Chemical and archaeological evidence for the earliest cacao beverages

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Nov 27;104(48):18937-40. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0708815104. Epub 2007 Nov 16.

Abstract

Chemical analyses of residues extracted from pottery vessels from Puerto Escondido in what is now Honduras show that cacao beverages were being made there before 1000 B.C., extending the confirmed use of cacao back at least 500 years. The famous chocolate beverage served on special occasions in later times in Mesoamerica, especially by elites, was made from cacao seeds. The earliest cacao beverages consumed at Puerto Escondido were likely produced by fermenting the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Alcoholic Beverages / history
  • Archaeology
  • Beverages / history*
  • Cacao / chemistry
  • Cacao / history*
  • Caffeine / analysis
  • Ceramics / history
  • Equipment Design
  • Fermentation
  • Food Packaging / history
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • History, Ancient
  • Honduras
  • Humans
  • Indians, Central American / history
  • Theobromine / analysis

Substances

  • Caffeine
  • Theobromine