6. The Americas are responsible for the production of chocolate, which held a position of importance within these ancient civilizations
Chocolate is one of the most enduring popular features of modern Western culture, being considered “essential” rations for American soldiers during the Second World War and $22.4bn worth of sales occurred in the United States alone in 2017; cultivated for human consumption as early as the 2nd millennium BCE, we owe the delicious treat to the ancient Americas.
The earliest known domestication of the cacao plant, from which pods containing the cacao bean are harvested, stems from the ancient Olmec civilization, with the earliest archaeological evidence dated to approximately 1500 BCE; discovered via ancient pots with traces of theobromine, a stimulant found in chocolate, this finding strongly supports suggestions that the Olmec used chocolate as part of a ceremonial drink for the purpose of ritualistic or medicinal practices.
As with much of Olmec culture, the Maya subsequently adopted the consumption of chocolate; in fact, the Maya elevated the food to a status of particular symbolic significance. Used in official ceremonies, religious rituals, and at funerals and celebrations, surviving Maya writings detail the importance of the cacao bean to the ancient civilization, believed to have been the food of the rain deity “Kon”. Consumed as part of finalizing formal arrangements, notably economic transactions and marriages, the cacao bean also served a form of currency for the Maya; according to European explorers, a rabbit was valued at ten cacao beans, a slave one hundred, and the services of a prostitute roughly ten. It is important to note that, as a result of its intimate involvement in Maya life, chocolate was readily available and not restricted by social class, with the food believed to have been frequently consumed, combined with chili or honey, within typical households as part of a regular meal.
With the emergence of the dominant Aztec Empire by the 15th century, this practice was continued albeit in a somewhat altered fashion. Unable to grow cacao, the Aztecs demanded the valued bean as part of tribute from conquered regions and as such whilst retaining a high status, widely considered to be more valuable than gold, chocolate became a more exclusive food. Associated with the God Quetzalcoatl, the Aztecs consumed chocolate as an aphrodisiac and on special occasions; of particular note, the Aztec Emperor Montezuma II allegedly drank gallons of chocolate per day in the belief it provided him with godly energy and sexual potency.
