In the ancient society young people were taught agriculture as profession and trade. This meant the methods of corn cultivation, were passed on to future generations. Crop was also used by ancient people to trade for other products like skins, animals and woodwork. The ancient American society had a strong economy that was based on trade, having corn and other crops for trading meant people could buy other important products which they needed. This helped in the development on ancient civilization on the basis of maize agriculture.
http://www.campsilos.org/mod3/students/c_history.shtml, this is another good source for studying the history of corn that can be used for academic work. Strengths of this source are that it gives enough information about the corn origin for academic purposes; it can be used by teachers, students and research related reasons. Also, it shares information of pioneer farming and corn farming in today’s world and the future of corn. Few weaknesses of this source are; it shares limited information about the how ancient civilization evolved from maize cultivation and the reasons why corn became the basis on which ancient civilization thrived.
Corn used to be the most important food, constituting 65% of the diet of ancient Americans. For civilizations like Mayas, Aztecs, Incas and Pueblos of United States, growing corn used to take precedence over other activities. The Native American tribes used to grow corn for both utilitarian or food purpose. When Europeans arrived, they brought their crops with them but found out that their crops could not inhabit the American soil and environment. With time they started to depend on Corn and learned the methods to grow and harvest crops which were suitable to the native soil (Sargent, 1984).
Apart from the divine connections, natives had many practical reasons behind use of maize. It was easier to cultivate, and it used to grow fast. In fact, some of the crops use to grow so fast that two crops were grown in a single season. Additionally, plants were east to harvest, storage was not difficult and corn also had the variety of usage. Natives used to store most the corn they harvested, as they dried it up by hanging then to dry in air (Sargent, 1984).
When Europeans arrived in the New World, the saw that natives was dependent on a grain called corn. The settlers brought their own grains, but they found that their grains could not grow in the American climate as they used to in Europe. Settlers started to learn to grow corn from natives, who used to grow them in a large amount. Within a small period of time they mastered the knowledge, and this helped them in settling in the New World (Gibson & Benson, 2002).
According to some scientists, corn was developed by people living in central Mexico around 7,000 years ago from wild grass known as Teosinte. When Columbus came to America, he discovered corn and took it back to Europe. Similar to the natives, colonial farmers found that corn had many useful purposes and by-products. They used its leaves and stalk as food for their livestock. Cobs were used for fuelling fires and husks were made into chair bottoms, brooms, collars for animals and pad mattresses.
My personal experience of eating corn flakes as a kid every day for breakfast that gave me enough energy for the school day, and served as a healthy meal for me as a growing child. I used to add fruit and sugar to make my breakfast corn cereal more delicious and desirable. I still follow this habit as it is the best breakfast meal I can think of till date.
Conclusion
Native Americans have transformed maize over thousands of years through their special techniques of cultivation. Settlers started to learn to grow corn from natives, who used to grow them in a large amount. Settlers with time learned the ease with which these crops could be grown, and the little attentions and skill needed to be learned. Over the years, corn remained an important, useful and versatile part of native life and the survival of European settlers.
Works Cited
Sargent, T.L. The importance of one simple plant. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-colonial/1874. learnnc.org. 1984. Web. 2014
Gibson, L & Benson,G. Origin, History, and Uses of Corn (Zea mays). http://agron-www.agron.iastate.edu/Courses/agron212/readings/corn_history.htm. iastate.edu. 2002. Web. 2014
Prindle, T. Evolution of Maize Agriculture. http://www.campsilos.org/mod3/students/c_history.shtml. campsilos.org. 1994. Web. 2014
History Detective. http://www.nativetech.org/cornhusk/cornhusk.html. nativetech.org. 2009. Web. 2014
