What product was such a precious commodity that the Maya used it as money group of answer choices?
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While agriculture was the basis of Maya civilization, trade was equally important. During the early Pre-Classic period, Maya living in small villages were somewhat self-sustaining. However, as the Maya began building their great cities, only trade would have brought them the essential goods they needed, such as salt and obsidian. Maya merchants dealt in two kinds of goods, subsistence items and luxury items. Subsistence items were things used every day such as salt, especially necessary in a hot climate, foodstuffs, clothing and tools. Luxury items were those things royalty and nobles used to showcase their wealthy and power. These included jade, gold, beautiful ceramics, jewelry and feather works. Great cities with large populations required food brought into markets. Most food was grown by farmers who lived outside the city. However, what wasn’t grown nearby had to be brought in via trade or tribute. Most foodstuffs were traded regionally or in local markets. Luxury items, on the other hand, were most often involved in long distance trading. Cultural values and ideas would also have traveled along with the merchants, which is how the various cultures in Mesoamerica influenced each other. Foodstuffs brought to the market included turkeys, ducks, dogs, fish, honey, beans and fruit. Cacao beans were used as currency, but also to make chocolate, a drink primarily enjoyed by the wealthy. Merchants traded cacao beans throughout Mesoamerica not only in the Maya lands but also to the Olmec, Zapotec, Aztecs and elsewhere. Merchants also traded in raw materials including jade, copper, gold, granite, marble, limestone and wood. Manufactured goods included textiles, especially embroidered cloth, clothing, feather capes and headdresses, paper, furniture, jewelry, toys and weapons. Specialists such as architects, mathematicians, scribes and engineers sold their services at the market as well. During the Pre-Classic period, merchants and the artisans who made goods for the luxury market formed a new middle class where before there had only been nobles and commoners. As trade became more important so did the power of merchants who facilitated that trade. Long distance traders took their goods along established trade routes that covered Mexico to the north all the way through Central America and even down to South America and Cuba and other Caribbean islands. As there were no draft animals such as horses or oxen and no wheeled vehicles, all long distance traders traveled by foot or by boat. Hired porters carried the goods in a large basket on their backs, made easier by part of the weight being carried by a headband called a mecapal. Some Maya city-states became commercial hubs along important trade routes. Tikal, for example, was not rich in natural resources, but grew wealthy through its ability to facilitate trade to the rest of Guatemalan Maya cities. Tikal, Copan and Cancuen all developed their economies through operating as major trade hubs. Besides the trade route on land, important maritime trade took place as well. The Tainos of the Caribbean island of Cuba and the Quechua from South America traded with the Maya for cacao beans. Large trading canoes that held up to 20 people as well as a significant amount of trade goods traveled up and down the coasts. Cite This Article"Maya Merchants and Traders" History on the Net The history of chocolate, and its creation from the beans of the cacao tree, can be traced to the ancient Maya, and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. The word “chocolate” may conjure up images of sweet candy bars and luscious truffles, but the confections of today bears little resemblance to the chocolate of the past: Throughout much of its history, chocolate was a bitter beverage, not a sweet, rich-tasting treat. But after it became popular in the courts of Europe and the streets of colonial America, chocolate soon evolved into the universally loved commodity it is today. Who Invented Chocolate?Chocolate is made from the fruit of cacao trees, which are native to Central and South America. The fruits are called pods and each pod contains around 40 cacao beans. The beans are dried and roasted to create cocoa beans. It’s unclear exactly when cacao came on the scene or who invented it. According to Hayes Lavis, cultural arts curator for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, ancient Olmec pots and vessels from around 1500 B.C. were discovered with traces of theobromine, the stimulant compound found in chocolate and tea. It’s thought the Olmecs used cacao to create a ceremonial drink. However, since they kept no written history, opinions differ on if they used cacao beans in their concoctions or just the pulp of the cacao pod. Mayan ChocolateThe Olmecs undoubtedly passed their cacao knowledge on to the Central American Maya who not only consumed chocolate, they revered it. The Mayan written history mentions chocolate drinks being used in celebrations and to finalize important transactions and ceremonies. Despite chocolate’s importance in Mayan culture, it wasn’t reserved for the wealthy and powerful, but was readily available to almost everyone. In many Mayan households, chocolate was enjoyed with every meal. Mayan chocolate was thick and frothy and often combined with chili peppers, honey or water. XocolatlThe Aztecs took chocolate admiration to another level. They believed cacao was given to them by their gods. Like the Maya, they enjoyed the caffeinated kick of hot or cold, spiced chocolate beverages in ornate containers, but they also used cacao beans as currency to buy food and other goods. In Aztec culture, cacao beans were considered more valuable than gold. Aztec chocolate, which they called xocolatl, was mostly an upper-class extravagance, although the lower classes enjoyed it occasionally at weddings or other celebrations. Perhaps the most notorious Aztec chocolate lover of all was the Aztec ruler Montezuma II who allegedly drank gallons of xocolatl each day for energy and as an aphrodisiac. It’s also said he reserved some of his cacao beans for his military. Spanish Hot ChocolateThere are conflicting reports about when chocolate arrived in Europe, although it’s agreed it first arrived in Spain. One story says Christopher Columbus discovered cacao beans after intercepting a trade ship on a journey to America and brought the beans back to Spain with him in 1502. Another tale states Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes was introduced to chocolate by the Aztecs of Montezuma’s court. After returning to Spain, cacao beans in tow, he supposedly kept his chocolate knowledge a well-guarded secret. A third story claims that friars who presented Guatemalan Mayans to Philip II of Spain in 1544 also brought cacao beans along as a gift. No matter how chocolate got to Spain, by the late 1500s it was a much-loved indulgence by the Spanish court, and Spain began importing chocolate in 1585. As other European countries such as Italy and France visited parts of Central America, they also learned about cacao and brought chocolate back to their respective countries. Soon, chocolate mania spread throughout Europe. With the high demand for chocolate came chocolate plantations, which were worked by thousands of enslaved people. But European palates weren’t satisfied with the traditional Aztec chocolate drink recipe. They made their own varieties of hot chocolate with cane sugar, cinnamon and other common spices and flavorings. Scroll to Continue Soon, fashionable chocolate houses for the wealthy cropped up throughout London, Amsterdam and other European cities. Chocolate in the American ColoniesChocolate arrived in Florida on a Spanish ship in 1641, and it’s thought the first American chocolate house opened in Boston in 1682. By 1773, cocoa beans were a major American colony import and chocolate was enjoyed by people of all classes. During the Revolutionary War, chocolate was provided to the military as rations and sometimes given to soldiers as payment instead of money. (Chocolate was also provided as rations to soldiers during World War II.) Cacao PowderWhen chocolate first came on the scene in Europe, it was a luxury only the rich could enjoy. But in 1828, Dutch chemist Coenraad van Houten discovered a way to treat cacao beans with alkaline salts to make a powdered chocolate that was easier to mix with water. The process became known as “Dutch processing” and the chocolate produced called cacao powder or “Dutch cocoa.” Van Houten supposedly also invented the cocoa press, although some reports state his father invented the machine. The cocoa press separated cocoa butter from roasted cocoa beans to inexpensively and easily make cocoa powder, which was used to create a wide variety of delicious chocolate products. Both Dutch processing and the chocolate press helped make chocolate affordable for everyone. It also opened the door for chocolate to be mass-produced. READ MORE: Chocolate’s Sweet History: From Elite Treat to Food for the Masses Nestlé Chocolate BarsFor much of the 19th century, chocolate was enjoyed as a beverage; milk was often added instead of water. In 1847, British chocolatier J.S. Fry and Sons created the first chocolate bar molded from a paste made of sugar, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter. Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter is generally credited for adding dried milk powder to chocolate to create milk chocolate in 1876. But it wasn’t until several years later that he worked with his friend Henri Nestlé—together they created the Nestlé Company and brought milk chocolate to the mass market. Chocolate had come a long way during the 19th century, but it was still hard and difficult to chew. In 1879, another Swiss chocolatier, Rudolf Lindt, invented the chocolate conch machine which mixed and aerated chocolate, giving it a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth consistency that blended well with other ingredients. By the late 19th century and early 20th century, family chocolate companies such as Cadbury, Mars and Hershey were mass-producing a variety of chocolate confections to meet the growing demand for the sweet treat. Chocolate TodayMost modern chocolate is highly-refined and mass-produced, although some chocolatiers still make their chocolate creations by hand and keep the ingredients as pure as possible. Chocolate is available to drink, but is more often enjoyed as an edible confection or in desserts and baked goods. While your average chocolate bar isn’t considered healthy, dark chocolate has earned its place as a heart-healthy, antioxidant-rich treat. Fair-Trade ChocolateModern-day chocolate production comes at a cost. As many cocoa farmers struggle to make ends meet, some turn to low-wage workers or slavery (sometimes acquired through child trafficking) to stay competitive. To expand cacao plantations, many companies are destroying rainforests, particularly in West Africa. This has prompted grassroots efforts for large chocolate companies to reconsider how they get their cocoa supply and its environmental impact. It’s also resulted in appeals for more fair-trade chocolate which is created in a more ethical and sustainable way. SourcesA Brief History of Chocolate.
Smithsonian.com. What product was such a precious commodity that the Maya used it as money?Your Hershey bar may have been worth its weight in gold in Mayan times. A new study reveals that chocolate became its own form of money at the height of Mayan opulence—and that the loss of this delicacy may have played a role in the downfall of the famed civilization.
What did the Mayans used as money?Currency. The Maya used several different mediums of exchange and in the trading of food commodities, the barter system was typically used for large orders. Cacao beans were used for everyday exchange in Postclassic times. For more expensive purchases gold, jade and copper were used as a means of exchange.
Did the Mayans use gold as currency?The Maya did have a currency system, and used cacao beans, gold, copper bells, jade, and oyster shell beads as forms of money.
Did Maya use cacao beans as currency?Cultivation, consumption, and cultural use of cacao were extensive in Mesoamerica where the cacao tree is native, and cocoa beans became a very important and valuable commodity. The Mayans and Aztecs used them as money, and were very protective of their beans.
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