Chocolate Vessel Found in Cave

Archaeologists have recovered a Maya chocolate-type vessel from the Cueva de la Cruz, near the coastal resort of Playa del Carmen, in Mexico’s Yucatán.

Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) recovered the 13cm tall vessel after being notified by the Cenotes Urbanos project.

The vessel was partially submerged and buried in soft sediment, deposited by the rainy season that tends to flood the entire cave.

“It has a reddish colour on the outside and a black slip on the inside, partially covered by calcium carbonates. The decoration seems to provide a phytomorphic image, similar to a pumpkin”, said archaeologist Antonio Reyes abounds.

The vessel dates from the Late Preclassic period (300 BC to AD 250), and although lacking a spout, archaeologists suggest that the vessel was used for drinking chocolate.

Maya chocolate was consumed as a hot liquid beverage, seasoned by mixing the roasted cacao seed paste into a drink with water, chilli peppers and cornmeal, and then transferring the mixture repeatedly between pots until the top was covered with a thick foam.

The drink was used in official ceremonies and religious rituals, as funerary offerings, as a tribute, and for medicinal purposes.  READ MORE...

The Mayans

A research team from students at Brown University and Brandeis University surveyed a small area in the Western Maya Lowlands. 

It sits on the border between Mexico and Guatemala where the Maya people were thought to have lived around 350 AD and 900 AD. It was previously believed that the Maya were people who engaged in “unchecked agricultural development”.

Andrew Scherer, an associate professor of anthropology, said that “The narrative goes – the population grew too large, the agriculture scaled up, and then everything fell apart.”

But now, the researchers found using a lidar survey — and, later from on the ground surveying, that there were extensive systems of sophisticated irrigation and terracing in and outside the region’s towns, but no huge population booms to match.

This showed that between 350 AD and 900 AD, some Maya kingdoms were living comfortably, with sustainable agricultural systems and no demonstrated food insecurity.

Mr Scherer said: “It’s exciting to talk about the really large populations that the Maya maintained in some places, to survive for so long with such density was a testament to their technological accomplishments.  READ MORE...