Cacao: When Money Grew on Trees
Denver
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Join fellow alumni at Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science and learn about the cultural impact and history of chocolate, one of the world’s most fascinating (and tempting) treats.

The program includes a visit to the interactive exhibition Chocolate, which features the cacao’s various roles as a plant in the tropical rainforest, a part of mass-produced candy bars, and an international commodity. The use of cacao dates to 1900 BC, and the exhibition also reveals the bean’s history as a key to the vast Aztec empire and a ceremonial beverage among the Maya. Finally, see how people around the world currently consume the sweet stuff—a chocolat chaud in France versus a hot chocolate in the United States, for instance.

Deborah Nichols, Dartmouth’s William J. Bryant 1925 Professor of Anthropology, will guide you through the exhibition and deliver the presentation Cacao: When Money Grew on Trees. A professor at Dartmouth since 1985, Nichols specializes in the archaeology of agriculture in the pre-Hispanic Americas, and the formation of states and cities in Mexico and Central America. She is co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology and has written and helped edit dozens of articles for leading journals.Her classes at Dartmouth include The Aztecs, Ecology, Culture, and Environmental Change. In addition to her role in the anthropology department, Nichols is chair of the Latin America, Latino, and Caribbean Studies program.

The event will include a presentation by Professor Nichols, entrance into the exhibition, and a reception including, of course, chocolate!

Program
6 p.m. Welcome and registration
6:15 p.m. Talk with Professor Deborah Nichols
7:30–9 p.m. Viewing Chocolate Exhibition
7:30–9:30 p.m. Reception

Pricing
Alumni and guests: $65
Classes of 2005–2015: $55

Location
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
2001 Colorado Blvd
Denver, CO  80205

This event is hosted by Dartmouth Alumni Relations in partnership with the Dartmouth Association of the Rocky Mountains. To learn more about Dartmouth on Location programs, please contact us at (603) 646-9159 or ar.ace@dartmouth.edu.

Top photo: Courtesy Denver Museum of Nature and Science