How was chocolate discovered?
Chocolate has a long and rich history . The popular story usually begins with the meeting between the Aztecs and the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. Long story short, King Montezuma II and the Aztecs are conquered by the Spanish, cocoa beans cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach Spain, and eventually chocolate is made and becomes increasingly popular.
However, when you delve into the history books, the first discovery of chocolate is more nuanced and dates back much further, several thousand years in fact.
Let's start with the oldest traces of cocoa beans
Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are harvested from Theobroma cacao trees . These trees grow along or near the equator, where the climate is warm and humid. Naturally, therefore, most of the oldest records of cocoa are found in and around the tropical regions of Latin America, Africa, and Asia .
By studying cacao, botanists have determined that the Amazon rainforest, specifically the northwest corner of the Amazon in South America, is the origin of the Theobroma cacao tree. Over time, archaeological evidence shows that these wild trees were domesticated and cultivated in Central America and other regions. How do we know this?
According to scientists, Theobroma cacao trees found in the Amazon have the greatest genetic diversity at the cellular level. Studies show that genetic diversity has been lost as the trees have been cultivated and harvested further from the rainforest .
In other words, this landslide in genetic diversity occurred when wild cocoa trees were domesticated , selected for desirable genetic qualities, and bred for higher production.
With the epicenter located in the Amazon, it is highly likely that cocoa was discovered by a civilization living in or near the rainforest. Until 2018, archaeological discoveries had failed to support this theory.
For decades, the earliest evidence of an ancient civilization using cocoa beans has been found more than 1,500 km from the Amazon. Archaeologists have tested the pottery at a site in Central America, specifically at Puerto Escondido, in present-day Honduras .
Researchers examined bowls, jars, and bottles found in graves and burial sites. The containers tested positive for theobromine, a substance found in cocoa beans .
Thanks to modern technology, the genetic samples taken from these vessels were approximately 3,600 years old , meaning that this Puerto Escondido civilization was using cocoa as early as 1500 BC.
It was long believed that they were the first to do so, but in 2018, archaeologists discovered another ancient society in the highlands of present-day Ecuador . This site, called Santa Ana-La Florida, was home to the Mayo-Chinchipe people. Geographically, it is located near the upper Amazon where Theobroma cacao trees first grew.
The researchers collected 25 artifacts—stone mortars, ceramic bowls, bottles, and jars—and 21 of them tested positive for theobromine. Some of the containers even showed traces of starch grains and the presence of mitochondrial DNA, which can only come from cacao beans. These genetic samples of cacao, taken from the Santa Ana-La Florida site in Ecuador, were 5,300 years old.
This new discovery has disrupted the previous timeline, pushing the discovery and use of cocoa back to 3200 BC. However, there is no evidence to confirm whether or not these ancient civilizations used cocoa beans to make chocolate .
Chocolate was first made in Mesoamerica
To answer the question of how chocolate was discovered and made, we will have to travel north, from South America and the Amazon rainforest to Mesoamerica—a historical region linked by culture that stretched from present-day central Mexico to El Salvador and Honduras.
As we know today, Theobroma cacao trees originated in the Amazon. Based on evidence, such as breadcrumbs, cacao beans were likely traded via land and sea routes from South America to other regions . Theobroma cacao's genetic signatures show that the trees were domesticated and cultivated as they made their way north through Central America and as far north as Mexico.
In this region, which we will now call Mesoamerica, several ancient civilizations flourished between 1500 BC and 1500 AD, namely the Olmecs and the Maya . Archaeologists have discovered that genetic analysis of artifacts, artwork, and even linguistics support the theory that these civilizations consumed cocoa beans and were the first to discover the process of making chocolate during this period.
The Olmecs
The Olmecs are believed to have been the first to domesticate the Theobroma cacao tree , as well as the first to ferment the pulp of the cacao pods to make an alcoholic beverage.
The Olmecs were an ancient civilization that lived along the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico between 1600 and 350 BC, and they were a major civilization within the greater Mayan Empire. While studying their ancient artifacts, the Olmecs revered Theobroma cacao , and it played an important role in the civilization's mythology and religious beliefs. They called it kakawa , from which the word cacao comes.
As early as 1500 BC, the Olmecs practiced fermenting, roasting, and grinding cacao beans . In their culture, cacao was primarily used for religious and funerary purposes. Later, and likely influenced by the Maya, the Olmecs made a concoction from the fermented pulp of cacao pods and ground cacao beans, mixed with spices for ritual and medicinal use.
It is believed that the Olmecs passed on their knowledge and respect for cacao to the great Mayan Empire.
The Mayan Empire
Although the great Mayan Empire was introduced to cacao by the Olmecs, they perfected what they had learned, even creating a cacao god . Archaeological discoveries show that the Mayan people invented the hot chocolate drink that was widely consumed in Mesoamerica and built the first cacao plantations . Recent discoveries have confirmed that they were also the first to eat chocolate as a food .
The Maya Empire was composed of indigenous groups who lived in southern Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras between 1800 BC and 900 AD. At its height, the empire had a population of two million people living in three main regions: the Maya lowlands of the northern Yucatán Peninsula; the southern lowlands of Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras; and the Maya highlands of southern Guatemala.
Archaeologists have discovered that the Mayan Empire was the first to ferment, dry, roast, and grind cacao beans into a paste, and then this chocolate paste or liquor was mixed with a combination of water, corn flour, chili pepper, and other spices like vanilla, cinnamon, and even magnolia to make a frothy chocolate drink in 450 BC.
The Maya people harvested cacao beans, which they called cacahuatl . Although they lacked the ideal climate of the Amazon, they managed to set aside areas specifically to grow Theobroma cacao trees in Central America by 600 BC. This provided a supply of cacao beans to all of Mesoamerica. These plantations became the first cacao farms , and the act of harvesting cacao beans and consuming chocolate at Mayan festivals and other important ceremonies was immortalized in Mayan artifacts.
In 2001, archaeologists working with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History discovered fragments of a 2,500-year-old plaque—believed to have been used between 600 and 500 BC—in the northern Mayan lowlands. The plaque tested positive for theobromine and caffeine, which are found in cacao beans. This confirmed that the Maya not only drank chocolate as a beverage , but also made and ate it, possibly as a spice or sauce for food.
Chocolate arrives in Europe
With the decline of the Mayan people in Mesoamerica, a new empire took its place. The Aztecs were a nomadic tribe who migrated to central and southern Mexico around 1100 CE. The Mesoamerican customs of processing cacao beans and making chocolate drinks were passed on to the Aztecs. They named this drink xocolatl —xocolli meaning "bitter" and atl meaning "water," hence the word chocolate.
The Aztecs eventually ruled this region until they were conquered by Hernán Cortés and his armies in 1521 CE. Nearly 4,700 years after discovering cocoa beans in the Amazon rainforest, Hernán Cortés introduced cocoa beans and Mesoamerican chocolate recipes to Spain. It would be another few hundred years before Europeans made the first chocolate bar .
Although Mesoamerican chocolate was far removed from the chocolate we enjoy today, the process of cultivating cacao trees and fermenting, roasting, and grinding cacao beans into an edible chocolate experience was first discovered and practiced in Mesoamerica.
Have you ever tried the cocoa in Thai chocolate?
