“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 ...

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 ...

The Maya, Toltec, and Aztec people started cultivating the fruit of the cacao tree more than 3,000 years ago. Considered the “food of the gods,” the chocolate-making tradition originated in ...

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 ...

The Mopan, one of 28 Maya Indigenous subethnic groups between ... explore the farms where food is grown and harvested, including cacao, pumpkin, okra, tomatoes, and more. In this experience ...

In Mayan culture, cacao is seen as a gift from the gods, and more specifically, the creator god Quetzalcoatl. Cacao was consumed during religious ceremonies, marriage festivities and important ...