Archaeologists have discovered chemical and DNA traces of Theobroma cacao on potsherds from an 11th-century feast at Etowah, an Indigenous Mississippian city near modern Atlanta, Georgia. The find, led by University of South Carolina archaeologist Adam King, proves the site had trade connections spanning over 3,000 kilometers to Central America a thousand years ago. Mass spectrometry on unwashed ceramic fragments revealed biomarkers like theobromine and caffeine, initially ambiguous because they also appear in local yaupon holly.

However, ancient DNA analysis confirmed cacao, marking the first evidence linking the Mississippian culture directly to the Maya world. The artifacts date to the construction of Etowah's first major platform mound, indicating long-distance trade networks existed during the city's early development. Contemporaneously, cacao was also consumed at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, suggesting broad pre-Columbian exchange networks across North America.