Thinking and Drinking Chocolate: Origins, Distribution, and Significance of Cacao in Mesoamerica

Theobroma cacao has been known to have a very complex chemical composition which combines antioxidants, neuroactives, and stimulants. Further, specific environmental conditions are fundamental for the successful growth of the cacao tree, hence the cacao tree has only been encountered in parts of South and Central America and in the Northern part of Southern Mesoamerica. Due to the complexity of cacao, a controversy remains among scholars and specialists regarding the timing and the routes by which the cacao tree reached Mesoamerica. This paper explores the cultural and symbolic importance of Theobroma cacao across Mesoamerica in Pre-Columbian times by examining the origins of the consumption of chocolate by early Mesoamerican societies using the archaeological evidence of cacao residues found in ceramic vessels at the sites Paso de la Amada (Chiapas), El Manati (Veracruz), Rio Azul (Guatemala), Colha (Belize), and the Rio Ulua Valley (Honduras). In addition, this paper integrates the diverse distribution hypotheses on the T. cacao tree made by previous scholars and presents a possible distribution route of cacao by natural and anthropogenic forces.