Editing Cocoa bean (section)

== History ==
<!-- This section is linked from [[Caffeine]] -->
{{See also|History of chocolate|Montegrande (archaeological site)}}
[[File:Cacao Aztec Sculpture.jpg|thumb|upright|Aztec sculpture with pod]]
[[File:Cocoa_bean_roasted2.jpg|thumb|upright|Roasted cocoa beans]]

The cacao tree is native to the Amazon rainforest. It was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago, in equatorial South America from the [[Santa Ana (La Florida)|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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Zarrillo |first1=Sonia |last2=Gaikwad |first2=Nilesh |last3=Lanaud |first3=Claire |last4=Powis |first4=Terry |last5=Viot |first5=Christopher |last6=Lesur |first6=Isabelle |last7=Fouet |first7=Olivier |last8=Argout |first8=Xavier |last9=Guichoux |first9=Erwan |last10=Salin |first10=Franck |last11=Solorzano |first11=Rey Loor |last12=Bouchez |first12=Olivier |last13=Vignes |first13=Hélène |last14=Severts |first14=Patrick |last15=Hurtado |first15=Julio |display-authors=5 |date=29 October 2018 |title=The use and domestication of Theobroma cacao during the mid-Holocene in the upper Amazon |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0697-x |journal=[[Nature Ecology & Evolution]] |language=en |volume=2 |issue=12 |pages=1879–1888 |doi=10.1038/s41559-018-0697-x |pmid=30374172 |bibcode=2018NatEE...2.1879Z |s2cid=53099825 |issn=2397-334X}}</ref><ref name="ScienceDaily" />

More than 3,000 years ago, it was consumed by pre-Hispanic cultures along the Yucatán, including the Maya,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scapagnini |first1=Giovanni |last2=Davinelli |first2=Sergio |last3=Di Renzo |first3=Laura |last4=Antonino |first4=de Lorenzo |last5=Olarte |first5=Hector Hugo |last6=Micali |first6=Giuseppe |last7=Cicero |first7=Arrigo F. |last8=Gonzalez |first8=Salvado |date=2014 |title=Cocoa bioactive compounds: significance and potential for the maintenance of skin health |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=e83d6baf70dcad1a078d0319e81d1ed2d6b35e73 |journal=Nutrients |volume=6 |issue=8 |pages=3203 |doi=10.3390/nu6083202 |doi-access=free |pmid=25116848 |pmc=4145303 |via=citeseerx.ist.psu.edu}}</ref> and as far back as [[Olmeca civilization]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Powis |first1=Terry G. |last2=Hurst |first2=W. Jeffrey |last3=del Carmen Rodríguez |first3=María |last4=Ponciano |first4=Ortíz C. |last5=Blake |first5=Michael |last6=Cheetham |first6=David |last7=Coe |first7=Michael D. |last8=Hodgson |first8=John G. |date=2008 |title=The Origins of Cacao Use in Mesoamerica |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23759545 |journal=Mexicon |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=38 |jstor=23759545 |issn=0720-5988 }}</ref> in spiritual ceremonies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Staller |first=John E. |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/30988013/Staller_Foodways_Ch02.PDF |title=Chapter 2: Ethnohistoric sources on foodways, feasts, and festivals in Mesoamerica |date=2010 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781441904706 |location=New York |page=48 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prufer |first1=Keith M. |last2=Hurst |first2=W. Jeffrey |date=2007 |title=Chocolate in the Underworld Space of Death: Cacao Seeds from an Early Classic Mortuary Cave |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249874965 |journal=Ethnohistory |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=2740 |doi=10.1215/00141801-2006-063 |via=Researchgate.net}}</ref> It also grows in the foothills of the [[Andes]] in the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] region and the [[Orinoco]] basins of [[South America]], such as in [[Colombia]] and [[Venezuela]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=González-Orozco |first1=Carlos E. |last2=Pesca |first2=Allende |date=2022-06-09 |title=Regionalization of Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Colombia |journal=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |language=English |volume=6 |pages=1, 7, 9 |doi=10.3389/fsufs.2022.925800 |doi-access=free |issn=2571-581X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gutiérrez Garcia |first1=Gustavo Adolfo |last2=Gutiérrez-Montes |first2=Isabel |last3=Suárez Salazar |first3=Juan Carlos |last4=Casanoves |first4=Fernando |last5=Gutiérrez Suárez |first5=David Ricardo |last6=Hernández-Núñez |first6=Héctor Eduardo |last7=Flora |first7=Cornelia Butler |last8=Sibelet |first8=Nicole |date=2024-11-22 |title=Contribution of local knowledge in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) to the well‑being of cocoa families in Colombia: a response from the relationship |journal=Agriculture and Human Values |language=en |doi=10.1007/s10460-024-10623-x |issn=1572-8366|doi-access=free }}</ref> Wild cacao still grows there.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=González-Orozco |first1=Carlos E. |last2=Sánchez Galán |first2=Angela A. |last3=Ramos |first3=Pablo E. |last4=Yockteng |first4=Roxana |date=2020 |title=Exploring the diversity and distribution of crop wild relatives of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Colombia |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10722-020-00960-1.pdf |journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution |volume=67 |issue=8 |pages=2071 |doi=10.1007/s10722-020-00960-1 |via=Springer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tezara |first1=Wilmer |last2=Urich |first2=Rosa |last3=Jaimez |first3=Ramón |last4=Coronel |first4=Ilsa |last5=Araque |first5=Osmary |last6=Azócar |first6=Carmen |last7=Chacón |first7=Iraima |date=September 2016 |title=Does Criollo cocoa have the same exophysiological characteristics as Forastero? |journal=Botanical Sciences |language=en |volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=563–574 |doi=10.17129/botsci.552 |issn=2007-4298|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dias |first1=Luiz Antônio dos Santos |last2=Pontes Barriga |first2=Júlio |last3=Kageyama |first3=Paulo Yoshio |last4=Vasconcellos |first4=Caio Márcio |date=2003 |title=Variation and its distribution in wild cacao populations from the Brazilian Amazon |url=http://www.scielo.br/pdf/babt/v46n4/a03v46n4.pdf |journal=Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=507–514 |doi=10.1590/S1516-89132003000400003 |via=web.archive.org |archive-date=30 October 2018 |access-date=23 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030064433/http://www.scielo.br/pdf/babt/v46n4/a03v46n4.pdf |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Its range may have been larger in the past; evidence of its wild range may be obscured by cultivation of the tree in these areas since long before the Spanish arrived.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Matheus |first1=Colli-Silva |last2=Richardson |first2=James Edward |last3=Figuerira |first3=Antonio |last4=Pirani |first4=José Rubens |date=2024 |title=Human influence on the distribution of cacao: insights from remote sensing and biogeography |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378107621 |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=1015 |doi=10.1007/s10531-023-02777-7 |bibcode=2024BiCon..33.1009C |via=Researchgate.net|doi-access=free }}</ref>

As of 2018, evidence suggests that cacao was first domesticated in equatorial South America,<ref name="LR">{{Cite web | title = Jaén y la cultura Marañón | author = Roberto Ochoa | date = 19 November 2017 | publisher = Domingo semanal (La República) | location = Lima | url = https://larepublica.pe/domingo/1147164-montegrandey-la-cultura-maraNOn | access-date= 8 October 2018 | archive-date = 7 May 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180507201718/https://larepublica.pe/domingo/1147164-montegrandey-la-cultura-maraNOn}}</ref> before being domesticated in Central America roughly 1,500 years later.<ref name="ScienceDaily">{{Cite news |title=Sweet discovery pushes back the origins of chocolate: Researchers find cacao originated 1,500 years earlier than previously thought |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181029130945.htm |access-date=13 November 2018 |work=[[ScienceDaily]]}}</ref> Artifacts found at Santa-Ana-La Florida, in Ecuador, indicate that the [[Mayo-Chinchipe]] people were cultivating cacao as long as 5,300 years ago.<ref name="ScienceDaily"/> Chemical analysis of residue extracted from pottery excavated at an archaeological site at Puerto Escondido, in [[Honduras]], indicates that cocoa products were first consumed there sometime between 1500 and 1400 BC. Evidence also indicates that, long before the flavor of the cacao seed (or bean) became popular, the sweet pulp of the chocolate fruit, used in making a fermented (5.34% alcohol) beverage, first drew attention to the plant in the Americas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.penn.museum/press-releases/739-the-earliest-chocolate-drink-of-the-new-world.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124095320/http://www.penn.museum/press-releases/739-the-earliest-chocolate-drink-of-the-new-world.html |archive-date=24 January 2013 |title=The Earliest Chocolate Drink of the New World |date=13 November 2007 |website=Penn Museum}}</ref>

The cocoa bean was a common currency throughout Mesoamerica before the Spanish conquest.<ref name="Wood" />{{rp|2}}The bean was utilized in pre-modern Latin America to purchase small items such as tamales and rabbit dinners. A greater quantity of [[cocoa beans]] was used to purchase turkey hens and other large items.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Fiegl |first2=Amanda |title=A Brief History of Chocolate |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-brief-history-of-chocolate-21860917/ |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

Cacao trees grow in a limited geographical zone, of about 20° to the north and south of the Equator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Michon |date=2016-02-10 |title=Climate & Chocolate {{!}} NOAA Climate.gov |url=https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-chocolate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504005209/https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-chocolate |archive-date=2016-05-04 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=www.climate.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Lahive |first1=Fiona |last2=Hadley |first2=Paul |last3=Daymond |first3=Andrew J. |date=2019 |title=The physiological responses of cacao to the environment and the implications for climate change resilience: A review |url=https://climatescience.ru/uploads/pubs/3/3d/3da/3da9b74bcea86ddf2b731d7b6080d028.pdf |journal=Agronomy for Sustainable Development |volume=39 |issue=1 |page=5 |doi=10.1007/s13593-018-0552-0 |bibcode=2019AgSD...39....5L |via=Climate Science}}</ref> More than 70% of the world's cacao crop is grown in Africa, with Ivory Coast and Ghana producing approximately 58% of global production.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-30 |title=International Cocoa Organization: Production of Cocoa Beans |url=https://www.icco.org/wp-content/uploads/Production_QBCS-XLIX-No.-4.pdf |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=International Cocoa Organization}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cartas |first1=José |last2=Alvarenga |first2=Nuno |last3=Partidário |first3=Ana |last4=Lageiro |first4=Manuela |last5=Roseiro |first5=Cristina |last6=Gonçalves |first6=Helena |last7=Leitão |first7=António Eduardo |last8=Ribeiro |first8=Carlos Marques |last9=Dias |first9=João |date=2024-10-01 |title=Influence of geographical origin in the physical and bioactive parameters of single origin dark chocolate |journal=European Food Research and Technology |language=en |volume=250 |issue=10 |pages=2569 |doi=10.1007/s00217-024-04558-0 |issn=1438-2385 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The cacao plant was first given its botanical name by Swedish natural scientist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in his original classification of the plant kingdom, where he called it ''Theobroma'' ("food of the gods") ''cacao''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Colombo |first1=Maria Laura |url=https://nzdr.ru/data/media/biblio/kolxoz/B/BH/Paoletti%20R.,%20et%20al.%20(eds.)%20Chocolate%20and%20health%20(Springer,%202011)(ISBN%209788847020375)(O)(164s)_BH_.pdf#page=52 |title=Chocolate and Health |last2=Pinorini-Godly |first2=Maria Teresa |last3=Conti |first3=Ario |date=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9788847020382 |location=Milano, Italy |page=42 |chapter=4: Botany and Pharmacognosy of the Cacao Tree}}</ref>

Cocoa was an important commodity in [[pre-Columbian]] Mesoamerica.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dillinger |first1=Teresa L. |last2=Barriga |first2=Patricia |last3=Escárcega |first3=Sylvia |last4=Jimenez |first4=Martha |last5=Lowe |first5=Diana Salazar |last6=Grivetti |first6=Louis E. |date=1 August 2000 |title=Food of the Gods: Cure for Humanity? A Cultural History of the Medicinal and Ritual Use of Chocolate |journal=The Journal of Nutrition |volume=130 |issue=8 |pages=2057S–2072S |doi=10.1093/jn/130.8.2057S |pmid=10917925 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A Spanish soldier who was on [[Hernan Cortés]]' side during the [[conquest of the Aztec Empire]] tells that when [[Moctezuma II]], emperor of the [[Aztec]]s, dined, he took no other beverage than [[chocolate]], served in a [[gold]]en goblet. Flavored with [[vanilla]] or other [[spice]]s, his chocolate was whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. No fewer than 60 portions each day reportedly may have been consumed by Moctezuma II, and 2,000 more by the [[Nobility|nobles]] of his court.<ref>Díaz del Castillo, Bernal (2005) [1632]. ''Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España''. Felipe Castro Gutiérrez (Introduction). Mexico: Editores Mexicanos Unidos, S.A. {{ISBN|968-15-0863-7}}. {{OCLC|34997012}}</ref>

Chocolate was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards, and became a popular beverage by the mid-17th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chocolate History Time Line |url=http://www.chocolatemonthclub.com/chocolatehistory.htm |access-date=8 November 2007}}</ref> [[Venezuela]] became the largest producer of cocoa beans in the world.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft5r29n9wb&chunk.id=d0e1249&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e167&brand=ucpress | title=The Colonial Elite of Early Caracas }}</ref> Spaniards also introduced the cacao tree into the [[West Indies]] and the Philippines.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Philippine 2020 Cacao Challenge|url=http://cidami.org/philippine-2020-challenge/ |website=Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao |access-date=13 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213164710/http://www.cidami.org/philippine-2020-challenge/ |archive-date=13 February 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was also introduced into the rest of Asia, South Asia and into West Africa by Europeans. In the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]], modern [[Ghana]], cacao was introduced by a Ghanaian, [[Tetteh Quarshie]].