Ritual Use of Cacao in Maya Civilization

Throughout the humanities course, I have been intrigued by a vast amount of information on different cultures. However, there was a particular section that truly caught my attention, and has piqued an interest in me that has caused me to do my own research aside from this paper. The culture of the Mayas, and the Aztecs has been extremely fundamental in understanding my ancestry, being that I am Mexican American. I took an interest in their beautiful architecture, their ritualistic and sacrificial religious practices, as well as their history and how they began. Throughout this paper I will outline the similarities and differences of these two cultures, as well as articulate an understanding of the humanity disciplines outlined above.

​Many of the cultures that we have today have evolved from past events. Such as language it was something that became known throughout the years. Some of the languages that came from that were English, Spanish, German, and Latin to name a few. These languages were derived more past civilizations. One important civilization that is known for having great success is the Mayan civilization. The Mayan civilization is known for many things like they fully developed written language, art, architecture, math and some other factors. Historians have said that they don’t know an exact date of when this civilization rose up but they do mention that it flourished for about 2000 years. Although staring in 250 AD it is said that it was the start of their high point and it continued until the arrival of the Spanish in 1524. The Maya area covers southern Mexico and northwestern Central America. According to Sharer the area is divided into three regions: the Pacific coastal plain to the south, the highlands in the center, and the lowlands to the north. Even though these three regions were under the same civilization they all practiced different religious rituals. Religion plays a big role in every civilization. Some civilizations tend to praise more than one god and they always mention that what they have is thanks to their god. When they see things going wrong they often say that their god is punishing them because they did something that the god/s did not like. This tends to be the same

During the time frame of 1450-1750, the Columbian Exchange was at its height of power and influence. Many products were introduced from foreign lands, like animals such as cattle, chickens, and horse, and agriculture such as potatoes, bananas, and avocados. Diseases also became widespread and persisted to distant lands where it wreaked devastation upon the non-immunized people. One such influential product during this time period was the cacao, or more commonly known as chocolate. First discovered and used in the Americas, cacao beans quickly traveled to and became a popular treat in European lands. It was valuable in the New World and even used as a currency by the Aztecs. Only the rich and privileged

One of the most popular food in the world. Chocolate! This delicious food is made from cocoa beans which are grown in pods on tree trunks.The production of cocoa beans have expanded over the years, from South America to the Europeans to the U.S. They originally were grown only in South America until Columbus brought them back from his last voyage. Since then cocoa has only grown in popularity. (Background Essay) The production of chocolate is poor for the Ivory Coast. First, the Ivory Coast isn’t earning enough money from the total income from exporting the cocoa beans for chocolate bars. Second, the agriculture on the Ivory Coast is terrible. Lastly, the cocoa production is affecting the existence of animals on the Ivory Coast.

The farmer cleared the cornfield by cutting bushes and girdling the trees, usually near the end of the rainy season, allowing the piled brush to dry under the hot sun of the dry season. It is known that the Mayas enjoyed chocolate. They had it in many forms from a frothy drink to a pulpy mush. The Mayas referred to chocolate as "The Drink of the Gods." They had other food such as cornmeal, maize, black

When one pictures the societies that spanned throughout our Mesoamerica and South America the images of warriors, conquests, gold and great feats of architecture, spawn in the mind. Missing from not only there, but the focus of many studies are the crucial roles that women played in these societies. Between each society; the Mayan, Aztec and Inca, each has their own unique culture and role for women within it. One wonders the roles of women in society, where does she fit in; politics, religious practices, and within the home. These roles are dictated by the characteristics of the society in which they live. It is crucial to begin uncovering for each of these societies, the roles of which the women took on, through exploring three subject matters, the role of women concerning government and law, politics, the role of women in day-to-day life and lastly, religious roles of women.

The “Columbian Exchange” refers to the exchange of people, crops and animals between the New World and the Old World that drastically altered the lives of Europeans, Asians and Africans. The Old World received many crops that were previously unknown to them, including potatoes, chili peppers, cacao (chocolate), tomatoes and peanuts. Tobacco came from the New World and spread throughout Spain, to Turkey, and from there to Russia, France, England, and the rest of Asia. Corn (or maize), which also came from the New World, became a staple crop in Europe and is the third most planted field crop in the world today. In addition, because of corn, the potato and the sweet potato, Europeans and East Asians were able to vary their diets. Cacao (chocolate)

Central American Identities are very diverse thanks to the cultural production and historical context of the tradition and customs of Central American people. Central American people express diversity through their very unique culinary practices, such as: dress codes, social relationships and in the arts and humanities. Nonetheless we still can’t fully define culture in a permanent way since it’s always ever-changing for every group. As of today, Central America is made up of many different groups of people, such as: the Maya, Nahuat, Lenca, and other indigenous groups. These groups show significant variability in terms of social organization, religion and culture that form the modern

The relative rarity of palm trees in Haiti is from human impact, in particular on the construction of houses. In the island of Cuba, the palm trees, especially the Palmier Royal [Roystonea regia (H.B.K.) Cook], is the material use to build the “bohio”. In Haiti, twigs from various plants and dry mud are use for the covering of house frames (fig. 4). As a traveler, I observe that, in the mountain, the Haitian case is remarkably different from the base of the mountain! independent of the authority of plumb line! (fig. 5).

The Classical Maya was lost to the archaeological records until the last 200 years due to it’s abandonment. When the Mayans left there great cities, thick vines and jungles overtook the great monuments they once built. But in the last 200 years, in depth research has lead to breakthroughs into what the Classic Maya was like. The earliest Mayans were agriculturalist, growing crops such as corn (maize), beans, squash and cassava. The Mayans also invented a very accurate calendar, a math code using 0’s, constructed buildings still intact today, and a writing system that took decades to decode. The Mayans were situated in one geographical block covering all of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), modern-day Guatemala, Belize, parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western part of Honduras and El Salvador. Due to their location on the

Massive temples hidden in the jungles of the Yucatan, mysterious stone stelas, and cryptic calendars eluding to advanced knowledge of the stars and mathematics are just some of the artifacts originating from the “Classic Maya” period (200 CE-900 CE). However, these popular items should not be the only defining characteristics of a society that dominated the Mesoamerican region for nearly a millennia. Dynastic lines, similar to those found in European houses, were important elements during this period in places like Palenque, Tikal, and Calakmul. Additionally, the Maya experienced violent and consistent warfare between localized powers and the backbone of their society, agriculture, suffered through several multi-year droughts. These factors

Maya culture is one of the oldest and most intelligent tribal races. The flourishing period of Maya was between 300 and 900. The principal food in Maya was maize, which was also called “the maize culture”. They had no livestock such as sheep and horses. Also, they made the calendar and divided a year to 18 months. In addition, they built huge stone temples and held bloodletting ceremonies in order to sacrifice

Almost every aspect of Maya life was centered on religion. These ancient Mesoamerican peoples worshipped many gods and goddesses; this was part of their daily lives, despite class differences in their sophisticated society. Religion served as a basis for the government and social life. Priests and shamans played an important role in their government, conducted religious ceremonies, and made sacrifices to the gods. The Maya believed in the supernatural, and used this belief to explain life and their universe. Every object, whether it is part of nature or man made, was considered sacred and worshipped.

All remnants of the distant past are romantic, but ancient Maya civilization has a special fascination. It is a "lost" civilization, whose secrets lie deep in the mysterious tropical forest. The style of Maya architecture and sculpture seems alien and bizarre.

The word “cacao” and the first data concerning these valuable beans were derived by Europeans who came to the new World from the Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula who made chocolate drinks to their nobility and presented them in beautiful vessels to their rulers. These people were probably the first in human history to turn cacao beans into chocolate. However, the word “cacao” is believed to be much older and originate from “kakwa”, the word of the Olmecs, the earliest of civilizations that existed in the Americas (Coe et al., 457). The old inhabitants of South America realizing the delicious qualities of the cacao fruit tree domesticated it and later spread it from the northwestern part of the Amazon basin along the trade routes. The key event was the invention of converting cacao tree seeds into chocolate that is believed to have taken place around 1800 BC. Maya also benefited from getting cacao as a