A Brief History of Chocolate1
 

Confectionery history has a record of at least 4,000 years, when
Egyptians displayed
their pleasures on papyrus. Sweetmeats were being sold in the
marketplace in 1566 BC.
Yet chocolate didn't appear on the scene until the ancient Aztec and
Mayan cultures
discovered the value of the cacao plant. It is reputed to have
originated in the Amazon
or Orinoco basin.