Cacao   (November, 2003)

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I made this table for a member of the Board of Directors of the Maya Institute in Dade County.   The Maya watched the monkeys eating cacao pods in the trees.   Monkeys eat the soft center and spit out the seeds.   The Maya picked the seeds up, roasted them and mixed them with water.   Only women could make the cacao drink:  only men could drink it.  The Spanish brought cacao back as valuable cargo along with the gold. The round things on the left are cross-sections of cacao pods.