They added that the cacao tree, which grows cocoa beans and is also known as Theobroma cacao, originated in the Neotropics of South America, but very little was known about its use in those regions.

Cacao beans held great prominence in the daily lives of Mesoamerican Indians. According to the Mayan and Mexica religions, cacao had divine origins as the god Quetzalcoatl discovered cacao.