From the very beginning of Mesoamerican culture some 3500 years ago, it has been associated with long-distance trade and luxury. The  Pacific Coast of Guatemala, thought to be the original source of Olmec culture, was, and remained, an important area of cacao cultivation. The Maya passed on the knowledge of cacao through oral histories, in Jade and Obsidian among other  stonework, pottery and the creation of intricate, multicolored documents (codices) that extolled cacao and documented its use in everyday life and rituals, centuries before the arrival of the Spanish.
From ancient Mesoamerican culture, 3500 years ago, it has been associated with long-distance trade and luxury. The Pacific Coast of Guatemala, thought to be the original source of Olmec culture, was, and remained, an important area of cacao cultivation. The Maya passed on the knowledge of cacao through oral histories, in Jade and Obsidian among other  stonework, pottery and the creation of intricate, multicolored documents (codices) that extolled cacao and documented its use in everyday life and rituals, centuries before the arrival of the Spanish.