Cocoa trees and their seed-filled pods, from which all chocolate comes, have a long and rich history throughout the world, but none are more elaborate or as well illustrated as the stories that were told inherited throughout Latin America. Cocoa has played an important role in the life of civilizations throughout Latin America, being used in everything from medicine to ritual sacrifices. Many beliefs and practices passed down from ancient civilizations have lost meaning and value among their descendants. Yet much of what has to do with cocoa and chocolate has stood the test of time and continues to be a part of the daily lives of people living in or coming from what was once considered Mesoamerica. Spanning from 1500 BC to 100 BC, the Olmec were the first of the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations to use cocoa as a food source. In addition to drinking the cocoa or kakaw as they called it, they were able to find a way to process the cocoa so that it could be eaten. The methods used today to ferment, dry, roast, and grind cocoa are modernizations of the same methods originally developed by the Olmec. The reason these methods are still in use today is that the Olmecs were willing to share their knowledge and passed these techniques down to the Mayans. Taking the knowledge learned from the Olmecs, the Maya continued to work with chocolate and developed a serious love for it. They believe that cocoa was the food of the gods and as such was reserved for the elite, the fiercest warriors and, of course, human sacrifices. The Mayans believed that the food of the Gods should be used by paying homage to them and therefore many of those who were sacrificed were fed... middle of paper... remedies to the "witches' profession", a term which we have all adopted in reference to these treatments. But sometimes I think they must work given the longevity of this family, my great-great-grandmother Rosa died in 1996, when she was 113, my great-grandmother Marina died at 99, and my grandfather is currently 96! From learning more about what my Mayan ancestors did with cocoa and chocolate to being able to sit down with my grandmother and talk about her experience with cocoa from a young age, this research paper has given me a number of opportunities I wish I never took advantage of it without actually needing it. I learned so much that I am truly disappointed that I will never be able to return to Lobos Reales (my family's plantation) to put this knowledge to the test among the cocoa masters my family employed.