-spout pots and bowls," said University of British
Columbia anthropologist and archaeologist Michael Blake, who
helped lead the study published in the journal Nature Ecology &
Evolution.
"The presence of cacao starch grains likely means that they
ground the seeds to make the beverages, and so probably, though
we aren't certain, fermented the seeds as well, before grinding
them," Blake added.
Archeological evidence indicates cacao domestication moved into
Central America and Mexico about 4,000 years ago. Before
European conquerors arrived in the Americas five centuries ago,
great civilizations like the Aztecs and Maya prepared chocolate
as a drink, mixed with various spices or other ingredients.
"The freshly picked ripe cacao pods have a delicious sweet pulp
around them, and mixed together it all has a very mild chocolate
taste," Blake said. "The chocolate confections today contain a
great deal of sugar, and this is very different from the
indigenous uses of cacao reported in the historical records from
the 1500s and 1600s."
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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