Corn refers to a tall annual cereal weed scientifically referred to us Zea mays that was originally cultivated in Mexico. The grass is widely planted for the stretched out ears of starchy seeds. In Mexico where it originated, the wild grass goes by the name teosinte. Corn contains carbohydrates and some vitamins majorly Vitamin C, and Vitamin B. Corn serves as livestock feed, biofuel, and human food. Corn planting spread across the world through the voyages of Columbus who had interacted with the grain while on his tour in America. Overall, this paper analyzes the impact that corn had particularly on the lives of the earliest American settlers.
Background to Corn Farming
Corn farming started at around 7, 500 BC in Mexico when people preferred to cultivate corn as opposed to picking wild. Furthermore, people began to breed corn plants with the aim of increasing its amount after discovering bred corn produced bigger ears with many kernels and was easier to eat. Corn growing spread to the neighboring country of Ecuador at about 6000 BC ( Oliver, 2005). In 1 AD, the Pueblo natives of North America started growing corn. People ate corn while fresh as soon as it ripened in summertime by boiling the ears or roasting and by making popcorn. Importantly, people dried the kernels and later crushed the products into cornmeal that they used to make tortillas and tacos.
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Ideally, from Mexico, corn spread northwards to the Southwestern United States and later south down towards the coast of Peru. At about 1000 years ago, the native red Indians of America migrated north and entered the eastern woodlands that make the present day North America bringing corn with them. By the time European explorers such as Columbus made their discovery of America, he had encountered corn for the first time, and by that same time corn had reached Europe. Columbus introduced corn to Europe from the Americas ( Park, Hongu & Daily III, 2016). Corn then spread to the rest of the world from Europe and has now become one of the most populous food crops in the world. However, in America, corn is majorly planted as animal feed in the ranches. Corn is also the most cultivated crop in the US.
Impact of Corn on Earliest American Settlers
Researchers contend that about 10,000 years ago, people began domestication of both plants and animals establishing agriculture as a means of sustenance to the conventional hunting and gathering approach. Agricultural revolution provided abundant and reliable food supplies, and the cultivating populations thus adopted more settled living by establishing permanent settlements as it is evident in Mesoamerica (Oliver, 2005).
The Olmec
Mesoamerica refers to the geographical area that stretches from North Panama all the way to the central Mexican desert. The Mesoamericans, who practiced polytheism, domesticated corn by 5,000 BCE and it was their main diet. Corn had a lot of impact on the earliest settlers of America. Native Americans, particularly those that resided on North America, cultivated food from several species of plants that transformed them from hunter-gatherer economy to an agricultural one. Eastern United States adopted the cultivation of maize from Mexico after 200 BCE ("Growing Food," n.d.). Native Americans dwelling in the present day Canada changed from the cultivation of indigenous plants and adopted a maize-based agricultural economy. Corn cultivation led to the abandonment of the indigenous plants. The abandoned indigenous plants previously domesticated by the natives reverted to their natural wild forms. As such, maize took a long time undergoing genetic transformation to suit the North American climatic conditions.
Over time, the plant adapted the prevailing climatic conditions to become one of the most preferred foods for the indigenous population. Maize was productive and provided a stable food supply to the Native Americans who invented storage methods to preserve the grains. Maize led to the cultivation of large tracts of land as the natives cleared the woodlands to create space for farming ("Growing Food," n.d.). Importantly, the hunting and gathering lifestyle of the Native Americans changed to permanent settlement as the people preferred to till their land. The Natives realized that domesticated maize crops produced more grains than those that grew widely. Change in the diet of the earlier settlers was another notable change that was brought about by corn cultivation. The diet of the natives changed from animal products and other cereals to major on maize. For instance, the Aztec included tortilla, a product from corn, in almost all their meals. They used the tortilla as the main meal or staple food for very many years.
Growth of Religion
Corn played a significant role in the lives of the Native Americans, which explains why some earliest settlers of America used maize in the worship. The Aztecs, one of the earliest settlers in America, worshipped maize. As such, maize formed the essential food for Mexicans for thousands of years and was eaten in every meal in the form of tortilla. Aztec women grounded maize from five hundred years ago and mixed the resultant flour with lime. Corn was critical for the overall survival of the Aztec people, which explains why droughts and floods that affected maize were considered a disaster ("Growing Food," n.d.). The Aztecs felt the need to keep their world in proper order to avoid the occurrence of such disasters. To this end, they engaged in practical activities such as field terracing for water preservation and channeling fresh water from distant places that came with aqueducts as well as fertilizing the soil. They also believed that both human and natural aspects of the world had spiritual powers and required to be recognized as gods. The aspects included water, food plants, and the earth that supported life.
Due to the vital role that maize played in the lives of the Aztecs, they worshipped the crop and celebrated the different stages that accompanied the plant’s life with offerings and festivals. The people gave unique names to the stages and created images that symbolized the stages in both stone and paintings. The young maize was portrayed as a young man called Cinteot or a young woman called Xilonen while the old corn was referred to us Chicomecoatl. The images depicted the gods holding maize cobs in their hands. The Aztec believed it was essential to establish the pictures and to make offerings to them to ensure the maize cycle progresses with the new plants emerging from the seeds of the dying plants ("Growing Food," n.d.). Overall, maize was part of the religion of the ancient settlers of Native America in that they included the plant in the list of their gods and offered sacrifices to them during the various stages of the plant growth.
Establishment of Leadership
Cultivation led to the change of lifestyle of the earliest settlers from hunting and gathering to farming. Farming needed settled life and establishment of settlements in the various places. The settled lives necessitated the need for law and order in the society thus giving rise to the various political organizations in the community. The organization was necessary for the organization of land tillage, crop management, crop harvest, and storage (Oliver, 2005). Leaders emerged and organized the society to ensure there was enough labor for cultivating the crops. Organization of labor ensured that the crop was well attended to throughout the year until harvesting time.
Labor was needed throughout the corn cultivation period to harvesting, which explains why labor organization was critical. In summary, corn changed the way of life of the earlier settlers of America by way of introducing political leadership as a way of instituting social order. Land ownership was also introduced by the cultivation of corn in that individuals abandoned the communal ownership of land in favor of individual ownership (Oliver, 2005). The land was subdivided where individuals tilled their parcels of land and cared for the crop until harvest time. The result of the domestication of corn was increased productivity, which necessitated the establishment of storage tools.
Emergence of Cities
Early settlers established the permanent settlements with the aim of focusing on the cultivation of corn. The settlements increased in number as more and more people came together for the same reasons. Over time, the settlements developed to towns and cities leading to the concept of urbanization (Oliver, 2005). The settlements also gave rise to populous towns where people not only lived together but also started exchanging farm produce that came from different places. People exchanged corn products with other cereals that they did not cultivate on their lands, which gave them a way of disposing of their surplus corn products. Generally, early settlers adopted corn cultivation and abandoned their hunter-gatherer lifestyles, and the permanent settlements led to the growth of town and cities.
Cultural Perspective
Corn played a mythological role in many native tribes of America as some considered it as a deity while others regarded it as a special gift to culture hero. Heroes among the communities received corn gift as appreciation. Corn also played sacred roles with the pollen facilitating ritual adornment as well as spiritual offerings. Trading activities also gained traction with corn cultivation among early settlers. Domestication of corn led to the surplus production of the product and the cultivating communities such as the Aztec needed to gain other commodities that they did not cultivate. They, therefore, traded corn with products such as spices from Cicely and perfumes from Cypress. Traders interacted with the cultivators at the various trading centers and exchanged their products (“ Historic Farming," n.d.). The cultivators also exchanged corn for animal products as most of them abandoned animal rearing in favor of corn cultivation thus leaving them in need of essential animal products such as hides and milk.
Corn cultivation increased socialization activities as people came together to celebrate the bumper harvest at the end of the plant life cycle. Harvesting marked an essential part of the lives of the cultivators. People came together to pray for the harvest and offer rituals to the gods to bless the seeds and make them produce other plants in the subsequent seasons ( Wilford, 1995). For instance, the Aztec believed that offering sacrifices to the Maize gods led to a successful crop cycle and also kept disasters such as floods and drought that affects maize production at bay. The celebrations of the different life stages of the corn plant also brought people together thus enhancing socialization amongst them. Generally, corn cultivation provided occasions that brought people together, which improved socialization in the society.
It is important to note that the earliest settlers of America practiced agriculture but relied on the traditional farming methods to only provide them with enough food that lasted for a given duration. Corn cultivation changed the manner in which agriculture was practiced in that people started plowing large chunks of lands. The natives cleared the woodlands to create land for corn cultivation ("Major U.S. Crops: Corn," n.d.). The use of terraces also became part of the activities that the cultivators focused on in a bid to divert water to their farms for irrigation. Agriculture changed drastically regarding mechanization as pumping machines came into play to aid in irrigation exercises. Importantly, the people improvized grain storage technology to enable the grain to stay for long (Oliver, 2005). The need to store the corn grain led to the discovery of pottery. People used clay pots to store the dried grains. Pots and granaries become popular among the early settlers as they ensured the safety of the grains in the entire storage period.
Stable settlements alongside the domestication of corn led to more productivity. With the abundance of food, particularly corn, it led to population increase among the early settlers. Increased population among the natives led to migrations to new lands as people wanted to reduce population pressure in the ancestral lands (Williams, 1907). It is important to note that the introduction of corn changed the lives of the earlier settlements entirely considering the increased populations brought the necessity of social order through rules and regulations. Laws revolutionized the way people interacted and provided the basis for the laws that apply today. In brief, corn production led to an increase in population, which later brought the need for social order through formal rules and institutions of safeguarding the same laws.
Conclusion
In light of the above discussion, it suffices to state that corn changed the lives of the earlier settlers in America. Corn cultivation led to the introduction of social order in society through the establishment of laws and institutions that safeguard the same laws. Moreover, corn production changed the lives of people from the hunting-gathering life to settled lives of cultivators. Growth in religion was also as a result of the introduction of corn as some natives such as the Aztec who introduced the maize made offerings to the god during the plant life cycle. Importantly, the overall lives of people changed drastically with the adoption of corn cultivation, which also opened up the Americas to the outside world.
References
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