John Carlos BaezFeb 8

Chaco Canyon should be called Choco Canyon, because researchers have found traces of *chocolate* in cups found at this site dating back to 1000 - 1125 AD.

This is amazing: Chaco Canyon is in a dry part of New Mexico, 1900 kilometers north of where cacao grows. But the cups look like those that Mayans used for chocolate-drinking rituals! And archeologists have also found remains of parrots and macaws in Chaco Canyon. This suggests enormous trading routes.

(1/3)

Show threadSpellucci
@johncarlosbaez This is so awesome! I went there with friends and family a few years ago. What a place! Thanks.
Feb 9 at 1:58amWeb
Show threadJohn Carlos BaezFeb 9
@spellucci - was it easy to find everything when you got there?
Show threadSpellucciFeb 9

@johncarlosbaez We only went once. I believe we visited every building, which gave us a cursory understanding. It is not that big a site.

We left with far more questions than the signage answered. We spent several days after reading histories. These research articles you posted were fabulous in fleshing out some aspects of life there.