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After studying the cultivated cocoa trees, scientists discovered that these were the result of a "single event of domestication" that occurred 3,600 years ago. The latest research on these trees is only part of a broader debate about the beginning of chocolate cultivation by humans.
As Phys.org Omar Cornejo, a population geneticist at Washington State University and also lead author of the new cocoa study, said scientists were asking many questions as part of their research into the origin and domestication of cocoa. chocolate.
"This evidence increases our understanding of how humans have moved and established cocoa in America. This is important in itself, as it gives us time to ask questions that may be more delicate: how long did it take to make a good cocoa? What was the strength of the domestication process? How many plants have been needed to domesticate a tree?
Eighteen scientists from eleven institutions took part in the latest study and discovered that cocoa was chosen for many attributes, including disease resistance, flavor, and theobromine, a stimulant. However, choosing the right attributes meant that the crops had much lower yields, but humans were able to retain the specific genes that they wanted.
Scientists involved in the new research analyzed Criollo, nicknamed "the prince of cacao" and was also the first source of chocolate to be domesticated 3,600 years ago in Central America. However, Criollo was originally from the Amazon Basin, very close to the current borders of northern Ecuador and southern Colombia, and Cornejo thinks traders in Central America are the most likely to 39; prevail.
#Cocoa The dawn date analysis of domestic chocolate makers 3,600 years ago https://t.co/G9gmvpFn1N
– Phys.org (@physorg_com) October 24, 2018
It has been assumed that 3,600 years ago, Criollo's cacao trees were between 437 and 2,674, and domestication technically dates back to between 2,481 and 10,903 years ago. This is scientifically valid because small amounts of theobromine have been discovered in ancient and modern human DNA, as well as in Olmec pottery.
Cornejo noted that scientists are now very interested in trying to take Criollo cocoa trees and see if they can be combined with other cocoa varieties, such as Iquitos.
"What we would like is a way to combine plants of high productivity populations, such as Iquitos, with plants of Criollo origin, while maintaining all these desirable characteristics that make Criollo Cocoa the best in the world."
The new study, which deals with the first domestication of cocoa trees and the source of chocolate, has been published in Biology of communication.
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