Paso del Macho

Paso del Macho is a Middle Preclassic Maya village in the eastern Puuc region of Yucatan, Mexico, with occupation beginning in the early Middle Preclassic (c. 900-600 BC). Excavations revealed mounded architecture, a main plaza, and a ballcourt, along with the earliest pottery complex in northern Yucatan. Notably, archaeologists discovered 2,500-year-old cacao residue on pottery shards, the first evidence of chocolate used as a food condiment rather than solely as a beverage, suggesting cacao use dating to 600-500 BC.