Money in Mesoamerica has a long history and many forms; cacao, a tree seed, was one kind of currency. Abundant archaeological evidence of cacao money in Mesoamerica contributes to broader theoretical debates about money and monetization. Among many competing theories of money, the constitutional model of money particularly emphasizes materiality as well as the importance of money in relationships of governance and finance in ways distinct from both classical and chartalist theoretical approaches. The propositions of this theory bear up when tested with Mesoamerican examples. In particular, the Izalcos polity located in what is today western El Salvador is an important late prehispanic to colonial case study because it relied upon cacao money to an unusual degree and had extraordinary levels of cacao production. Archaeological evidence of Izalcos region settlement patterns, built environment, and material culture patterning indicate the political and economic consequences of cacao money for configuring authority, state finance, agricultural production, and commercial systems. This evidence accords with constitutional model expectations, including governance seeking to measure and mobilize material resources and labor in order to deploy their power in public projects as well as contexts of well-developed markets, some degree of commodity trade, and complex household economies.

中美洲的货币历史悠久，形式多样。可可树的种子是一种货币。中美洲可可货币的大量考古证据为有关货币和货币化的更广泛的理论辩论做出了贡献。在许多竞争的货币理论中，货币的宪法模型特别强调了货币的重要性以及货币在治理和金融关系中的重要性，这与古典和宪政理论方法不同。该理论的命题在与中美洲实例进行检验时得到证实。特别地，位于今天萨尔瓦多西部的伊萨尔科斯政体是殖民案例研究中重要的后期西班牙裔，因为它过分依赖可可货币，并且可可产量极高。伊扎尔科斯（Izalcos）地区定居模式，建筑环境和物质文化模式的考古证据表明，可可货币对配置权威，国家财政，农业生产和商业系统的政治和经济后果。该证据符合宪法模型的期望，包括寻求衡量和调动物质资源和劳动力以便在公共项目中以及在发达市场，一定程度的商品贸易和复杂的家庭经济环境下部署其权力的治理。