HOW SWEET IT IS! Do you know what the oldest currency is in the Americas? (Hint): It's an Aztec precoin currency which came into being circa 1100 BC, way before Aztec Hoe Money debuted. (Hint): Natural fermentation changes this currency into a drinkable liquor which was consumed during important religious rituals by royalty and spiritual leaders. (Hint): It was a special cultivated crop, tended only by a select few who were entrusted to grow and harvest the currency. It was forbidden for anyone to export seeds, seedlings or saplings. Individual Spanish military personnel however, upon vanquishing the Aztec civilizations, smuggled all three, transplanting the currency in Africa and other tropical areas. (Hint): 100 of them would buy a turkey, three of them would buy a fresh Avacado and 8,000 would buy one unit of Aztec Hoe money. What's this ancient American precoin currency? In Nahuatal it's called Xocoatl (English, bitter water). Spanish military returnees, back from their conquests of the Aztecs referred to it as Chocolate. The first currency in the Americas was the Cacao (Cocoa) Bean (seed or pip). Unpicked Cacoa Clusters: (fotosearch.com photo): NOTE: Cocoa Pods grow on tree trunks, not branches: http://www.fotosearch.com/AGE049/k89-302514/ Ripe Cacao (Cocoa) Pod: (photosearch.com photo): http://www.fotosearch.com/FDC003/928340/ Opened Cacao (Cocoa) Pod Exposing Beans (Pips): (photosearch.com photo): http://www.fotosearch.com/FDC003/928358/ Close-up Opened Cacao (Cocoa) Pod: (fotosearch.com photo) http://www.fotosearch.com/FDC003/928361/ Fondling the Wealth: (scn.org photo): http://www.scn.org/rdi/images/coc11c.jpg A Vault Full Undergoing Sun Drying: (cocoatree.org photo): http://www.cocoatree.org/assets/images/pictures/fermenting.jpg Want to see a photo of that Aztec Hoe Money 8,000 of these Cacao Beans would buy? (Smithsonian National Museum Photo): http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&gkey=100&objkey=5955 Thought you might want to know... Clinker
Thanks Clinker I rember a show on the history channel about chocolate and it told teh story of some nuns at a mission that neglect their duties to make chocolate and got in trouble
Man, you mean they were buying 'hoes' with chocolates way back then? i guess thats where the custom of giving chocolates on Valetines day comes from.
thats pretty interesting. i love the early history of the americas. just because they weren't socially connected with the rest of the world. even after they were discovered, all that buccaneer stuff is really intriguing to me. when i was a little kid, i used to want to discover a new continent and start my own country....
OK! That was a stone-age, melt-in-your-mouth good one. Your trivia postings are becoming a daily treat [pun intended] ..... keep 'em coming. Good on you!
To my friend randygeki.. I omitted the fact that Chocolate Beans were also precoin currency (later) within the Anastasi, Mayan and Toltec civilizations... Clinker
HI tmoneyeagles... As long as I get positive comments from posting new articles, I'll keep submitting them... Clinker
maybe i will discover the earth is not entirely round and find a small water bridge to a part of the world that is undiscovered(and has the largest oil reserve, ever found)! o yea, it needs to have plants that can cure any disease or illness, mountains made of gold and a few fountains of youth.
Panda has just described our 50th state. LOL. However, we are still diligently searching for that "largest oil reserve." LOLH [H=harder].
