Gifts from the Yucatan

Not only have the ancient Mayans contributed to science, mathematics, architecture, astronomy and writing but they have given the world a large array of foods:
Avocados -used as an aphrodisiac, eaten, oils are made, numerous uses including guacamole.
Black Beans - still a favorite food in the Yucatan and throughout Latin America
Chilies - Grown in the Americas for more than 6,000 years, crucial to nearly every fiery cuisine in the world.
Chocolate - "food of the gods", cacao beans were used as currency, possibly the New World's greatest gift to civilization.
Corn - a staple in the Mayan diet causing them to stop being nomads and begin being farmers.
Papaya - the fruit of a large tree, often used for upset tummies.
Tomatoes -Cultivated by the Mayans long before the conquest
Vanilla -Southern Mexico is still the only place the Vanilla Bean orchid grows wild, pollinated by native sting-less bees that produce Mayan honey.

Just imagine - life without vanilla or chocolate.