The History and Evolution of Corn
by Steve Peters

Corn, known throughout most of the world as maize (Zea mays),
represents the most remarkable plant breeding achievement in the
history of agriculture. The modern manifestation of this ancient plant
bears little resemblance to its original ancestor, a wild grass from
southern Mexico called teosinte. This transformation from an
inconspicuous grass to a diverse, highly evolved and productive food
plant is a story of co-evolution and interdependence between humans
and maize that spans thousands of years and involves millions of
farmers.

An Unlikely Ancestor

Teosinte is a tall, drought-tolerant grass that produces, instead of a
cob, spikes close to the ground, filled with two rows of small,
triangular-shaped seeds within an enclosed husk. A hard shell around
each seed protects them once they fall to the ground.

Perhaps within 100 years after discovering that teosinte was edible,
people began selecting spikes to plant near their homes, which were
close to irrigation sources. These selected plants continued to be
developed in isolation from wild teosinte that was growing in the
surrounding forests, and thus the process of developing maize had
begun.

The oldest known corncobs, distinctly different from teosinte, were
found in the highlands of Oaxaca in southwestern Mexico and are
estimated to be 5,400 years old. They had two to four rows of kernels
firmly attached to the cob and were only one-inch long. Yet, even by
then, there had already been at least two thousand years of human
manipulation.

This attachment of kernels to a central cob and the lack of a hard,
inedible coat around the seed are the key factors that have
inextricably bound corn with humans ever since those early times. Firm
attachment meant that ears must be harvested and kernels manually
removed from the cob for corn to successfully reproduce and disperse.
Lack of a hard seed coat required protection, namely cool and dry
storage, until the following spring planting.

The Cradle of Corn Diversity

The exact location of the first maize distinct from teosinte is
unknown, although multiple hot, humid, lowland sites throughout
Mesoamerica have been suggested, including Panama, the Gulf Coast
region of Tabasco, Mexico, and the Balsas River basin bordering the
Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacan. Expansion to highland
regions followed soon after.

Although the tropical lowlands may be the source of the original
maize, the cradle of maize breeding has been the mountain valleys of
Oaxaca, Mexico. This area has been a crossroads for plant and animal
migration for millions of years, and its unique topography has created
many different climatic and soil conditions within a relatively small
area.

Boone Halberg, foremost expert on corn who has lived and worked in
Oaxaca for over 50 years, has estimated that there may be over 85,000
varieties of corn unique to Oaxaca. This represents perhaps the
greatest diversity of any known crop in the world, and to this day the
farmers of Oaxaca continue selecting and improving their maize
varieties.

Corn Culture in the Americas

Maize culture spread first southward and then northward beyond its
area of origin. Northern New Mexico had maize 6,000 years ago. From
there, it took nearly 5,000 more years to reach the eastern seaboard
of the U.S. The farming tribes of the Ohio valley consumed little or
no corn in 800 AD, but by 1100 AD it was a major part of their diet.
The Iroquois nation of New York state began growing corn about 1070
AD.

It was previously believed that the introduction of corn quickly
transformed nomadic hunter/gatherers into farmers. Archeological
evidence now suggests that when corn was introduced, people were
already farmer/horticulturists, and that the change from botanical
curiosity to dietary staple occurred over a much longer period of
time, perhaps 1,000 years or more. Therefore, before the arrival of
corn, early cultures already were becoming sophisticated, complex
societies. Maize, because it grows fast and yields well did,
nevertheless, lead to a dramatic population increase throughout its
area of dispersal. It also became integral to the social and spiritual
lives of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas.

When Columbus arrived to the New World 500 years ago, maize was grown
from southern Canada to the southern tip of South America, and from
sea level to elevations over 11,000 feet. Its adoption by thousands of
diverse cultures over 7,000 years has produced an astounding variety
of shapes and forms. Heights range from the two feet tall chapalote
from North American deserts, to the twenty-feet (yes twenty!) tall
Olaton gigante from Oaxaca. Maturity dates are from two to fifteen
months. Ears from five to forty-five inches long produce a rainbow of
kernel colors and different sizes of flint, dent, flour, and popcorn
types. Some maize varieties flourish in areas receiving 200 inches of
rain per year, while others survive with a mere five inches annually.

Preserving Corn Diversity and Continuing the Evolution

Seeds of Change has always offered a range of corn varieties,
representing a tiny but significant sampling of the staggering
diversity that exists today. We continue to add heirloom, traditional,
and newly developed corn varieties to our list. While our yellow and
white sweet corns might resemble what many think of as classic "corn
on the cob," our dent, flour, and parching types will vastly expand
the adventurous grower's appreciation for this revered crop.

Popcorn, perhaps the most ancient type, has an extremely hard
endosperm (interior of the seed containing stored food), which, when
heated, explodes (pops). Japanese Hulless is a popular standard grown
widely throughout Asia. Chires Baby has miniature ears and tiny red
kernels and yields up to thirty ears per plant; it can be also stir-
fried whole in its immature stage.

Dent Corn has a distinct indentation on the top of the kernel caused
by the softer inner endosperm shrinking more than the harder,
translucent outer portion of the kernel. This type is the most widely
grown commercial type in the U.S. Our Oaxacan Green Dent has been
grown for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years by the Zapotec Indians
in Oaxaca, Mexico: when ground, it produces a delicious, nutty, green
flour, which makes some of the best cornbread we've ever tasted. Flint
corn, has a very hard, translucent endosperm, and unlike dent types,
it lacks the softer interior. This is the type common to native
peoples from the northeastern and midwestern U.S. Wachichu Flint is a
traditional variety from a Sioux tribe in eastern North Dakota. One of
our seed growers from that area fell in love with this variety (and
you will too!) for its gorgeous array of colors and its versatility as
a high-quality forage and grain.

Flour Corn has a soft endosperm, which is easier to mill than the
harder dent and flint types. Great examples are Hopi Pink, Hopi
Purple, and Anasazi from the American Southwest, and Mandan Red from
the Northern Plains.

Parching Corn also has a soft endosperm—and is typically dry roasted
on a hot skillet, where it expands slightly to make a nutritious and
flavorful snack. We like to add a little powdered red chile. Supai Red
and Magenta Purple have their origins from indigenous people of the
Andes in South America.

Sweet Corn is the newest type of corn; it was developed about 200–250
years ago. It's distinguished from other corns by its high sugar
content during the earlier stages of maturity (milk and early dough)
and by its wrinkled, translucent kernels when dry. True Gold and True
Platinum are Seeds of Change selections of yellow and white heirloom
varieties, respectively, and are perennial favorites with our
customers. Stowell's is a very tall, venerable white-seeded heirloom,
and Hooker's and Triple Play are excellent short-season varieties.
Black Aztec is eaten as sweet corn when its kernels are white, but
when its kernels mature to a blue-black it becomes an excellent flour
corn. Rainbow Inca is a fascinating blend of large, white, flat-seeded
chokelo (flour) type from Peru, several colorful Southwestern flour
varieties, and a few heirloom sweet corns. At 75–80 days it is sweet
and flavorful when steamed, at 80–95 days it becomes more starchy and
is delicious roasted, and after 120 days it reaches its full "rainbow"
stage and can be dried and milled for flour.

A Robust Plant of Many Uses

Maize is consumed in an unprecedented number of ways, including as a
sweetener, a rare delicacy at religious feasts, a fermented beverage,
and as a cooking oil. Dried corn silks were used as a tobacco
substitute. Cornmeal gruel served as a poultice, or when scorched,
used as baby powder. It is eaten boiled, roasted, parched, popped, as
a steamed vegetable, and as a dry grain.

The biological superiority of maize over other plants is due to its
ability to accumulate greater amounts of heavy (C13) carbon to produce
higher yields over a shorter time period. At the time of Columbus'
arrival in the New World, a standard cereal (wheat, barley, and rye)
yield in Europe was six units seed harvested for every one unit
planted. (6 to 1). In contrast, a standard maize yield was 150 to 1.
In bad years, when rain was scarce, maize yields may drop to 70 to 1,
but that's still 10 times greater than the standard European cereal
yield. Corn yields of Olmec farmers 3,000 years ago have been
estimated to be 180–250 lbs. (dried and shelled) per acre. Yields
today can be ten times higher, but often with a high cost to the
environment due to heavy applications of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides.

The Niacin Problem

There are, however, precautions that must be taken when maize is the
dominant food. The poorer people of 19th century Europe consumed so
much maize that it caused pellagra, a chronic disease that begins with
diarrhea and can end with dementia and death, and is caused by a
deficiency of niacin. This is prevented with a more diverse diet that
contains niacin.

Pellagra can also be avoided by eating corn in the form of tortillas.
This ancient tradition of the Mesoamericans requires corn grains to be
boiled with an alkaline substance. This process results in niacin
being more available for human consumption. In actuality, it is not
that maize lacks niacin, but it is simply unavailable in most ways
that it is consumed. Curiously, while corn spread rapidly throughout
the globe within 50 years of Columbus landing in the New World and was
eaten in hundreds of different ways, the tortilla tradition did not
travel beyond its origin in Mesoamerica.

Adaptation and Sustainability in the Americas

Several years ago, a group of Native American farmers and scholars
gathered at Cornell University to celebrate the gift to the world that
Indian corn represents. They spoke of the spiritual, psychological,
social, agronomic, nutritive, and sustainable value of maize through
personal experiences as well as academic research.

Arturo Warman from Mexico explained how maize became an organizing
principle for traditional societies. Where to plant maize and where to
locate the village in relation to the maize fields were important
considerations as communities expanded. Maize also organized time, by
the seasons of planting, cultivating, and harvest.

Jorge Quintana outlined the specific practices of corn agriculture
that have sustained the Nahua Indian communities of Nicaragua for
millennia. Quintana explained that they first burn the fields just
prior to the onset of the rainy season to eliminate weeds and
concentrate mineral nutrients. Chickens and other birds then go into
the fields to eat soil-dwelling insects that otherwise may harm the
crop. Planting is always done on the new Moon, as celestial events are
known to have significant influences on the success of the crop.
Weeding is done selectively, leaving legumes and habitat for
beneficial insects, and harvesting some weeds for medicinal purposes.
The Nahua also developed the strategy of interplanting with beans,
squash, and cassava to increase overall production and diversify their
diet.

Jane Mt. Pleasant spoke of the sustainable agricultural systems of the
Iroquois nation in New York state. The practices were different from
the Nahua of Nicaragua, of course, but were perfectly adapted for
their own environment. In recent years, agricultural scientists and
farmers have been making concerted efforts to improve the
sustainability of conventional agriculture by developing and
incorporating a variety of techniques into agricultural systems. The
techniques receiving the most attention include No-Tillage, Ridge-
Tillage, Crop Rotation, and Intercropping. Ironically, all of these
practices were utilized and perfected by Iroquois farmers more than
800 years ago.

Although the yields of indigenous varieties are not as high as modern
hybrids, they tend to be more reliable, sustainable, and better
adapted to the local environment. Boone Halberg (mentioned above)
relates the story of introducing modern, hybrid corn into Oaxaca.
During the rainy season, the hybrid corn produced big, lush, dark
green plants compared to the local varieties, which were smaller and
more yellow. Then the rains stopped and the hybrid corn died, while
the local varieties went on to produce a decent grain yield.

The Spiritual Connection

At the Cornell Conference, Rederico Teni spoke of the sacred
significance of corn among his Kekchi people of Alta Verapaz,
Guatemala. At 500,000 strong, they are one of 22 distinct indigenous
groups descended from the ancient Maya. The following is an excerpt
from Teni's remarks quoted in the Northesat Indian Quarterly cited
below:

"From the beginning of time, our Indian ancestors spoke to us about
corn. In our sacred book that remains with us, the Pop-wuj, sacred
book of the Maya, two of our original people, Hunahpu and Xbalanque,
speak to their children about the raising of corn. In more recent
times, we've come to a deeper understanding that our ancestors had a
great knowledge base about agriculture. We have some surviving books
from that time that we still look to but, in fact, the larger number
of books that our people had developed were burned by early
missionaries, and so we lost a great deal of knowledge that is
unlikely to be recovered."

"The Pop-wuj teaches us that all people have their own culture and
their own worldview and that all people of the world develop major
crops that are a legacy to humanity. In that context, the indigenous
peoples of the Americas developed corn as a major staple, the Asian
peoples developed rice, the European peoples developed wheat, the
African peoples lived from millet and sorghum."

"Crop cycle begins in January or February. The ceremonial priest and
the family gather for an all night ceremony the night before the
choosing of the field in order to connect with the natural world
around the area—the spirits of the valley and the mountains—and in
order to ask for protection for their crops so the winds and the rains
will come at the right time, and foraging animals will leave the food
that is destined for human beings."

"They request strength and protection for the being that is to be
born, which is corn. They ask permission of the spirits on behalf of
this being so that, as they disturb the natural vegetation of the place
—they need to clear some land—they won't incur the wrath of the tree
spirits and the other vegetation that they must disturb in order to
plant. Then they burn the field which warms the earth, eliminates
insect and other soil life that is destructive to the crop, and the
ash left from the burning enriches the soil."

"Seed for planting is carefully chosen and comes from the thickest
part of the ear. The whole community gathers to plant corn together,
with planting sticks, hoes and machetes. The intent is to plant all in
one day, regardless of the size of the field. At the end of the
season, the harvesting is also a community-wide event."

"Eight days after storing the harvest, the family, by themselves, will
go to the field again to gather anything that might have been left. It
is considered disrespectful to leave ears, or even grains of corn in
the field. This is done so that the connection that has been made is
in no way disrupted—the spiritual connection to what they call the
Heart of the Sky. It is seen as the need to make good on the request
to the spirit to protect. If this is not done right—if there is waste
of corn in the field—it is believed that the element of planting for
that family begins to diminish and over the years the harvest will not
be as good."

"This way of being for the people is based on the knowledge that corn
is alive, the corn feels and it cries. Corn symbolizes the continuity
and the importance of the cycle for the family—the maintenance of
family and of the larger extended community. The abundance of corn
brings happiness, prosperity and health."

http://www.seedsofchange.com/enewsletter/issue_43/corn.asp