plant
Cacao
The tree whose seeds Mesoamerican elites drank as a prepared beverage. A plant and a drink, not a generic “chocolate ritual” of later advertising.
Also known as kakaw · cocoa
Maya tradition
Cacao is used in Maya tradition.
Mesoamerican elites prepared cacao as a drink. A plant and a court beverage, not later chocolate advertising as ritual.
from Karl A. Taube · The Symbolism of Jade in Classic Maya Religion, 2005
used in · partially sourced · documented
Nahua tradition
Cacao is used in Nahua tradition.
Nahua sources in the Florentine Codex know cacao as drink and tribute. Same plant, a different archive than Maya vase-texts.
from Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua collaborators · Florentine Codex, c. 1577
used in · sourced · documented
Cacao is used in Offerings.
Prepared cacao can be tribute and drink. A Mesoamerican elite fact, not a later chocolate sacrament.
from Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua collaborators · Florentine Codex, c. 1577
used in · sourced · documented
Cacao is used in Medicine.
Cacao used in Medicine. The tree whose seeds Mesoamerican elites drank as a prepared beverage. An organized craft of treating the sick. The Atlas keeps their meeting local, without dissolving either into a single meaning.
from SHOE.BLUE · SHOE.BLUE, 2026
used in · interpretive · modern interpretation
Cacao is used in Incense.
Cacao used in Incense. The tree whose seeds Mesoamerican elites drank as a prepared beverage. Aromatics burned as offering or perfume. The Atlas keeps their meeting local, without dissolving either into a single meaning.
from SHOE.BLUE · SHOE.BLUE, 2026
used in · interpretive · modern interpretation
sources
- The Symbolism of Jade in Classic Maya Religion · Karl A. Taube
Karl A. Taube, “The Symbolism of Jade in Classic Maya Religion,” Ancient Mesoamerica 16 (2005).
- Florentine Codex · Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua collaborators
Bernardino de Sahagún, General History of the Things of New Spain (Florentine Codex).
- SHOE.BLUE · SHOE.BLUE
SHOE.BLUE, Atlas instrument voice.