A zoo-phytomorphic mold, used to create figurines, depicting the “corporeal” form of a cacao pod. One end features a head with what appear to be jaguar-like features.

According to Mark Van Stone and Paul Johnson (personal communication), this mold represents a personified cacao pod featuring a feline head or characteristics associated with rain and thunder deities.

* Alta Verapaz region and southern Petén (formerly in the Príncipe Maya Museum collection, Cobán, Alta Verapaz)

Commentary:

According to Guernsey et al. (2017:159), an enduring iconographic tradition linking cacao with feline figures exists in cacao-producing regions. Various authors (cited in Guernsey et al., 2017:159) highlight the depiction of cacao pods hanging from a feline’s body on Monument 4 at El Baúl, Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa (AD 450–650). Research indicates that the iconography of the jaguar associated with cacao is part of a broader symbolic realm linking cacao to agricultural fertility and human sacrifice—particularly due to the resemblance between the shape of the cacao pod and the human heart (Thompson, 2011 [1956]). Other iconographic examples show cacao pods emerging directly from feline skulls.

Known in Mesoamerica as the “jaguar tree,” cacao balam, or balam te, the pataxte tree (Theobroma bicolor) can grow at higher altitudes than Theobroma cacao. Upon drying, its husk can resemble jaguar fur; consequently, it is associated with the jaguar in iconography, oral tradition, and ethnohistoric documents (Kufer and McNeal, 2006:97).

Width: 9 cm
Length: 23 cm

Molds in custody of La Ruta Maya Foundation

Molds in custody of the Aragón Maya Museum, Cobán, Alta Verapaz

Object displayed in the Príncipe Maya Museum (Cobán, Alta Verapaz) until the collection was transferred to La Ruta Maya Foundation in October 2010.

“FLAVORS OF MESOAMERICA: The Pre-Hispanic Origins of Regional Gastronomy.” Spanish Cooperation Training Center, Antigua Guatemala (August 14, 2014 – January 5, 2015)

Guernsey, Julia; Michael Love, Rebecca Mendelsohn, Sergio Romero and Andrew Turner. December 2017. “Late Formative feline pedestal sculptures and an iconography of cacao”. MEXICON, Journal of Mesoamerican Studies. Vol. XXXIX, Nr. 6, Pag. 151-169. Bonn, Germany

Kufer, Johanna and Cameron L. McNeal. 2006. “The Jaguar Tree (Theobroma bicolor Bonpl.)” in Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao (Cameron McNeil, editor). University Press of Florida, Gainesville. Pages 90-104.

Thompson, J. Eric S.; 2011 [1956]. “Notes on the Use of Cacao in Middle America”. In The Carnegie Maya III: Carnegie Institution of Washington Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, 1940-1957 (originally published as Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology 128). University Press of colorado, Boulder. Pages 545-552

Van Stone, Mark and Paul Johnson. 2022. MAYA MOLD MADE: Virtual Impressions of Ancient Figurine Molds in the Ruta Maya Foundation Collection. Tlacaélel Press, San Diego, California. 430 pp.