Cacao trees grow in the ancient area called Me so America, which includes southern Mexico and Central America. Many experts believe that the first people to crack open a cocoa pod and use the bean were the ancient Olmecs, who lived from about 1200 to 200 BCE. The mayans were the first people to plant the beans of wild cocoa farming. in return for other goods, the Mayans traded cocoa beans to the Aztecs, whose lands were too dry to grow cacao trees.