General Aztecs Maya Tocuaro Kids Contact 19 Mar 2024/2 Death
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Man with cacao pod

Aztec man with cacao pod

Man carrying cacao pod Mexica, height 36 cms., Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York.

Dressed in a loincloth and wearing a headdress, this volcanic stone figure depicts a man holding a larger-than-life cacao pod. Precious cacao beans, grown in the semi-tropical lowlands of SE Mexico, were a luxury item that took on the status of currency for the Mexica. This figure may represent a member of the high-status merchant class, in a simple display of a good that exemplifies so clearly his economic power in Aztec (Mexica) society.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore