Humans may have been enjoying cacao, the substance used to make chocolate, for much longer than experts had thought. Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada have found that humans grew cacao trees and consumed cacao starting around 5,300 years ago. They published their findings in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution in late October. The researchers found evidence of cacao’s use at an ancient village in the highlands of southeastern Ecuador. They examined the remains of very old objects at the Santa Ana-La Florida archeological site. The village was part of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture of the Andes. Time has had little effect on the village and ceremonial center. The researchers were able to find a lot of evidence of the use of cacao. Scientists had already mostly agreed that cacao was first domesticated in South America instead of Central America, as they once believed. But the new discovery shows cacao was domesticated about 1,500 years earlier than was known before.