An Ecuadorian archaeological gem has reached Budapest
Last Wednesday, April 26th, one of the few existing replicas of the vessel that has led researchers from around the world to determine that the origin of cocoa was in Ecuador was unveiled in Budapest.
The unique piece arrived in the Hungarian capital as part of Ecuador’s international program to promote the history of one of its featured and famous products.
On this occasion, the Embassy of Ecuador in Hungary organized a private event, in which the iconic vessel was handed over to the collection of the Szamos Chocolate Museum, where the vessel has been exhibited to the public since last Thursday, April 27th.
Personalities from the academic, diplomatic and cultural world attended the event, where Gabriella Kelényi Szamos, owner of the Szamos Marzipan, thanked the Ecuadorian people for their confidence in honoring, preserving and making known the history of one of the most traded products in the world, which is the mission of the museum they successfully manage.
Likewise, Ambassador Jose Luis Salazar Arrarte, during his speech provided technical data about the find and made it clear that one of his missions is to make this interesting history known to the world.
“Ecuadorians feel proud of our land, and this discovery gives us one more reason to be grateful for the country where we were born, with all the resources we have there. To think that today, after thousands of years, that the chocolate that a person eats here in Hungary or in any part of the world, has at least a minimum percentage of our seeds, fills our hearts with much more pride”, he said.
During the event, attendees not only had the opportunity to learn about the history of the pot and part of the Ecuadorian culture, but also had the opportunity to taste chocolate-based delicacies such as the champagne “Chocolate in a bottle”, with the smell and taste of chocolate of Ecuadorian origin.
- read also – Ambassador Salazar: Ecuador is not as far from Hungary as you might think – interview
The context
The discovery took place in 2007, when a group of French and Ecuadorian scientists found some pieces of these vessels, in the middle of a half hectares of archaeological remains, located between the rivers Valladolid, Palanda and Chinchipe, where the Mayo-Chinchipe culture cultivated one of the sweetest agricultural treasures of humanity around 5,300 BC: cacao, the main ingredient of chocolate.
The Yachak (name of Kichwa for the wise) was the one who conducted the ceremonies, and in it a sacred drink was consumed based on the fermentation of the cocoa paste. “Theobroma cacao” is the Latin name for this marvelous product and it means “food of the gods”, its name was given by Carl Linnaeus, in the eighteenth century, reassuring that this food has been of great value for centuries.
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