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Date Posted: 07:20:54 07/21/02 Sun
Love of chocolate is a long-lasting affair
By Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent
MANKIND’S love affair with chocolate began at least a thousand years earlier than has generally been thought, scientists have discovered.
New analysis of teapot-like vessels made as long ago as 600BC by the Maya civilisation of Central America has revealed chemical residues that could have been left only by an ancient form of cocoa.
While the origins of chocolate have long been known to lie in the region — it was first brought to Europe by the Spanish conquistadors, and the Aztec ruler Montezuma is reputed to have drunk 50 cups a day — the evidence proves that its history is longer and more venerable than that of any nonalcoholic beverage.
Prior to the findings, which have emerged from pottery unearthed at Colha in northern Belize, the earliest signs of cocoa consumption were found in ceramic vessels discovered in a Mayan tomb at Rio Azul in Guatemala, which is dated to AD460 to AD480.
Experts had suspected that chocolate use went back much further — possibly even to the Olmec civilisation of 1200BC to 600BC — but scientific investigations have never before been able to find cocoa residues from early period pottery.
In the new study, 14 spouted earthenware pots dating from the Preclassic Maya period between 600BC and AD250 were analysed using advanced chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques, which can reveal chemical signatures of ingredients prepared in the vessels.
The scientists, from the chocolate company Hershey Foods in Pennsylvania and the University of Texas, found traces of a chemical called theobromine — one of more than 500 compounds in cacao beans. It could have come only from chocolate, as the only local source of the chemical is the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao.
“The presence of cacao in Maya spouted vessels at Colha indicates that its usage pre-dates evidence from Rio Azul by almost a millennium,” Jeffrey Hurst of Hershey Foods, who led the study, said. “We now know that the Maya had a long, continuous history of preparing and consuming liquid chocolate from the Preclassic period through to the Spanish Conquest.”
Analysis of charcoal at the Colha site has also shown that it comes from cacao trees, suggesting that it may have been a major production area for chocolate, Dr Hurst said.
The research, details of which are published today in the journal Nature, also shows that the new chemical techniques could be extremely valuable to archaeologists, with the potential to cast new light on the diets of ancient civilisations all over the world.
Studies of similar Mayan pots from more recent periods, along with contemporary accounts by Spanish conquistadors, indicate that the liquid chocolate was brewed in the vessels and frothed to produce a foam, which the Maya and Aztecs considered the most delectable part of the drink. The froth was created using the spouts, through which a chef would blow air as the drink was poured from one vessel into another. The beans would be pounded into a paste with a rolling pin, on a wooden bench known as a “metate”.
At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the paste was generally mixed with other ingredients such as water, maize, chilli and honey, to create a variety of drinks, most of them extremely bitter. The idea of mixing it with sugar came in Spain in the 17th century, and chocolate in its solid form did not emerge until the 19th century.
Spouted vessels for preparing chocolate are comparatively rare in the Preclassic Maya period, and have usually been found in tombs thought to belong to elite individuals, suggesting that it was a delicacy. By the 16th century, however, it was drunk with most meals.
The cacao tree is native to Central and South America, and comes in three varieties: Forastero, Criollo and Trinitario, a cross between the other two. It is known to have played an important part in Maya and Aztec culture, and the Maya even had a chocolate God. The new discoveries leave chocolate unchallenged as the oldest non-alcoholic beverage. Wine and beer, however, have a much longer history, dating back to Egyptian times.
The origins of the name remain uncertain. Some experts suggest that it is derived from the word “chocolatl”, which supposedly means chocolate in the Aztec language, Nahuatl. However, Michael Cole, Professor of Anthropology at Yale University and author of The True History of Chocolate, argues that the term “chocolatl” never existed in Nahuatl, and that it is a Spanish corruption, combining the Maya word “chocol” with the Aztec term “atl”, meaning water. Another possibility is that it is derived from the Maya verb “chokola’j”, meaning “to drink chocolate together”.
A boon for health
Blood pressure: Chemicals called flavonols, present in cocoa drinks and at lesser levels in chocolate, can boost production of nitric oxide, which is crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. Research at Harvard Medical School has shown that the benefits can be as great as those of aspirin.
Deep-vein thrombosis: The chances of developing so-called “economy class syndrome” can also be offset by flavonols found in chocolate, according to research at the University of California-Davis. A 50g bar of chocolate contains the same concentration of the chemicals as two glasses of red wine, 4˝ cups of tea, six apples and seven onions.
Heart disease: Flavonols are also known to improve the cardiovascular system and to help to prevent coronary heart disease, although there is less evidence that directly supports a beneficial role for chocolate.
Mood: Research suggests that chocolate can boost production of neurotransmitter chemicals such as seratonin and dopamine, with positive effects on mood.
This appeared in the Times 18/07/02, and I thought it might be of interest to someone.
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