“To be a Maya, you had to have cacao,” says Anabel Ford, director of the Mesoamerican Research Center at University of California, Santa Barbara. In a study published in the journal ...

In ancient Maya civilization, cacao wasn’t just for the elites. Traces of the sacred plant show up in ceramics from all types of neighborhoods and dwellings in and around a former Maya city ...

It was the money that grew on trees. Said to be a gift from the gods, cacao for the ancient Maya was considered sacred, used not only as currency, but in special ceremonies and religious rituals.

The Maya usually consumed their cacao as a hot drink, a steamy broth served in a clay cup. One of the earliest depictions of it used in exchange dates to the mid-7th century. In a painted mural ...

For as much as modern society worships chocolate, cacao — the plant chocolate comes from — was believed to be even more divine to ancient Mayas. The Maya considered cacao beans to be a gift from the ...

For as much as modern society worships chocolate, cacao -- the plant chocolate comes from -- was believed to be even more divine to ancient Mayas. The Maya considered cacao beans to be a gift from ...

Reserachers descend into a Yucatan sinkhole to examine sacred Maya cacao groves. Brigham Young University Researchers at Brigham Young University (BYU) have discovered the locations of cacao ...

A Maya Love for ChocolateThese paintings from the ancient Maya city of Calakmul depict the preparation and drinking of cacao. When did humans first start cultivating chocolate? It's not just a ...

Archaeological evidence suggests that cacao has been cultivated in Mesoamerica for at least 5,000 years. It was served at betrothals and other celebrations and was a favorite drink of Maya and ...

Mayan Cacao Company offers a handful of tours that last 50 minutes to two hours and introduce visitors to various aspects of chocolate making. Travelers can learn all about the processes involved ...