A recent discovery has led historians to believe that chocolate may have been consumed in the area that is now Georgia nearly 900 years ago. Here are the details of this fascinating discovery and how scientists arrived at this conclusion.

Ancient Pottery: The Key to Discovering Trade Networks

Ancient pottery suggests that cacao likely reached the area of Etowah, Georgia, around the 11th century. The details of the discovery were recently published in PLOS One, fueling speculation that chocolate has been in the U.S. longer than what was once thought.

The Etowah Indian Mounds are a major ancient Native American archaeological site that is used today to learn more about some of the earliest civilizations in this part of the world. The area is located in Bartow County, near Cartersville, Georgia.

Researchers used a genetic analysis studying residues left on ancient pottery to hypothesize that the earliest traces of cacao date back to around the 11th century. Officials at Smithsonian Magazine are citing the study published in PLOS One on August 26 to detail how this is the first time cacao has been tied to an area east of the Mississippi River so far back in history.

According to the study, cacao likely was circulating in the city of Etowah about 800 to 900 years ago. “This study presents the first evidence that cacao consumption was part of the Mississippian world at roughly the same time as it appeared at Chaco [Canyon].“ The study goes on to explain that "This discovery at Etowah asks us to broaden our understanding of the networks that distributed cacao throughout the Americas before European colonization.”

How Researchers Discovered That Cacao Has Been Around in Etowah for Up to 900 Years

How did the researchers conclude that cacao had been in Etowah long before previously thought? The experts leaned on ancient DNA analysis of three archaeological pieces that originated in Etowah up to 900 years ago. The study's authors used the process of mass spectrometry to identify four compounds known to be present in cacao. These compounds are theobromine, theophylline, caffeine, and paraxanthine. Nearly half of the archaeological samples tied to Etowah contained at least two of the four identifying compounds.

The researchers then put the three pottery fragments through ancient DNA analysis. This study produced over 502 million paired sequences that were then filtered to isolate the genetic material present in Theobroma cacao. Samples from two of the pottery fragments showed that they “contained highly fragmented ancient Theobroma cacao DNA.”

The study's authors assert that they used “the maximum precautions to avoid the contamination of the archaeological samples with modern cacao before and during all the steps of ancient DNA analyses.” As such, they are confident in their findings that cacao can be traced to the ancient civilizations that once called this part of the country home.

Specifically, the researchers noted that “These results ask us to reopen lines of research long closed, especially regarding contacts between the impressive civilizations of Central and South America and the great Mississippian civilization of the Eastern Woodlands." The study went on to detail that “Early in the history of Mississippian studies, it was common to attribute the complexity of Mississippian lifeways to connections with Central America. This line of explanation was eventually abandoned for lack of supporting evidence and because of the implication that Indigenous people of the Eastern Woodlands were not capable of creating a complex civilization.”

The researchers concluded by saying that they will continue to look at these connections as new evidence emerges. Archaeologists are hopeful that the information unveiled may help provide a deeper understanding of the trade networks between Mississippian communities and Central America during this ancient time.

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