News Archaeology

Ancient South Americans tasted chocolate 1,500 years before anyone else

Archaeological finds are the earliest evidence for cacao use in the world

cacao beans

SWEET ROOTS  The earliest known evidence of people domesticating and consuming cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate, has turned up at a South American site, researchers say.

YelenaYemchuk/istock.com

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Ancient South Americans domesticated and consumed cacao, the plant from which chocolate is made, long before other people did, a new study finds.