[James C. Bennett]

Impossible.

The world is only 6000 years old.

/ sarc.

[JoeProBono]

[gleneagle]

Oh my it has been genetically modified! Can’t eat or tolerate that can we.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Ping

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

It is known that south of there, in the Amazon basin, as far back as 2500 BC, the natives were making “Terra preta”, artificially created, self-sustaining agricultural soil.

Rain forests normally have very poor soil, with most of the nutrients in the plants above it, and water tending to leech the nutrients out of the soil. But the natives figures out that a combination of low temperature charcoal, likely soaked in urine for a while, as well as smashed bone, feces, and baked pottery shards, when mixed in soil from 1 foot to 1 yard in depth, not only made it far better for plants, but tended to revitalize itself, continuing to keep itself fertile, even after hundreds of years.

Since flat, wet land is conducive to grasses, it is no surprise that after the harvest of a good year, those grains preserved for their quality to be used as seed might, in a relatively few generations, make some big jumps.

[GeronL]

He has known since he was 4 that he wanted to be a corn geneologist. lol. /sarc

[Sacajaweau]

I calced that it occurred 9,472 years ago. When are these people going to learn to be exact...:-)

[conservativeharleyguy]

My maternal grandfather, James P. Craig, lived and worked in Mexico from the early 1890’s until about the end of 1912. He ran several large-scale logging camps and mine operations in the Sierra Madre and the area of Copper Canyon. His logging crews primarily consisted of Tarahumarra Indians who told him all about “Tiosinto” (and many other herbal remedies as well). The link between “TioSinto” and corn was common knowledge there - though not yet “scientifically” established.

In the 1920’s, it became relatively safe for him to travel there again. He had made some powerful friends and enemies during the Revolution, and by then all were dead, including Villa (who was killed in reprisal for the murders of my grandfathers close friends Maclovio and Louis Herrerra who were high-ranking revolutionaries). He returned in the early 20’s with a group of Botanists from the University of California, San Diego, and spent the better part of year in the canyon guiding them as they cataloged the plant species.

They did extensive research into Tiosinto, and published their findings long ago. I was just a little boy when he died, but I heard about Tiosinto all my life. Hell, I saw a poster on the wall of a chili shop in the mall in Santa Fe 15 years ago of all the different kinds of corn - right at the top - yep..... Tiosinto.

I've always been fascinated with the idea that a “primitive” culture could dedicate the time and resources to develop an entirely new food crop. Given the conditions and limited (nonexistent by our standards) technology of the time. Unless it was the result of a rapid mutation, it probably took generations of farmers to do it.

I agree with an earlier poster about genetic modification. I tell people when they complain about modern corn growing practices that all corn is “genetically modified”. It just happened in the fields long before we were born.

Anyway, just my story..

[dfwgator]

"Corn is niiiiiice!"