was worth one, and the daily wage of a porter at the time was 100 cacao seeds. Despite its economic and cultural importance in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, archaeologists have until recently had only ahazy understanding of cacao's history. Butwithin the past decade, detective work on theresidue in ancient day pots by chemists at thelabs of the largest producer of chocolate inthe United States has pushed back theantiquity of cacao beverages by 2, 000 yearsto at least 1500 BC, if not earlier. Understanding the early history of chocolate has led archaeologists to speculate that cacaoplayed a critical role in the economic, religious, and political development ofpeoples such as the Olmec, Maya, andultimately even the Anasazi, or ancestralPuebloan peoples of the American Southwest. The highlighted phrase "detective wort on the residue ancient day pots" refers mainly to the work of: scientists who were evaluating evidence that ancient day pots once held a drink made from cacao seeds. histonans who believed that chocolate played a critical role in the culture of the Aztecs. archaeologists who were searching for day pots in order to study Aztec culture of the 1500s. sociologists who were comparing Mesoamerican culture of 2, 000 years ago with later cultures of the same region. a chocolate manufacturer that wanted to disprove theories that chocolate had existed long before this same manufacturer developed its own recipe