User:Mgchristie/cacao as money

=The History of Cacao in Mesoamerica= A Maya archaeological site at Colha in northern Belize has unearthed spouted ceramic vessels that contain residue from cacao used by the Preclassic Maya as early as 600 BC. The spouted vessels are sometimes known as “chocolate pots” by Mayanists. Apparently, the Maya preferred their cacao thick and foamy. To achieve this distinction, they poured the chocolate drink from one vessel to another. They then mixed in fatty cacao butter, which produced the desired rich, dark, chocolate foam. The foam was the most coveted part of the drink. Chocolate beverages were consumed in large quantities by the Maya elite. It had a symbolic parallel to blood; when cacao is mixed together with annatto, it assumes a reddish tint. A Maya lord named Hunahpu, who was one of the Maya Hero Twins in the Popol Vuh epic about creation, was a historical Quiche ruler who was credited with the method of processing cacao. The four basic steps in processing cacao beans into chocolate are fermentation, drying, roasting and sieving. This process dates back to at least 3,000 years. Cacao orchards were only successful in fertile valleys with deep soil, located in the region of Central Peten. This region was occupied by the Chol, and one town possessed 8,000 cacao trees which had been producing cacao since Prehistoric times.

Cacao as Money
Cacao was used as money in Mesoamerica. It was also used as the basis for many beverages and sauces, and as a valuable source for trade and tribute. The Chol and Lacandon people bartered cacao and annatto in exchange for metal tools and salt. Cacao beans were counted in units of 400, 8,000, etc. for trading purposes.

A Maya example of cacao as money
The Itzá, who lived in the Lake District of Peten (Guatemala), staged a valiant effort to escape Spanish encroachment into their territory. The Itzá re-established the old barter system that had existed in the central area of Peten. The main items used for bartering were cacao, annatto, vanilla, precious feathers, slaves, victims for sacrifice as well as salt and cotton. Because Salinas de los Nueve Cerros was the only site for salt in Peten, the Itzá engaged and defeated its residents in battle. The Itzá became the only peoples to have access to salt, cacao and annatto in the entire area south of Peten, the southeast area of Yucatan and Belize, and as far as the Gulf of Honduras. Because the Itzá had a monopoly on cacao, they were able to buy or trade (using cacao as money) for materials not available to them in Mesoamerica. This complex production and exchange system came to an end in 1697, when Spanish armies finally defeated the Itzá.

Locations where cacao was cultivated
Soconusco, a region of the Pacific coast on either side of the border between Mexico and Guatemala,region was a prime agricultural area in which cacao was grown during the Preclassic era of Mesoamerica. Cacao seeds were imported from there to the Mexican highlands and Olmec regions by the elites. The production of cacao in this region brought economic prosperity to Soconusco. Chocolá, Guatemala, was a main production area for cacao. Artifacts from Balberta show pottery recovered there that was decorated with cacao bean effigies. Izapa has been identified as an important region of Soconusco because of its recognition of cacao’s production and trade value.