The Tree:
"Theobroma Cacao"
from the Greek (theos) Broma (beverage)
Re-named after the New World name of "Cacao" or "Chocolate" Tree, by the Swedish botanist Linnaeus: inventor of the binomial system of classification for all living things. He believed it deserved a name reflecting the Mayan belief that the tree belonged to the Gods.
The Olmec:
One of the earliest Meso-American civilizations was known as the Olmec. Three thousand years ago the Olmec people occupied and area of tropical forests south of modern day Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico.
In recent times the vocabulary of the Olmecs was analyzed by linguistic experts and the word 'cacao' was surprisingly discovered as part of the language! It takes hot, humid and shady conditions for the cacao tree to strive & this was the exact climate of this particular region. So leading many Historians to believe that the first civilization to actually cultivate the cacao tree,"theobroma cacao", was infact the Olmecs and NOT the Aztecs, as had always been believed.
The Maya:
Several centuries after the demise of the Olmecs, around the fourth century AD, the Maya had established themselves Central America - in a large region just south of present day Mexico. Stretching from Yucatan peninsula across to the Chiapas and the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. A perfect climate for the cacao tree to flourish in the humidity and tropical forest shade. Fascinated & awestruck by the cacao trees, the Mayans named it "cacahuaquchtl" which simply means: tree. They found spiritual insight in the trees and believed the trees belonged to the Gods and that the pods growing from it's trunk were an offering from God to man.
It was a time of great artistic, intellectual and spiritual developement during the period around AD 300 - known as the 'classic Mayan Civilization'. Drawing and designs of cacao pods were carved into the walls of magnificent stone palaces & temples built by the Mayans at this time, the images depicting the symbol of life and fertility for them. The Mayans were gifted astronomers & mathematicians and had devised extremely accurate "calendars" as well as a system of hieroglyphics to keep records written on fragile sheets of bark paper. They are known as 'people of the book'. Today only four of these mind-boggling wonders of History have survived from the post-classic period of ages ago! The "books" depict drawings of their 'God' performing various religious rituals in which cacao pods are frequently pictured with text often referring to cacao as the Gods' food.
* The End - Part One *
**Disclaimer: I write all my posts, they are not copied and/or pasted :)
