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All About Chocolate: History of Chocolate







Chocolate: A Mesoamerican Luxury | 250-900 C.E. [A.D.]

An Ancient MAYA Crop

Many anthropologists consider the ancient Maya to be the first people to have made chocolate. The first evidence of chocolae in glyphs and actual remains in ancient vessels come from the height of Mayan civilization, the Classic Period (250-900 C.E. [A.D.]).

The Maya shared a common culture and traded with each other over long distances. Their territory covered the countries that we know today as southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and part of El Salvador.


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As part of an extensive trade network, the Maya supplied cacao to people who lived in cooler, drier areas and couldn’t grow the plant themselves.


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