How Can Etymologists Trace The Origin Of The Word Chocolate

Etymologists can trace the origin of the word "chocolate" back to the ancient Aztec word "xocoatl". This word referred to a bitter drink which was brewed from raw cacao beans harvested in the area. The Latin name given to the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods" and it certainly was treated as such.

1400 BC

The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica which is what the area of Mexico and Central America at the time was referred to as. In 2007, anthropologists announced the discovery of cacao residue on pottery excavated in Honduras that could date back from 1400 BCE (before common era) or even 1700 BCE. The sweet pulp of the cacao fruit was apparently fermented into an alcoholic beverage of the time. Not really chocolate

In the publication Antiquity Vol 81 Issue 314 December 2007 we find reference to the possibility of 'cacao' being used or at least stored. It states: "The Mokaya archaeological site of Paso de la Amada on the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, Mexico, and the Olmec archaeological site of El Manatí on the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico, have each yielded one ceramic vessel that contain residues from the preparation of cacao beverages during the Early Formative (1900-900 BC) period. That analysis looks specifically for markers which could be present if something was simply stored in a vessel and of course it could have been part of the funerary rites that this wonderful fruit was left as an offering." Their analysis, they assert, showed that chocolate (Theobroma cacao) was consumed by the Mokaya (the local population) as early as 1900 BC (though this cound be disputed based on the method of dating used) and by pre-Olmec peoples as early as 1750 BC *if* we accept the results of the tiny sample analysis), pushing back the chemical evidence of cacao use by some 700 years *if