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Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao (Maya Studies)

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This book is a great contribution to the field of Mesoamerican studies. When I ordered it I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have really enjoyed it. The interdisciplinary approach allows for a thorough examination of the role of cacao in the cultural life of indigenous Mesoamericans, past and present. I appreciated the diachronic examination of the subject as it allows the reader to better understand how cacao was and is culturally important to Mesoamericans. Additionally, it demonstrates how this seed become significant to the colonial economy as well as the larger world market. The history of cacao's Native American origins is fascinating. Cacao or chocolate has become an important part of many cultures foodways however its Native American origins are largely overlooked in its contemporary context. McNeil's compilation of current scholarly research about cacao nicely demonstrates the origin and development of this Native American resource.

This volume includes papers by a number of experts on chocolate and Mesoamerica. The chapters are well written and form the most complete coverage of this domesticate in a single volume. The papers consider cacao from multiple perspectives including botany, iconography, ritual, politics, and economy. They also cover a broad geographic area including a number of pre-Columbian and modern cultural groups in Mesoamerica.

If you are a chocolate lover, this is the book for you! So many books about this topic look at how chocolate developed outside of Mesoamerica. It is nice to read about cacao in its original cultural context. Interesting and well-organized. A nice addition to any chocolate connoisseur's library.

Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao, 2006., edited by Cameron L. McNeil, Gainesville: University Press of Florida (ISBN 0-8130-2953-8) represents the most comprehensive study of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) published to date. The breadth and scope of this important reference source is impressive. Contributions include research and analysis involving various methodological approaches, anthropology, archaeology, art history, conservation biology, and epigraphy, to explore the role of cacao in ancient and contemporary Mesoamerica and its origins as a domesticate. Scholars from a variety of fields provide new evidence on the domestication of cacao, its ancient use in foods other than beverages, its significance in Mesoamerican religion, and its role in elite feasts. Contributors also discuss: the value of cacao; the artistic conventions concerning cacao and its use; and the archaeological identification of cacao, including the recovery of seeds in archaeological context, residue analysis from ancient ceramics, and the hieroglyphic markings on ancient ceramic containers. These studies pose various questions such as: where beverages made from cacao pulp or only the seeds? Was cacao associated with the ancient elite and consumed primarily as a beverage? Was cacao widely available to individuals and societies of non-elite status? Some researchers study current religious practices involving cacao, especially in Mexico and Guatemala, in order to determine if these practices may provide clues to ancient associations of this plant.
The volume Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao is divided into four parts: Part I explores the origins of cacao, how was it domesticated, its chemical properties, it biogeography and identification of and its close relatives in other regions of the Neotropics. In Part II, archaeologists, art historians, linguists, and epigraphers document the pre-Columbian uses and importance of cacao how it was consumed and by whom, a truly multidisciplinary perspective. Some contributions explore how cacao became interwoven with later Spanish diet and culture, eventually spreading into the cuisines of most of Europe and the rest of the world. In Part III, ethnohistorians and archaeologists sixteenth-century documents to provide an understanding of the role of the colonial Spanish governments in altering the cultivation practices and consumption of cacao among indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. Some contributors document the incorporation of cacao into Spanish cuisine. In Part IV, archaeologists, ethnobotanists, and ethnographers record the many uses of cacao and how its continued to be cultivated by Mesoamerican communities in the present. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Chocolate and its role in the foodways of the world, and to students and scholars focused upon its Pre-Columbian past and how remnants of this history continue to the present.