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Mesoamerican Agriculture
Agriculture in Mesoamerica dates to the Archaic period of Mesoamerican chronology (8000–2000 BC). At the beginning of the Archaic period, the Early Hunters of the late Pleistocene era (50,000–10,000 BC) led nomadic lifestyles, relying on hunting and gathering for sustenance. However, the nomadic lifestyle that dominated the late Pleistocene and the early Archaic slowly transitioned into a more sedentary lifestyle as the hunter gatherer micro-bands in the region began to cultivate wild plants. The cultivation of these plants provided security to the Mesoamericans, allowing them to increase surplus of "starvation foods" near seasonal camps; this surplus could be utilized when hunting was bad, during times of drought, and when resources were low. The cultivation of plants could have been started purposefully, or by accident. The former could have been done by bringing a wild plant closer to a camp site, or to a frequented area, so it was easier to access and collect. The latte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zea Mays
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native Americans planted it alongside beans and Cucurbita, squashes in the Three Sisters (agriculture), Three Sisters polyculture. The leafy Plant stem, stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ear (botany), ears. The ears yield grain, known as Corn kernels, kernels or seeds. In modern commercial varieties, these are usually yellow or white; other varieties can be of many colors. Maize relies on humans for its propagation. Since the Columbian exchange, it has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the List of most valuable crops and livestock products, total production of maize surpassing that of wheat and rice. Much maize is u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theobroma Cacao
''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family. Its seedscocoa beansare used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Although the tree is native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2022 was Ivory Coast. The plant's leaf, leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, long and broad. Description Flowers The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the Trunk (botany), trunk and older branches; this is known as cauliflory. The flowers are small, diameter, with pink Calyx (botany), calyx. The floral formula, used to represent the structure of a flower using numbers, is ✶ K5 C5 A(5°+52) (5). While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by bees (Hymenoptera) or Butterfly, butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera), cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies, ''Forcipomyia'' biting midges. Using the natural pollinator ''Forcipomyia'' midges produced more fruit tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicle
Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus '' Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and '' M. bidentata''. The tapping of the gum is similar to the tapping of latex from the rubber tree: zig-zag gashes are made in the tree trunk and the dripping gum is collected in small bags. It is then boiled until it reaches the correct thickness. Locals who collect chicle are called ''chicleros''. Etymology The word ''chicle'' comes from the Nahuatl word for the gum, , which can be translated as "sticky stuff". Alternatively, it may have come from the Mayan word . Chicle was well known to the Aztecs and to the Maya, and early European settlers prized it for its subtle flavor and high sugar content. The word is used in the Americas and Spain to refer to chewing gum, being a common term for it in Spanish and being the Portugue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed either fresh or after storage, using Food preservation, preservation techniques by canning, Freezing (food), freezing, or Dehydrated food, dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming. It is an annual plant (rarely biennial plant, biennial), growing as tall as . Spinach may Overwintering, overwinter in temperate regions. The leaf, leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular, and very variable in size: long and broad, with larger leaves at the base of the plant and small leaves higher on the flowering stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, in diameter, and mature into a small, hard, dry, lumpy fruit cluster across containing several see ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaya (plant)
''Cnidoscolus aconitifolius'', commonly known as chaya, tree spinach, or spinach tree, is a large, fast-growing and leafy Perennial plant, perennial shrub that is believed to have originated in the Yucatán Peninsula of southeastern Mexico. The specific name (botany), specific epithet, ''aconitifolius'', refers to the plant’s "''Aconitum''-like leaves"—coincidentally, another well-known dangerous, even deadly, genus of plants. As with most Euphorbiaceae, euphorbias, the entire plant contains a caustic, viscous and potentially dangerous white sap which flows readily when any part of the plant is broken, cut or damaged. The plant can grow to be tall, but usually is pruned to approximately for easier leaf harvest. It is a popular leaf vegetable in some regional Mexican cuisine, Mexican and other Latin American cuisine, Central American cuisines, used similarly to cooked Swiss chard or spinach. White, typically unremarkable flowers are borne of a terminal panicle held high ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapioca
Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but which has now spread throughout parts of the world such as West Africa and Southeast Asia. It is a perennial shrub adapted to the hot conditions of tropical lowlands. Cassava copes better with poor soils than many other food plants. Tapioca is a staple food for millions of people in tropical countries. It provides only carbohydrate food value, and is low in protein, vitamins, and Mineral (nutrient), minerals. In other countries, it is used as a thickening agent in various manufactured foods. Etymology ''Tapioca'' is derived from the word ''tipi'óka'', its name in the Tupi–Guarani languages, Tupi language spoken by natives when the Portuguese first arrived in the Northeast Region of Brazil around 1500. This Tupi word is translated as 'sedimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are processed to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian , and the related ''garri'' of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying it (and roasting in the case of both and ''garri''). Cassava is the third-largest source of carbohydrates in food in the tropics, after rice and maize, making it an important staple food, staple; more than 500 million pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocessed, they taste intensely bitter. In making chocolate, these seeds Cocoa bean fermentation, are usually fermented to develop the flavor. They are then dried, cleaned, and roasted. The shell is removed to reveal nibs, which are ground to chocolate liquor: unadulterated chocolate in rough form. The liquor can be processed to separate its two components, cocoa solids and cocoa butter, or shaped and sold as unsweetened baking chocolate. By adding sugar, sweetened chocolates are produced, which can be sold simply as dark chocolate (a.k.a., plain chocolate), or, with the addition of milk, can be made into milk chocolate. Making milk chocolate with cocoa butter and without cocoa solids produces white chocolate. In some chocolates, other ingredients ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cocoa Bean
The cocoa bean, also known as cocoa () or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances) and cocoa butter (the fat) can be extracted. Cacao trees are native to the Amazon rainforest. They are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink. The cacao tree was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in South America before it was introduced in Mesoamerica. Cacao was consumed by pre-Hispanic cultures in spiritual ceremonies, and its beans were a common currency in Mesoamerica. The cacao tree grows in a limited geographical zone; today, West Africa produces nearly 81% of the world's crop. The three main varieties of cocoa plants are Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario, with Forastero being the most widely used. In 2024, global cocoa bean production reached 5.8 million tonnes, with Ivory Coast leading a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avocado
The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was prized for its large and unusually Avocado oil, oily fruit. The tree likely originated in the highlands bridging south-central Mexico and Guatemala. Avocado trees have a native growth range from Mexico to Costa Rica. Its fruit, sometimes also referred to as an alligator pear or avocado pear, is botanically a large Berry (botany), berry containing a single large seed. Sequencing of its genome showed that the evolution of avocados was shaped by polyploidy events and that commercial varieties have a Hybrid (biology), hybrid origin. Avocado trees are partly Self-pollination, self-pollinating, and are often Plant propagation, propagated through grafting to maintain consistent fruit output. Avocados are presently cultivated in the tropical and Medi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cherimoya
The cherimoya (''Annona cherimola''), also spelled chirimoya and called chirimuya by the Quechua people, is a species of edible fruit-bearing plant in the genus ''Annona'', from the family Annonaceae, which includes the closely related sweetsop and soursop. The plant has long been believed to be native to Ecuador and Peru, with cultivation practised in the Andes and Central America, although a recent hypothesis postulates Central America as the origin instead, because many of the plant's wild relatives occur in this area. Cherimoya is grown in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world including Central America, northern South America, southern California, South Asia, Australia, the Mediterranean region, and North Africa. American writer Mark Twain called the cherimoya "the most delicious fruit known to men". The creamy texture of the flesh gives the fruit its secondary name, the custard apple. Etymology The name is derived from the Quechua languages, Quechua word ', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agave
''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plants in this genus may be considered perennial, because they require several to many years to mature and flower. However, most ''Agave'' species are more accurately described as monocarpic rosettes or multiannuals, since each individual rosette semelparity, flowers only once and then dies; a small number of ''Agave'' species are polycarpic. Along with plants from the closely related genera ''Yucca'', ''Hesperoyucca'', and ''Hesperaloe,'' various ''Agave'' species are popular ornamental plants in hot, dry climates, as they require very little supplemental water to survive. Most ''Agave'' species grow very slowly. Some ''Agave'' species are known by the common name "century plant". is a Spanish word that refers to all of the large-leafed pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
