Cacao is the seed of Theobroma cacao, a small evergreen tree native to the Amazon rainforest. Genomic research shows the species' greatest diversity in the upper Amazon region of northwest South America, and cacao use about 5,300 years ago has been found at the Santa Ana-La Florida site in southeast Ecuador, where the Mayo-Chinchipe culture first domesticated it before it was introduced to Mesoamerica. Mesoamerican peoples later prepared cacao drinks from the Early Formative period, including at an Olmec site on the Gulf Coast of Veracruz dated to as early as 1750 BC, and a 2018 genome study found that the Criollo population underwent strong domestication about 3,600 years ago. Cacao beans were a ritual beverage and a major currency in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, and the Spanish first met the drink in 1519 at the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
Facts
Partially Attested
Earliest Documented Use, From (Year)About 5,300 years ago, the date of the cacao starch grains, theobromine residues and ancient DNA at Santa Ana-La Florida in southeast Ecuador reported in 2018; stored as the round year 3300 BCE, so the year is approximate. Origin RegionUpper Amazon basin, northwest South America (southeast Ecuador) 1 Connections
Associated With
Chocolate, Drinks Cacao is the base ingredient of the Mesoamerican chocolate drink.
Source Theobroma Cacao (Wikipedia)
Expresses Tradition
Cacao seeds are fermented and dried before processing into chocolate.
Source Theobroma Cacao (Wikipedia)
Used By
Cacao is a Mesoamerican staple carried into Mexican cuisine, most visibly in mole sauces.
Source Theobroma Cacao (Wikipedia)
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Same As
Also in Nature Atlas: the same subject.
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Theobroma Cacao (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. The use and domestication of Theobroma cacao during the mid-Holocene in the upper Amazon (Nature Ecology & Evolution)
Sonia Zarrillo, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2018Zarrillo and colleagues 2018, Abstract, traditional view
Traditionally, cacao is thought to have been first domesticated in Mesoamerica.
Zarrillo and colleagues 2018, Abstract, genomic centre of origin
However, genomic research shows that T. cacao’s greatest diversity is in the upper Amazon region of northwest South America, pointing to this region as its centre of origin.
Zarrillo and colleagues 2018, Abstract, earliest evidence of use
To our knowledge, these findings constitute the earliest evidence of T. cacao use in the Americas and the first unequivocal archaeological example of its pre-Columbian use in South America.
Zarrillo and colleagues 2018, Abstract, upper Amazon as oldest centre
They also reveal the upper Amazon region as the oldest centre of cacao domestication yet identified.
Zarrillo and colleagues 2018, Abstract, three lines of evidence
Here, we report cacao use identified by three independent lines of archaeological evidence-cacao starch grains, absorbed theobromine residues and ancient DNA-dating from approximately 5,300 years ago recovered from the Santa Ana-La Florida (SALF) site in southeast Ecuador.
View the Source Theobroma Cacao (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
Theobroma cacao (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small (6-12 m (20-39 ft) tall) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family.
Wikipedia, Theobroma cacao, Distribution and domestication section, Domestication
The cacao tree, native of the Amazon rainforest, was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago, in equatorial South America from the Santa Ana-La Florida (SALF) site in what is present-day southeast Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe Province) by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture before being introduced in Mesoamerica.
Wikipedia, Theobroma cacao, Domestication section, Mesoamerican vessels
For example, one such vessel found at an Olmec archaeological site on the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico dates cacao's preparation by pre-Olmec peoples as early as 1750 BC.
Wikipedia, Theobroma cacao, Domestication section, ritual beverage and currency
Cacao beans constituted both a ritual beverage and a major currency system in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations.
Wikipedia, Theobroma cacao, Modern history section, first European contact
The first European knowledge about chocolate came in the form of a beverage which was first introduced to the Spanish at their meeting with Moctezuma in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519.
Wikipedia, Theobroma cacao, Lead section, names
Theobroma cacao (cacao tree or cocoa tree)
Wikipedia, Theobroma cacao, Naming, cocoa
While the tree and seeds are generally called cacao, they are sometimes referred to as 'cocoa'.
- Used By: Mexican Cuisine
- Expresses Tradition: Cacao Fermentation and Chocolate Making
- Associated With: Chocolate
View the Source Population genomic analyses of the chocolate tree, Theobroma cacao L., provide insights into its domestication process (Communications Biology)
Omar E. Cornejo, Communications Biology, 2018Cornejo and colleagues 2018, Abstract, Criollo domesticationQuote, Cornejo and colleagues 2018, Abstract, Criollo domestication
We sequenced 200 genomes of the chocolate plant Theobroma cacao L. to show for the first time to our knowledge that a single population, the Criollo population, underwent strong domestication ~3600 years ago (95% CI: 2481-13,806 years ago).
Wikipedia, Pinole
Used By: Pinole, infobox main_ingredient fieldQuote, Used By: Pinole, infobox main_ingredient field
Maize and cacao
Corrections (2)
This entry has 2 corrections on record.
Earliest Documented Use, To (Year)
What Changed. This entry moved from well-attested to partially Attested on October 10, 2026.
Why. About 5,300 years ago, the date of the cacao starch grains, theobromine residues and ancient DNA at Santa Ana-La Florida in southeast Ecuador reported in 2018; stored as the round year 3300 BCE, so the year is approximate.
Sourced to The use and domestication of Theobroma cacao during the mid-Holocene in the upper Amazon (Nature Ecology & Evolution), Sonia Zarrillo.
Earliest Documented Use, From (Year)
What Changed. This entry moved from well-attested to partially Attested on October 10, 2026.
Why. About 5,300 years ago, the date of the cacao starch grains, theobromine residues and ancient DNA at Santa Ana-La Florida in southeast Ecuador reported in 2018; stored as the round year 3300 BCE, so the year is approximate.
Sourced to The use and domestication of Theobroma cacao during the mid-Holocene in the upper Amazon (Nature Ecology & Evolution), Sonia Zarrillo.
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