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→Early History
==Early History==
The earliest evidence of the use of the cacao plant for chocolate derive from the Olmec cultures that populated southern Mexico. While no direct evidence exists, such as written records, trace chemicals that include theobromine indicate that some ceramic vessels were used in the preparation or direct consumption of chocolate-derived products. Most likely, this early chocolate was roasted and fermented, where cacao seeds would have been first pulverized and grounded. In fact, for much of chocolate's history, it has been drunk rather than consumed as a solid and often it was an alcoholic beverage(Figure 1).
The Maya are the first to document the consumption and use of chocolate. Like the Olmecs, the also document that chocolate was consumed as a drink rather than eaten. In fact, Mayan depictions indicate a ritual style consumption and this is suggested by Mayan writings. The Aztecs from central Mexico also used cacao and chocolate, where it also became a religiously important drink that had its own association with the god Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent deity who protected and held the knowledge of chocolate. The Aztecs drank chocolate cold, suggesting some differences from the Maya who liked it mostly as a warm fermented drink. Cacao beans seem to have also been used as a type of currency, traded to purchase other objects as needed. Christopher Columbus, on his fourth trip to the New World, while traveling with Ferdinand his son, encountered the cacao bean in 1502, making him the first European to encounter this plant and learn about chocolate.
[[File:1184px-Metate Maya.jpeg|thumbnail|Figure 1. Mayan plate showing the preparation of chocolate.]]
==European Use==
