The latest version of Flash Player (9,0,11,0) is required to view this video.
Download the Flash Player Here!
Corn has always played an important role in the lives and culture of the Maya people. In fact, the Maya creation story states that the flesh of humans came from sacred ears of maiz. According to this story, the Creators saw people as a milpa, or cornfield, ready to serve them. But apart from information we can gather through Maya legends and traditions, how do we know that corn was indeed an integral part of this culture and made up 80% of the Maya diet thousands of years ago? To answer questions like this, many scientists, including anthropologists, archaeologists, chemists, biologists, botanists, and ethnobotanists, must work together. Ethnobotanists are scientists who study the role of plants in a society. To better understand how a particular culture interacted with plants in the past, ethnobotanists look for clues in many places. They can learn a lot by finding out how an area's current society uses plants. When you visit the areas of Mexico and Central America populated by five million Maya descendants, it's easy to see that corn continues to be the most important food in the Maya diet. Maya cooks soak kernels of dried field corn in water and lime and then grind the mixture with a mano and metate to make the thick zacan, just as their ancestors have done for thousands of years. They pat the zacan into tortillas or fill it with meat, fruit, or chiles, and then wrap it with corn husks or banana leaves and steam it to make tamales. They even use ground corn to thicken atole, a drink often sweetened with fruit or chocolate. But ethnobotanists need to examine information from sources other than present-day society. Paintings, carvings, figurines, and other art discovered at ancient Maya temple ruins reveal that corn played an important role in religion as well as diet, confirming that the Maya revered the maize god. Since plants exposed to the elements decompose quickly, ethnobotanists also analyze soil samples taken from archaeological sites. They look for pollen, charred seeds, or food remains stuck in the bottom of broken pots. Then they study these fragile remains to analyze the plant's DNA and to compare it with that of the plant's contemporary descendants. Ethnobotanists contribute much to our understanding of how the Maya have interacted with the plants in their environment for thousands of years. These scientists can show us how ancient customs translate into modern life and suggest methods to conserve the traditional ways of a proud culture such as the Maya. What other peoples in the world rely on corn as a dietary staple? How important is corn in your own diet? Popped kernels of corn several hundred years old were discovered with mummies buried in the ruins of a community in Paracas, Peru. What foods other than corn have been around that long? Ask grandparents or friends how their diets have changed over the past 50 years.
