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Maize Cultivation in Mesoamerica

Type Object Region Mesoamerica Time c. -5000

Maize (Zea mays) was domesticated and selectively bred over millennia in Mexico's valleys and Mesoamerican highlands, forming a system bound to calen…

Timeline

  1. c. -5000–-2500Tehuacán Valley · Puebla StateArchaeological strata and radiocarbon dating show early peoples gradually selecting wild teosinte into early maize with larger cobs and easily shed kernels, interplanted with beans and squash.
  2. 250–900Guatemalan Highlands · GuatemalaMaya city-states supported population growth through terracing, fallowing, and varietal differentiation; maize was closely tied to the religious calendar and sacrificial tribute system, becoming the material basis of political legitimacy.
  3. 1431–1440Lake Texcoco and Tenochtitlan · Valley of MexicoUnder Itzcoatl (1427–1440) the Aztec Triple Alliance consolidated control over valley polities; chinampa floating gardens and irrigation canals allowed multiple maize harvests per year, sustaining the capital's population and serving as the core commodity of tribute and market exchange.
  4. 1492–1800Iberian Peninsula to agricultural regions of the Old World · SpainDuring the colonial period maize spread by ship to Eurasia and Africa, quickly naturalizing in the African Sahel and southwestern China, transforming from a regional Mesoamerican staple into the world's third-largest food crop.

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