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The Sacred Cacao Groves of the Maya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Arturo Gómez-Pompa ,
José Salvador Flores  and
Mario Aliphat Fernández
Arturo Gómez-Pompa
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
José Salvador Flores
Affiliation:
Apartado Postal 281, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, México
Mario Aliphat Fernández
Affiliation:
Subdirección de Servicios Académicos, Laboratorio de Paleobotánica, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Moneda 16, México, D.F. 06060
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Abstract

The presence of cacao has been discovered in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Cacao in this region has been mentioned since Prehispanic times by diverse chroniclers and investigators. Nonetheless, until the present, there did not exist concrete evidence of the existence of cacao in this area. Apparently, the climate and soil of Yucatan are not adequate for the natural growth of this species, which requires great humidity throughout the year and deep soils. Cacao was found in three sinkholes (k'o'op) to the south of Valladolid. The trees found are of a rare form of cacao only known in the Lacandon region in Chiapas: Theobroma cacao L. subspecies cacao forma lacandonica Cuatrecasas. A discussion of the importance of this discovery from the perspectives of biology, ecology, and history is presented. This discovery reinforces the importance of the present-day flora for understanding the management of vegetation in the past.

Se presenta el hallazgo de cacao en el Estado de Yucatán, México. La presencia de cacao en esta región desde épocas prehispánicas había sido mencionada por diversos cronistas e investigadores desde el inicio de la Colonia. Sin embargo, hasta la fecha, no existían evidencias incontrovertibles de la presencia de cacao en esta zona. Aparentemente el clima estacional y suelos someros cársticos de Yucatán no son adecuados para el crecimiento natural de esta especie, que requiere alta humedad todo el año y suelos profundos. Cacao fué encontrado en tres rejolladas (k'o'op) al sur de Valladolid en las comunidades de Xocén, Yaxcabá, y Tixcacaltuyub. Los árboles pertenecen a una forma rara de cacao sólo conocida de la Selva Lacandona, Chiapas: Theobroma cacao L. subspecies cacao forma lacandonica Cuatrecasas. Se presenta una discusión sobre la importancia de este hallazgo desde el punto de vista botánico, ecológico, e histórico. Se discute el posible origen del cacao silvestre en Mesoamérica y se reitera el papel que tuvieron los mayas en su domesticación. Se incluyen evidencias iconográficas de la presencia de esta especie en la región desde épocas prehispánicas. Este descubrimiento refuerza la importancia de la flora y vegetación actual para entender el manejo de la vegetación en el pasado y también reitera el papel importante que han tenido los mayas actuales y sus antecesores en la conservación de la diversidad biológica y genética.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , September 1990 , pp. 247 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1990

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