Maize - Corn

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Maize agriculture spread from Mexico into the American Southwest and later into the Northeast and Southeastern Canada, converting the landscape as Native Americans cleared large woodland areas for the supernatural crop. The Natives of America could trace the history of corn to the beginning of time. According to the myth of creation, corn was the food of the gods that had formed the earth. It played a pivotal role in numerous native myths and legends. Furthermore, it came to be one of their most essential foods, making up approximately 65 percent of the Natives' diet. Besides its spiritual connections, maize was easy to grow. The plants grew and produced so quickly that two crops could grow in one season. Also, the plant was easy to harvest, not difficult to store in different forms, and had a variety of uses.

The Native Americans referred to maize as one of the "Three Sisters," and they understood that the Three Sisters should never be divided. The other "sisters" are squash or pumpkins and beans. The phrase "Three Sisters" emerged from the Iroquois creation legend. The tell speaks that the earth began when "Sky Woman" who lived above the world gazed through a window in the sky and fell into the endless sea. The animals saw her coming, so they took the soil from the bottom of the sea and scattered it onto the back of a giant turtle to give a secure place for her to arrive. The "Turtle Island" now known today as what we call North America. Later, Sky Woman buried her daughter in the "new earth." From her grave grew three sacred plants; corn, beans, and squash. These plants provided food for her sons, and later, for all of the humanity.

This traditional concept depicts a scientific biological reality. Of all known plants, corn depends on man to such a degree that it cannot propagate without him. The grains are fastened firmly to the cob, tightly wrapped in the thick husks making it impossible for the grains to free themselves and develop into new plants. That is why the common forms of corn cannot exist in the wild.

Although nearly all 50 states grow corn, its production is primarily concentrated in the northern and Midwestern states - collectively known as the U.S. Corn Belt. In the 2014 crop marketing year, the United States grew nearly 351.3 million metric tons of corn. In 2014, it was the leading exporter of maize, accounting for 39% of world corn exports. Today, the bulk of corn is produced is not food production. The wide range of uses for corn has expanded well beyond the usual market items. In fact, it is become rather hard to imagine our world without this diverse and staple. Toothpaste, explosives, paper, clothing dyes, and detergents; there is a vast list of products that contain corn byproducts. In fact, it is estimated that one-quarter of items found in a grocery store contains corn in some form.

The most remarkable element of the maize story, stresses the abilities of the early people 10,000 years ago. The natives were able to reshape a grass with various undesired features into a high-yielding, easy to harvest, sustainable crop. Corn, the staple plant could only exist in its modern form, not because of the gods, but because of the great civilization of Mesoamerican.

Work Cited

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