Cocoa was domesticated 1,500 years earlier than previously thought and in South America, not in Central...

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Cocoa was domesticated 1,500 years earlier than previously thought and in South America, not in Central America





Cocoa was domesticated 1,500 years earlier than previously thought and in South America, not in Central America


Cocoa ('Theobroma cacao'), the plant from which chocolate is made, was domesticated some 1,500 years earlier than previously thought, and in South America, not in Central America, according to an article recently published in the magazine ' Nature Ecology & Evolution 'headed by the University of Calgary (Canada).



'Theobroma cacao' was a crop with great cultural importance in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The cocoa beans were used as currency and to make the chocolate drinks consumed during festivals and rituals. The archaeological evidence of the use of the crop, which dates back 3,900 years ago, has helped to consolidate the idea that 'T. cocoa 'was domesticated in Central America.



However, genetic evidence shows that the greatest diversity of 'T. cocoa 'and its related species are found in equatorial South America, where cocoa is still important today for indigenous groups, suggesting that it may actually be where the crop originated.



However, genetic evidence shows that the greatest diversity of T. cacao and related species are found in equatorial South America, where cocoa is important for contemporary indigenous groups, suggesting that it may actually be where it originated the national crop.







Cocoa. (Photo: DICYT)



The team led by Michael Blake and his colleagues studied ceramic objects recovered from Santa Ana-La Florida, the oldest known site of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, occupied for at least 5,450 years. The authors found three lines of evidence to show that the Mayo-Chinchipe culture used cacao between 5,300 and 2,100 years ago: the presence of Theobroma grains in the ceramic remains; residues of theobromine, a bitter alkaloid found in 'T. cocoa 'but not in its wild relatives; and fragments of ancient DNA with exclusive sequences of 'T. cocoa'.



These findings suggest that the May-Chinchipe peoples domesticated 'T. cocoa 'at least 1,500 years before the crop was used in Central America. As some of the utensils found in Santa Ana-La Florida have links with others on the Pacific coast, the authors propose that the trade of goods, including plants of cultural importance, could have initiated the "trip" to the north of the cocoa. .



"This study shows that people who lived in the upper areas of the Amazon basin, which extends to the foothills of the Andes, in southeastern Ecuador, were harvesting and consuming a cocoa that seems to be a close relative of the type of cocoa. that was later used in Mexico, and they did this 1,500 years before, "says Michael Blake, co-author of the study and professor at the University of British Columbia. "They also made it using ceramic that is earlier than that found in Central America and Mexico. This suggests that the use of cocoa, probably as a drink, was something that became popular and most likely spread to the north, "he adds.



In addition to the University of Calgary, the study included the University of British Columbia (Canada), the Gaikwad Steroidomics laboratory (United States), the University of Montpellier (France), the Kennesaw State University (United States), the INRA (France), HelixVenture (France), the National Institute of Agricultural Research (Ecuador), New South Associates (United States), the Ministry of Culture and Heritage of Ecuador, the University of California (United States) and the Research Institute for Development (France). (Source: CGP / DICYT)

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