Ancient DNA reveals cacao was consumed in present-day Georgia 1,000 years ago

Phys.org reports that new research suggests people in the Mississippian city of Etowah, in what is now Georgia, were consuming cacao — the plant behind chocolate — about a thousand years ago. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, indicates that chocolate may have been enjoyed in eastern North America much earlier than previously thought, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. That would push back the known timeline of cacao use in the region by centuries.

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