Chocolate News

I am fond of the history of chocolate, which I've posted about in the past. The L.A.Times today has an article about discovery of chocolate residue on pottery from Indian ruins at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, NM. The artifacts date from around the year 1000. Evidently there was trade in chocolate quite a lot earlier than previously observed. The article, Signs of chocolate found in Southwest much earlier, states:

"In a study published Monday, scientists said they had found traces of theobromine, the chemical that serves as a distinct marker for cacao, on pottery shards found in a multistory pueblo in northwestern New Mexico. ... The nearest source for the cacao, which was made into a bitter beverage used in religious and other rituals, was more than 1,200 miles to the south in Mexico."