{"id":58030,"date":"2013-08-05T23:21:24","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T05:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/chacoans-traded-for-chocolate\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T16:06:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:06:32","slug":"chacoans-traded-for-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/chacoans-traded-for-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"Chacoans traded for chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Ancestral
Ancestral Puebloans enjoyed chocolate drinks 1,000 years ago, according to new research this summer by the University of New Mexico. Professor Patricia Crown discussed the study as part of the Four Corners Lecture Series.<\/span>Journal Photo\/Jim Mimiaga<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

One thousand years ago, the ancient people of Chaco Canyon may have had a version of the frothy chocolate mocha we enjoy today, but in a very limited supply and without the cream, according to new research from the University of New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Cacao, the main ingredient of chocolate, arrived in the Southwest in limited quantities from far away Mesoamerican cultures, said UNM anthropology professor Patricia L. Crown, during a presentation at Mesa Verde National Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nearest cacao tree was in Nayarit, Mexico, 1,200 miles away,\u201d Crown said. \u201cThe Chacoan\u2019s either walked to get it, Mesoamericans walked here to sell it, or it was exchanged up the trade route.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evidence of cacao residues show up in pottery at Chaco Canyon, and a petroglyph at the New Mexico ruin site resembles a cacao tree, she said. It appears cacao seeds were ground up, probably roasted, and consumed in a beverage.<\/p>\n

Mayan frescoes show chocolate drinks being poured into vessels from high up, creating the bubbly froth, and that technique may have been shared here.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe the Chacoans used the pour method,\u201d Crown said.<\/p>\n

She explained that this summer, her team collected and analyzed what is likely cacao residue inside containers grouped together in a room discovered and recorded by earlier archeologists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way the vessels were arranged, in groups of four, suggests they were used to pour back and forth,\u201d Crown said. \u201cHistorically, creating froth on top of chocolate drinks is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crown and her team\u2019s research on cacao use at Chaco and other sites is being funded by the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n

At Chaco\u2019s famous Pueblo Bonito, 200 vessels were analyzed and are thought to have evidence of cacao. Of those jars, 111 were found as they were originally left by the Chacoan people in a sealed off chamber called Room 128.<\/p>\n

The ancient mocha mug of choice was Show Low redware vessels, traded from Arizona.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cache suggests that the cacao drink was ritually charged and had community use,\u201d Crown said.<\/p>\n

Also, a bowl unearthed at Galaz Ruin, in southwest New Mexico, has an image similar to a cacao tree.<\/p>\n

Imagining how Mayan traders worked their way so far north with chocolate is intriguing. Explorer Christopher Columbus reported local residents of the so-called \u201cNew World\u201d traveling in canoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it is possible the Mayans covered part of the distance of northern trading routes by canoe,\u201d Crown surmised.<\/p>\n

Research is also being conducted on pottery at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center near Cortez to determine if cacao was consumed, but so far the evidence is inconclusive. The holly plant, with its caffeine content, could create false positives for cacao.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe working it out this summer. There have been positive hints,\u201d Crown said.<\/p>\n

Chocolate is considered a super food today because of its flavonoids, which lower blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health, suppress coughs and increase blood flow to the brain.<\/p>\n

Ancient cultures understood the benefits as well, although their preferred concoctions were different. The Maya preferred it hot, the Aztec cold. It is not known what the recipe was for Chacoan \u201cmochas,\u201d but the Aztecs mixed the drink with corn, honey, chiles and flower additives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Southwest, it was probably in limited supply and therefore more of a luxury food,\u201d Crown said.<\/p>\n

The study proves the universal appeal of chocolate, which has been consumed since 1900 BC. Perhaps the recent connection to the ancient Southwest could spur a new drink: the Chacoan Cacao Mocha.<\/p>\n

jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers ponder how cacao from Mexico could have reached the Southwest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[855,198,173],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-58030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-archaeology","tag-history","tag-mesa-verde-national-park"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58030"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62920,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58030\/revisions\/62920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58030"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=58030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}