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Period: 1800 BCE to 900
The Maya Civilization
Cacao was integral to the fabric of Mayan society. Reserved for the elite, it was used as currency and most commonly prepared as a drink, made by mixing the roasted, ground cacao beans with water and flavouring it with herbs and spices. Afterwards the drink would be made frothy by pouring it from one cup to another. Mayan spirituality was so intertwined with cacao: their myth of creation involved cacao and sacred rituals and sacrifices were performed with blood and cacao to please the gods. -
Period: 1500 BCE to
Cacao
The cultural expression I will be exploring is the sacred bean know as cacao. Cacao was related to culture in many ways, ever since its discovery in 1500 B.C. by the Olmecs, and continued to be revered by the civilizations of Izapan, Toltecs and Aztecs. In these times, cacao was mostly consumed in the from of a frothy drink for the elite, as it was a auspicious elixir for energy, health, power and spirituality. Cacao was understood as food of the Gods, considered just as sacred as blood. -
Period: 1500 BCE to 400 BCE
The Olmec Civilization
The Olmecs of Mesoamerica are considered to be the first to have discovered cacao in 1500 BCE. The Olmecs became prosperous through domesticating cacao in the prime growing areas of Chiapas, Guatemala, and the Yucatan. The farming of cacao trees helped them build a vast empire, straying away from hunting and gathering and leaning towards comfortable lifestyles through food production processes. With the pulp of the cacao fruit, they created an alcoholic beverage. -
Period: 1350 to 1520
The Aztec Civilization
The Aztec had similar uses of cacao to the Maya. Only for the nobility, merchants and warriors, it was a bad omen if a "commoner" consumed it. It was also used as currency: one tomato was worth one cacao bean, while an avocado was worth three cacao beans. Used in offerings for the gods and sacrifices, cacao was a metaphor for the heart being torn out of the body during sacrifice: the seeds inside the pod were like blood spilling out of the body. -
1502
First European Encounter with Cacao
On his fourth trip to the Americas, Christopher Columbus stopped a Maya trading canoe carrying many contents such as weapons, clothes and strange beans. Columbus thought the beans worthless, but I was noted that when the beans fell to the floor, the natives would scramble to pick it up, as if an eye had fallen out of their head. -
1519
Spanish Invaders Drink Cacao
The Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, came to central America in search of exotic treasures like gold, and in addition, found enormous stores of cacao beans. When the Spanish started conquering and integrating themselves into the native society, they adopted the traditional uses of cacao, using the beans for everyday purchases. They reinvented the traditional cacao drink to be much more to their liking by adding sweetener, and termed the drink "chocolate", as it was easier to pronounce. -
1544
Cacao Sails to Spain
The Spanish took a group of noble natives of Guatemala to meet the prince of Spain. The brought valuables from their culture, such a the cacao drink. Spanish nobility and Catholic priests took quickly to the cacao drink, they tried to hide the secret of cacao from the rest of Europe. Catholic monks found the cacao to be an energizing drink during fasts. Spain created the first chocolate factories, where cacao beans were ground and roasted. -
Secret of Cacao Spreads to All of Europe
As Spain's world power diminished, the secret of cacao leaked out to Italy, France, Germany and England. It is promoted all over Europe as a healing tonic. Chocolate was recommended for reducing fevers and easing stomach discomforts, in addition to another 100 prescribed medicinal uses. Gradually, chocolate was given a new flair as a luxury drink, with a much craved energizing effect. Many flavours were added to the traditional drink, and a lot more sugar. -
Chocolate Hits North America
Quakers gained a monopoly over the chocolate business in England. Due to their religious beliefs, they were excluded from typical business affairs, leading them to food-related business. When Quakers and other colonists came to North America, they brought the knowledge of chocolate with them. Chocolate remained a luxurious drink. However, when the industrial revolution hit, chocolate was put into the hands of the masses. -
Chocolate Becomes Candy
In Holland, chemist, Coenraad Johannes Van Houten created a process to remove the cocoa butter from the cacao paste to create cocoa powder, a cheap, efficient and stable alternative to cacao paste. Cocoa powder resulted in a smoother and less bitter drink. Soon after it was discovered that cocoa powder could be mixed with cocoa butter and sugar to be made into a paste which poured easily into moulds and held its shape once cooled. Chocolate was no cheap enough for the common person. -
The Present
It seems chocolate has lost all of its spirituality and medicinal properties and is only increasing the morbidly high obesity rates in North America. Nonetheless, cacao is making a come back. Cacao ceremonies with shamans from south american traditions are reminding North America of cacao's healing power.
