Ancient MayaLocation: Yucatán PeninsulaHistory• Pre-Classic period

(c. 2000 BC to 250 AD)• Classic period

(c. 250 AD to 900 AD)• The Maya Collapse

(c. 8th-9th Century)• Post-Classic Period

(c. 10th-16th Century)• Colonial Period

(c. 17th Century)

Known for architecture, written language, art, math & astronomy system

Mayan Architecture

Writing System

(Glyphs)

Mayan Art

Math & Astronomy

Mayan Religion

Trade & Currency

Currency small rabbit = 30 cacao beans turkey egg = 3 cacao beans large tomato = 1 cacao bean

Cacao reserved for royalty

A Mayan chief forbids a person to touch a jar of chocolate

Ek ChuahMayan God of Cocoa Bean

Celebrated in April

Cocoa Output

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/50/2005cocoa_bean.PNG

Chocolate

Often said to be from Nahuatl xocolātl which would be derived from xococ "bitter" and ātl "water 

However, the form xocolātl is not directly attested, and chocolatl does not appear in Nahuatl until the mid-18th century. Some researchers have recently proposed that the chocol- element was originally chicol-, and referred to special wooden stick used to prepare chocolate.

Kakaw ('cacao') written in the Maya script. The word was also written in several other ways in old Maya texts.