News Anthropology

In Maya society, cacao use was for everyone, not just royals

Ancient ceramics reveal who had access to the plant, which was seen as sacred

painting on the side of a Maya vase that depicts a ruler speaking to a kneeling attendant while tamales are prepared

This painting on the side of a Maya vase depicts a ruler speaking to a kneeling attendant while tamales are prepared. The dark brown bowl (right) might contain cacao.

Justin Kerr/mayavase.com

By Richard Kemeny

In ancient Maya civilization, cacao wasn’t just for the elites.

Traces of the sacred plant show up in ceramics from all types of neighborhoods and dwellings in and around a former Maya city, researchers report September 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.