HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
These are some of the first depictions of cocoa beans and the cacao tree created by the indigenous Aztecs and Mayans from South and Central America. The image of many plants was illustrated in the Badianus Manuscript which captures many plants indigenous to South and Central America and the medicinal properties that they hold. Aztecs used these plants to heal each other from many illnesses. The second image on the top row of the dark roots, green leaves and bright colorful pods of fruit illustrate the cacao tree and may be the first ever depiction of a cocoa tree. Along with images, the Bandianus Manuscript contained the medicinal healing properties of plants, including cacao. Chocolate was used in drinks to treat stomach and intestinal
complaints, and when the cacao was combined with liquid from the bark of the silk cotton tree, it was said to cure infections. Cacao beans would also be grinded up along with roots of unnamed plants to treat diarrhea. Fevers and faintness were treated with a mixture of grinded beans and corn and coughs were treated with medicinal chocolate beverages that included a mixture of herbs.
La Cruz MartÃn de, Trueblood Emily W Emmart, and Juan Badiano. The Badianus Manuscript: (Codex Barberini, Latin 241) Vatican Library ; an Aztec herbal of 1552. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1940.
Valley of the Cocoa. Codex Vindobonensis. Accessed 2024.
Cacao beans were also considered to be fruit of the gods by many cultures. Each had their own folklore surrounding the discovery of the cacao tree and why it was given to them. This also reinforced the beliefs that cacao was only meant for ceremonial and ritual purposes or medical uses. Many times chocolate was only consumed in beverages to heal people from illnesses, otherwise it was mostly given to adult males who held high stature in the community. The discovery and colonization of chocolate impacted Europe particularly heavily, especially the Spanish. People began to document the properties and the ways in which chocolate or cacao was being used. Europeans were fascinated by the indigenous uses of chocolate. It was considered a ceremonial and medicinal plant and then the introduction of sugar created a new way to prepare chocolate, for enjoyment.
Ledesma, Antonio Colmenero de, Alfred W. Pollard, and G. R. Redgrave. A Curious Treatise of the Nature and Quality of Chocolate. London, 1640.