The Mayans and Aztecs used cacao seeds as money, treating cacao beans and prepared chocolate as units of exchange, tribute, and valuable commodities in Mesoamerican societies.
Overview of Cacao as Currency
Cacao beans served both as a medium of exchange and a store of value in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica; they were used to buy goods, pay tribute to rulers, and even used in ritual offerings, making them central to economy and culture.
Why Cacao Worked as Money
Cacao beans were relatively scarce, divisible, transportable, and widely desired for their use in beverages and ceremonial contexts, giving them intrinsic and perceived value that allowed them to function effectively as currency.
Effects and Cultural Significance
- Economy: Cacao enabled market transactions, taxation, and long-distance trade among Mesoamerican communities.
- Social status: Consumption of cacao drinks and possession of beans signalled wealth and elite ritual practice.
- Colonial impact: European demand and later colonial systems transformed cacao’s role from local currency to an export commodity and cash crop.
Practical Tips for Learners
- Compare cacao to other commodity monies (salt, shells, spices) to understand non-metallic currency systems.
- Explore archaeological and ethnohistorical sources for examples of cacao in markets, tribute lists, and ritual contexts.
- When teaching this fact, emphasise both economic function and cultural meaning to show why cacao was valuable beyond taste.
Quick Related Facts
- Users: Maya and Aztec civilizations
- Form of currency: Cacao beans and chocolate drinks
- Uses: Market exchange, tribute, ritual, and status display