Anthropology 24, Section 1
Chocolate: History, Culture, and Science (1 unit, P/NP)
Professor Rosemary Joyce
Tuesday 11:00-12:00, 2251 College Avenue, Room 101, CCN: 02546

Food for Thought dining arrangements will be discussed in class.

Chocolate is an everyday part of life in the US today. Displays of chocolates next to cash registers give a sense of its global scope, with varieties boasting of coming from Belize, Venezuela, Indonesia, and Ghana. Meanwhile, fine chocolates are associated with Belgium, France, and Emeryville. What is less obvious to the chocolate consumer is the world of chocolate research, which ranges from studies of DNA and medical potential to identifications of the oldest traces of the parent plant, cacao, and its use for a wide range of foods, drinks, and medicinal preparations. In this seminar, we will delve into the world of chocolate research, finding out what commonly held ideas are being debunked, and asking questions as yet unanswered about the culture, history, and science of chocolate. This seminar is part of the Food for Thought Seminar Series.

Rosemary Joyce has participated in archaeological field research in northern Honduras since 1977, and co-directed a project investigating the earliest evidence of village life in that country where she recovered evidence of chocolate dating to 1150 BC. The sites she has worked at span the entire known sequence of occupation in Honduras, from the Early Formative (before 1500 BCE) to the twentieth century. Since 1992, she has coordinated her field work with the cultural resources management goals of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History, working in the lower Ulua Valley to record information about sites being destroyed for economic development. Her publications include many books, the most recent "Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives" (2008, Thames and Hudson), as well as dozens of journal articles and book chapters on topics including gender, sexuality, pottery, burials, and of course, chocolate. Website: http://anthropology.berkeley.edu/people/person_detail.php?person=3