Many people consider chocolate sacred. Right now, stores are full of the decadent treat in every size and shape. Still, the way we worship chocolate today is a little different than the way the ancient Mayas did. They literally worshiped cacao, the plant chocolate comes from. So much so that cacao trees were only grown in sacred groves.
Now, for the first time, researchers have finally found the location of these ancient sacred groves by looking for two biomarkers unique to cacao.
Cacao trees need humidity, calm and shade to grow, which makes the drier climate of the Yucatan Peninsula typically inhospitable to the plant. However, researchers at Brigham Young University realized the vast array of sinkholes common to the peninsula have just the right “microclimates” for growing cacao trees.
As detailed in the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, researchers Richard Terry, Bryce Brown, Christopher Balzotti and team collected soil samples from 11 sinkholes on the peninsula. To analyze the sinkhole soil for cacao biomarkers—specifically theobromine and caffeine—the researchers had to develop a new method of soil extraction.
First, they dried the soil samples and passed them through a sieve, covered them with hot water, and had them centrifuged and passed through extraction disks. They then used mass spectrometry to look for biomarkers, comparing the results of the soil samples to seven control samples in order to increase the sensitivity of their testing. Ultimately, they detected theobromine and caffeine in soil of 9 of the 11 sinkholes.
“We looked for theobromine for several years and found cacao in some places we didn’t expect,” said professor emeritus Richard Terry, who recently retired from BYU.
Another finding the team didn’t expect? Staircases inside the sinkholes.
In addition to the biomarkers, the interdisciplinary team also found evidence of ancient ceremonial rituals, including staircase ramps for processions, stone carvings, altars and offerings like jade and ceramic cacao pods in several sinkholes.
According to the study, in one sinkhole near Coba, Mexico, the team found the arm and bracelet of a figurine attached to an incense jar and several ceramic modeled cacao pods. They also found remnant cacao trees growing there, making it plausible for the sinkhole to be the location of a sacred cacao grove during the Late Postclassic period—circa 1000 to 1400 AD.
Ultimately, the researchers say the findings of the study indicate cacao groves played an important role in everyday life of the ancient Maya, with leaders using cacao beans as currency and even developing a 70-mile trade route based on the location of hundreds of sinkholes.
“Now we have these links between religious structures and the religious crops grown in these sinkholes,” Terry said. “Knowing that the cacao beans were used as currency, it means the sinkholes were a place where the money could be grown and controlled. This new understanding creates a rich historical narrative of a highly charged Maya landscape with economic, political and spiritual value.”
Photo: Researcher Chris Balzotti climbs an ancient staircase discovered in a sinkhole near Coba, Mexico. Credit: Richard Terry