Work

Chemical and archaeological evidence for the earliest cacao beverages

Year: 2007

Type: article

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.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0708815104

Authors: John S. Henderson, Rosemary A. Joyce, Gretchen R. Hall, W. Jeffrey Hurst, Patrick E. McGovern

Institutions: Cornell University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Hershey (United States)

Language: English

Topic: Archaeology and ancient environmental studies

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2170420474

FWCI: 27.93

Cites: 20

Cited by: 197

Related to: 10