Theobromine, the key component of cocoa that gives us that little boost when we eat our favorite chocolate, also stays around a while. A long while, to be exact. So when ancient peoples didn’t wash their dishes well, some traces of theobromine stayed behind and, thousands of years later, we can detect those traces and link them to specific dates. Well, at least specific date ranges.
Last July, I wrote about the oldest trace of cocoa found in Soconusco, now Chiapas, Mexico. That find was important because it dated cocoa consumption to some time in 1900 BCE. But the location as such was no surprise because Soconusco was a know cultivation area of cocoa throughout the times of the Olmec, Maya and Aztecs.
Continue reading “Ancient Cocoa Traces Found at Chaco Canyon, NM”
