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1. 1 2023-07-19T20:00:17+00:00 Georgia Sharwarko 7ad933ef3a80b90340d55cd58ab43bf23996b85e People cutting themselves behind the ear to bleed onto the cacao pods for sacrificial purposes. Georgia Sharwarko 1 plain 2023-07-19T20:00:17+00:00 Georgia Sharwarko 7ad933ef3a80b90340d55cd58ab43bf23996b85e

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1. 1 2023-07-17T20:27:37+00:00 Rosie Abraham 2a093479b34581dd3e51723cbd505a74ce038215 Indigenous Representations of Cacao from the Americas Georgia Sharwarko 11 plain 2023-07-20T20:37:48+00:00 Georgia Sharwarko 7ad933ef3a80b90340d55cd58ab43bf23996b85e
2. 1 2023-07-19T17:03:46+00:00 Rosie Abraham 2a093479b34581dd3e51723cbd505a74ce038215 Religious, Spiritual, or Ceremonial Representations of Chocolate Georgia Sharwarko 9 plain 2023-07-20T20:32:45+00:00 Georgia Sharwarko 7ad933ef3a80b90340d55cd58ab43bf23996b85e

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• 1 media/gods-cutting-their-ears-and-bleeding-on-cacao-pods.jpg media/gods-cutting-their-ears-and-bleeding-on-cacao-pods.jpg 2023-07-11T20:36:46+00:00 Introduction 59 toc 2023-07-21T14:23:00+00:00 In the winter, we curl up with a cup of hot coco; in the summer, we eagerly eat chocolate ice cream. While the societal obsession with chocolate is not something we are complaining about, have you ever wondered how it came to be? Just a few centuries ago, chocolate did not exist outside Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures. This research explores how chocolate was used in Europe compared to the New World and how that is reflected in art. It further investigates how art embodies the cultural understanding of chocolate and what conditions, influences, and events led chocolate to become represented in particular ways. Through our data collection, we witnessed a variety of recurring themes that shaped cultural understandings and social negotiations of cacao. For example, cultures such as the French portrayed chocolate as a social tool.  Conversely, across other European cultures, the working class was often represented in the harvest, preparation, and serving of cacao, while those consuming chocolate beverages were depicted with markers of prestige and wealth. Additionally, cacao has long standing ties with spirituality and religion from Mesoamerica to post-Columbian Spain and this history can be tracked through artistic renditions of chocolate.
  
  ​​​​It cannot be emphasized enough that chocolate is only a portion of the story, and this is by no means an exhaustive collection of cacao in art. There are many kinds of foodstuffs that have been transferred through cultures. We offer the idea of utilizing passive representations to show cultural exchange. Specifically, the focus is on the vitality of art in terms of historical research, and how art was the representation of this cultural exchange. The continuation of this research in regard to other foodstuffs that were culturally transferred and the analysis of art as evidence for that research is greatly encouraged and appreciated. We invite you to follow the structured path of our page, or explore inline with your own interests through the table of contents or tagged paths below. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• 1 2023-07-17T20:27:37+00:00 Indigenous Representations of Cacao from the Americas 11 plain 2023-07-20T20:37:48+00:00 Indigenous cultures have very positive views on cacao. There are many illustrations of cacao being harvested, ground, cooked, and drunk. From monkeys spreading cacao seeds to chocolate drinking at ceremonies, cacao is often represented                                                                 in Mesoamerican art. 
• 1 2023-07-19T17:03:46+00:00 Religious, Spiritual, or Ceremonial Representations of Chocolate 9 plain 2023-07-20T20:32:45+00:00 In many Mesoamerican cultures, chocolate was considered ceremonial and spiritual. Chocolate was used in place of blood, or mixed with blood, during sacrificial ceremonies, as well as used as a celebratory beverage in wedding ceremonies.
  
  
  As colonizers experienced chocolate, they began to worship the sweet drink as well. This did not agree with the values of Spain, who felt strongly against Spaniards experimenting with sacred pieces of religion outside their own; They felt those who enjoy chocolate were turning their back on God.