- Biblical accounts of "corn" stored in the pyramids of Egypt are
misunderstood. The "corn" from the bible was probably barley. The
mistake comes from a changed use of the word "corn," which used
to signify the most-used grain of a specific place. In England, "corn"
was wheat, and in Scotland and Ireland the word referred to oats. Since maize
was the common American "corn," it took that name -- and keeps it
today.
- It is believed that the first use of wild and early cultivated corn was
popping.
- The oldest ears of popcorn ever found were discovered
in the Bat Cave of west central New Mexico in 1948 and 1950. Ranging from
smaller than a penny to about 2 inches, the oldest Bat Cave ears are about
4,000 years old.
- Popcorn was integral to early 16th century Aztec Indian ceremonies. Bernardino de Sahagun writes: "And also a number of young women danced, having so vowed, a popcorn dance. As thick as tassels of maize were their popcorn garlands. And these they placed upon (the girls') heads."
- In 1519, Cortes got his first sight of popcorn when
he invaded Mexico and came into contact with the Aztecs. Popcorn was an important
food for the Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial
headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc,
the god of rain and fertility.
- An early Spanish account of a ceremony honoring the Aztec gods who watched
over fishermen reads: "They scattered before him parched corn, called
momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses
its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these
were hailstones given to the god of water."
- Writing of Peruvian Indians in 1650, the Spaniard Cobo says, "They
toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla,
and they use it as a confection."
- The use of the moldboard plow became commonplace in the mid-1800s and led to the widespread planting of maize in the United States.
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