FIRST CONTACTS 28000 BCE 1821 CE
MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS THE OLMECS TO CORTES
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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It was a staple of the Mesoamerican diet.
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It was used only to feed domesticated animals.
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It played only a ceremonial role in Mesoamerican culture.
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It was the only crop Mesoamericans knew how to grow.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Maize was the staple food in ancient Mesoamerica and fed both nobles and commoners. They even developed a way of processing it to improve quality. Nixtamalization is the Nahuatl word for steeping and cooking maize in water to which ash or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) has been added.
Detailed explanation-2: -Maize, also called milpa, was one of the most important crops. Maize was typically boiled in water and lime and eaten as a gruel mixed with chili pepper (saka’) for breakfast or made into a dough for baking on a flat-stone (metate) as tortillas or flat cakes (pekwah) and as tamales, stuffed and baked in leaves.
Detailed explanation-3: -Maize matures rapidly, stores well, and thrives in so many different climates and soils. Mesoamerican farmers grew crops like maize, squash, and beans on a milpa, a farm plot created by cutting or burning down forest and planting crops.
Detailed explanation-4: -The most important plant in ancient Mesoamerica, was, unarguably, maize. Squash and beans were also important staples of the ancient Mesoamerican agricultural diet and along with maize, are often referred to as the “Three Sisters".
Detailed explanation-5: -Maize was so important to the ancient Mayans that it even had spiritual and religious significance. According to Maya mythology, human beings were created from maize: white corn was used for the bones, yellow corn for the muscles, black corn for the eyes and hair, and red corn for the blood.