Previously, it was believed that the Olmecs were the oldest civilisation recorded as using cacao in a domesticated practice. However, archaeological and architectural findings in Peru are now revealing evidence of something even older.
Situated in the province of Jaén, in the Cajamarca region of northern Peru, lies a small archaeological site built around a central sunken plaza with two platforms. This is Huaca Montegrande, a spiral-shaped temple belonging to the Mayo-Chinchipe-Marañón people, who lived in the highlands of what is now northern Peru and southern Ecuador, along the Amazonian Andes, from approximately 5500 to 1700 BCE.
They resided on the eastern slopes of the Andes, along the Marañón River - known in Quechua as Awriq Mayu.
Huaca Montegrande
Huaca, or Wak’a in Quechua, refers to something sacred, holy, or possessing spiritual power; a place or being that can act as a bridge between the human and spiritual worlds.
Huaca Montegrande can be translated as “Sacred Big Mountain.”
It was on the eastern platform of Wak’a Montegrande that the temple was built, taking the form of a stone spiral. At its centre lay a ceremonial hearth, surrounded by a cache of greenstone offerings, tools and figurines made from precious green and blue stones. These stones have been associated with water, fertility and blood.
Such artefacts were often buried as offerings, honouring ancestors and the spiritual forces that shaped their world.
The preservation of these ancient temples is, in part, due to the Marañón people burying and sealing their temples beneath large mounds of earth, giving them the appearance of natural terrestrial formations. In doing so, these sacred spaces remained hidden beneath the landscape for thousands of years.
The Spiral
Built from earth and stone, the spiral is one of humanity’s oldest and most universal symbols.
It appears throughout the natural world - in rock formations, caves and seashells, in the unfurling of ferns and the movement of celestial bodies, and even within the structure of our DNA.
The spiral can be understood as a symbol of evolution, the cycles of life and the constantly moving nature of existence.
And here, at Montegrande, the spiral emerges from the belly of Pachamama.
“The spiral of Montegrande would be related to the constellation of Orion, and as it develops in a counterclockwise direction, from the inside out, it would symbolize the path through which the soul travels to the afterlife. In the centre of the spiral would be buried the most important tomb of the temple, along with more evidence of the oldest cocoa in the world.” (Read more here).
Whether interpreted archaeologically, cosmologically or symbolically, the spiral offers a glimpse into the worldview of the people who created this sacred space - one in which the earthly and spiritual worlds were not separate, but deeply intertwined.
It is a symbol that speaks to earth-based and animist practices: to cycles, transformation, death and rebirth, and to the movement between different realms of existence.
The Hearth & The Discovery of the Oldest Cacao in the World
At the centre of the spiral was a ceremonial hearth - an altar and space of worship. It was here that evidence of cacao was discovered.
Archaeological excavations revealed several tombs containing fine ceramic vessels, polished stone bowls and mortars, alongside hundreds of fragments of turquoise and malachite beads, pieces of Strombus seashells and small sculptures.
Within the site, archaeologists also found direct evidence of a number of cultivated and gathered plants, including corn (Zea mays), beans (Fabaceae), manioc (Manihot esculenta), sweet potato (Ipomoea sp.), yam (Dioscorea sp.), arrowroot (Maranta sp.), chilli peppers (Capsicum sp.), cacao (Theobroma sp.) and coca (Erythroxylum coca). (Read more here).
The discovery of cacao at the centre of the spiral provides important evidence of its early domestication and use.
But it is important to remember that cacao itself was not necessarily the ceremony. Rather, it appears to have been an element within a much larger ceremonial and spiritual practice.
The Theobroma plant may have become an ally within the religious and ceremonial life of Wak’a Montegrande - a plant through which people could connect, communicate and enter into relationship with the wider natural world.
From an animist perspective, cacao could be understood as a bridge: a cord of communication between the human and spirit worlds, and a way of entering into relationship with the plant and animal kingdoms.
During excavations, sculptures depicting cacao pods were also discovered. Their presence suggests that cacao held a significance beyond simply being a beverage or food. It was part of the symbolic and ceremonial landscape of Montegrande.
The Jaguar
Among the discoveries at Montegrande was a ceramic sculpture of a jaguar’s head, alongside ceramic fragments depicting the jaguar’s eyes.
“For the inhabitants of the Marañón culture, who built the great spiral-shaped structure of Montegrande, the jaguar was considered the protective spirit of the cacao tree, a god or deity with the ability to control the spiritual world and transcend between different planes of existence.” (Read more here).
The jaguar came to embody many of the qualities attributed to cacao itself: strength, resilience and power.
A being capable of moving through the shadows of the jungle without fear - moving between worlds, unseen and untamed.
In Quechua, the jaguar is known as Uturunku or Otorongo. Across many ancestral Andean and Amazonian cultures, the jaguar has long been associated with strength, power and resilience, as well as with the connection between the natural and spiritual worlds.
For many Indigenous Amazonian cultures, the jaguar is also connected to the spirit of the shaman. This relationship can appear through the idea of the spirit guide, as well as through stories of transformation and shape-shifting into the animal spirit.
To understand this relationship, it is important to consider the worldview of animism.
In Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon, Stephan V. Beyer writes:
“Animism is the view that human beings on the earth live - whether they know it or not - in a community with persons who are not human beings.”
He explains that these other-than-human persons may include animals, plants, trees, rocks, clouds, thunder and stars, and that relationships with them can be formed through communication, exchange, respect and reciprocity.
He continues:
“Jaguars, beneath their jaguar clothing, are already shamans.”
This perspective invites us to look beyond the idea that humans simply use plants, animals or the natural world. Instead, these beings can be understood as persons in their own right - beings with whom relationships can be formed.
One account shared by Panthera, an organisation dedicated to the conservation of wild cats and their ecosystems, tells a similar story from Peru:
“When my great grandfather died, he turned into an otorongo,” said my local guide while walking in the forest. “Otorongo” comes from Quechua and is the local name for jaguars in most areas of Peru.
The guide went on to explain that his grandfather had been a shaman and that, after his death, he became an otorongo and continued to protect the village.
Stories such as these demonstrate that the relationship between humans and jaguars is not simply symbolic. For many Indigenous communities, it forms part of a living worldview in which humans, animals, plants and spirits exist within a shared web of relationships.
Many Indigenous territories, national parks and forest reserves managed by Indigenous communities demonstrate the importance of this relationship. Communities acting as guardians of their lands and ecosystems continue to protect biodiversity while facing pressures from illegal mining, logging, oil concessions and other forms of economic exploitation.
Traditional agroforestry and land-management systems have also played an important role in conserving ecosystems and biodiversity.
Returning, then, to the jaguar found at Huaca Montegrande, we can begin to understand its possible significance within this wider worldview.
The jaguar becomes a protector of the jungle - guardian of the plants, animals and spirits that reside within it.
The Otorongo protects the ancestral fruit held within the sacred spiral at Montegrande, watching over the plant and the practices connected to it.
The Land
The land surrounding Huaca Montegrande is now home to the Awajún, also known as the Aguaruna people.
Historically, and still today, the Awajún have been fierce protectors of their ancestral territories. Their worldview is deeply rooted in reciprocity and harmony with the natural world - values that may resonate with the relationship between people, land and spirit represented at Montegrande thousands of years ago.
The Awajún have also played an important role in the recognition of the collective rights of Indigenous peoples in Peru.
Through initiatives such as the Awajún Autonomous Territorial Government, communities have sought greater control and stewardship over the territories in which they live, while confronting threats including illegal mining, logging, oil concessions and encroachment upon their lands. (Read more here).
The story of cacao cannot be separated from these landscapes or from the people who have protected them for generations.
Honouring Cultural Heritage
With the uncovering and conservation of ancient temples, lands and archaeological sites comes a responsibility to consider the living communities and cultures whose ancestral territories these are.
It is not simply about uncovering the past, taking what we find and laying claim to it.
It is about acknowledging where these stories come from, building relationships, and supporting the lands and peoples who continue to carry them.
When we drink cacao today, we are participating in a story that stretches across thousands of years, continents and cultures.
It is important that we acknowledge the ancient roots and cultural practices bound to this plant, and that we do our best to source cacao responsibly, respectfully and with integrity.
Cacao has journeyed across timelines and countries, carrying stories and legends amongst its leaves. It has accompanied people through ceremonies, rituals and rites of passage, becoming - in some traditions - a bridge between the human and more-than-human worlds.
Perhaps this is part of what makes cacao so powerful.
Not simply the plant itself, but the relationship we choose to build with it.
And perhaps, when we hold a cup of cacao today, we are holding a small part of a much larger story - one rooted in the earth, carried by generations, and still unfolding.
~ Written by Alex Blyth
