Agriculture in Mesoamerica dates to the Archaic period of Mesoamerican chronology (8000-2000 BC). During this period, many of the hunter gatherer micro-bands in the region began to cultivate wild plants. The cultivation of these plants probably started out as creating known areas of fall back, or starvation foods, near seasonal camps, that the band could rely on when hunting was bad, or when there was a drought. The plants could have been brought purposely, or by accident. The former could have been done by bringing a wild plant food closer to a camp site, or to a frequented area, so it was easier to get to or collect. The latter could have happened as certain plant seeds were eaten and not fully digested, causing these plants to grow wherever human habitation would take them. By creating these known areas of plant food, it would have been easier for the band to be in the right place, at the right time, to collect them. Adjective archaic (more archaic, most archaic) From an earlier period and no longer in common use; of or characterized by antiquity or archaism, antiquated. ... Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ... // Events The south area of Çatalhöyük. ... (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 2064 – 1986 BC -- Twin Dynasty wars in Egypt. ... This box:      A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, using foraging and hunting, without significant recourse to the domestication of either. ... A female child during the Nigerian-Biafran war of the late 1960s, shown suffering the effects of severe hunger and malnutrition. ... A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environmental water needs. ...

As the Archaic period moved on, these cultivated plant foods became more and more important to the people of Mesoamerica. The reliability of the cultivated plant foods would allow the micro-bands to increase in size. These larger bands would require more food, and that would lead to even greater reliance on purposely-cultivated plant foods. Eventually, a subsistence pattern, based on plant cultivation, supplemented with small game hunting, became much more reliable, efficient, and generated a larger yield. Tillage (American English), or cultivation (UK) is the agricultural preparation of the soil to receive seeds. ... The following is a list of subsistence techniques: Hunting and Gathering, also known as Foraging freeganism involves gathering of discarded food in the context of an urban environment gleaning involves the gathering of food that traditional farmers have left behind in their fields Cultivation Horticulture - plant cultivation, based on the... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Another group to consider in the origins of Mesoamerican agriculture is the sedentary fishers. These people would have already lived in semi-permanent villages, and could have experimented with cultivating wild plants to supplement their shellfish diet. As cultivation became more focused, many plant species became domesticated. These plants were no longer able to reproduce on their own, and many of their physical traits were being modified by human farmers. The most famous of these, and the most important to Mesoamerican agriculture, is maize. A fisherman in central Chile A Long Island fisherman cleans his nets A fisherman (in recent years sometimes called a fisher to be non-gender specific), is a person who engages in the activity of fishing. ... Cooked mussels Shellfish is a term used to describe shelled molluscs and crustaceans used as food. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Domesticated animals, plants, and other organisms are those whose collective behavior, life cycle, or physiology has been altered as a result of their breeding and living conditions being under human control for multiple generations. ... Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ...

Crops

The origin of maize is still not completely known. Richard MacNeish has done an extensive archaeological survey of Mesoamerica, and determined that the most likely place for the first cultivation for maize was probably in the Tehuacan Valley around 5000 BC. However, how maize arrived at this point, or how it was originally cultivated is still a mystery. Teosinte has been proposed as the ancestor of maize, but teosinte looks nothing like modern maize, and many molecular botanists do not agree with this theory. The origin of maize aside, it became the single most important crop in all of Mesoamerica. Maize is storable for long periods of time, it can be ground into flour, and it easily turns into surplus for future use. Maize became vital to the survival of the people of Mesoamerica, and that is reflected in their origin, myths, artwork, and rituals. Archaeological field survey is the methodological process by which archaeologists (often landscape archaeologists) collect information about the location, distribution and organisation of past human cultures across a large area (e. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 5th century BC started on January 1, 500 BC and ended on December 31, 401 BC. // The Parthenon of Athens seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... species ssp. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Look up flour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... // The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μύθος mythos, a story or legend, and λόγος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. ... The Mona Lisa Although today the word art usually refers to the visual arts, the concept of what art is has continuously changed over centuries. ... A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. ...

The second most important crop in Mesoamerican agriculture is the squash. Cultivated and domesticated before maize, dated to 8000 BC in Oaxaca, the people of Mesoamerica utilize several different types of squash. The most important may be the pumpkin, and its relatives. The seeds of the pumpkin are full of protein, and are easily transportable. Another important member of the squash family is the bottle gourd. This fruit may not have been very important as a food source, but the gourd itself would have been useful as a water container. Another major food source in Mesoamerica are beans. These may have been used as early as squash and maize, but the exact date of domestication is not known. These three crops form the center of Mesoamerican agriculture. Maize, beans, and squash form a triad of products that gave the people of Mesoamerica some great advantages. These three crops form a complementing nutrient triangle. Each contributes some part of the essential vitamin mix that human beings need to survive. The other benefit that these three crops have is that planting them together helps to retain nutrients in the soil. Species - hubbard squash, buttercup squash - cushaw squash C. moschata- butternut squash C. pepo- most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash References: ITIS 223652002-11-06 Hortus Third Squashes are four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called pumpkins and marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. ... Oaxaca is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash fruit, usually orange in colour when ripe. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... The calabash (Lagenaria siceraria) is a vine-based plant that produces a fruit that resembles either a bottle, utencil, or pipe. ... Green beans Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae) used for food or feed. ... A nutrient is either element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organisms metabolism, growth, or other functioning. ... Retinol (Vitamin A) Vitamins are nutrients required in very small amounts for essential metabolic reactions in the body [1]. The term vitamin does not encompass other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids. ...

Many other plants were first cultivated in Mesoamerica; tomatoes, avocados, guavas, chilli peppers, manioc, agave, and prickly pear were all cultivated as additional food resources, while rubber trees and cotton plants were useful for making cultural products like latex balls and clothing. Another culturally important plant was the cacao. Cacao beans were used as money, and later, the beans were used for making another valuable product, chocolate. Binomial name Solanumlycopersicum Linnaeus ref. ... Binomial name Persea americana Mill. ... Species About 100 species, including: Psidium cattleianum - Strawberry Guava Psidium friedrichsthalium - Costa Rica Guava Psidium guajava - Apple Guava Psidium guineense - Guinea Guava Psidium littorale - Cattley Guava Psidium montanum - Mountain Guava Guava (from Spanish Guayaba; Goiaba in Portuguese) is a genus of about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees... The chile pepper (also chili or chilli; from Spanish chile) is the fruit of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family (Solanaceae). ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz Cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta; also yuca in Spanish, and mandioca, aipim, or macaxera in Portuguese) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. ... Species Agave americana Agave fourcroydes Agave sisalana many others, see text Agaves are succulent plants of a large botanical genus of the same name, belonging to the family Agavaceae. ... Species Many, see text Opuntia is a genus in the cactus family Cactaceae. ... Latex being collected from a tapped rubber tree Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky colloidal suspension (known as latex) in the sap of several varieties of plants. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... The LaTeX logo, typeset with LaTeX , written as LaTeX in plain text, is a document preparation system for the (TeX) typesetting program. ... It has been suggested that folding clothes be merged into this article or section. ... Binomial name Theobroma cacao L. For the town in French Guiana, see Cacao, French Guiana. ... Binomial name Theobroma cacao L. For the town in French Guiana see Cacao, French Guiana Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is a small (4–8 m tall) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to tropical South America, but now cultivated throughout the tropics. ... Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration. ...

Crop List

A list of Mesoamerican cultivars and staples: A cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant species. ... A staple food is a food that forms the basis of a traditional diet, particularly that of the poor. ...

1. Maize* (domesticated from teotsinte grasses in southern mexico)
2. Squash* (pumkins, zuchinni, acorn squash, butternut squash, others)
3. Pinto bean (Frijol pinto) ("painted/speckled" bean; nitrogen-fixer traditionally planted in conjunction with the "two sisters", maize and squash, to help condition soil; runners grew on maize)
4. Tomato*
5. Potato*
6. Avocado* (also known as “aguacate” in Spanish)
7. Cacahuate* (Peanuts)
8. Chicle* (also known as chewing gum)
9. Chile* (also known as peppers in many varieties)
10. Chocolate*
11. Vanilla
12. Black raspberry
13. Strawberry (various cultivars; modern Garden strawberry was created by crossing sweet North American variety with plump South American variety)
14. Pineapple (cultivated extensively)
15. Nopales* (stem segments of [prickly pear] [Opuntia] [cactus])
16. Tunas* (fruits of many different species of cultivated [Opuntia] [cactus])
17. Jicama*
18. Papaya*
19. Guayaba* (guava fruit)
20. Huautli* (Amaranth grain; other species present on other continents)
21. Cherimoya* (fruit)
22. Mamey* (fruit, other parts of plants have noted uses)
23. Yerba Buena (aromatic herb)
24. Sunflower seeds (under cultivation in Mexico and Peru for thousands of years, also source of essential oils)
25. Cassava* (edible starchy root also known as manioc; also used to make tapioca)
26. Tobacco*

(* Asterisk indicates a common English or Spanish word derived from an indigenous word) Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Look up squash in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Categories: Vegetables | Legumes | Food and drink stubs | Plant stubs ... Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form (N2) in the atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds useful for other chemical processes (such as, notably, ammonia, nitrate and nitrogen dioxide). ... Look up Tomato in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, commonly grown for its starchy tuber. ... Binomial name Persea americana Mill. ... Peanuts was a syndicated daily comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950 to the day after Schulzs death, February 13, 2000. ... Binomial name Manilkara chicle (Pittier) Gilly Chicle is the gum from Manilkara chicle, a species of sapodilla tree. ... Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration. ... For other uses, see vanilla (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Rubus occidentalis L. The cultivated Black Raspberry is Rubus occidentalis, an American species, and is not the same as the Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus). ... Species 20+ species; see text This article is about the strawberry plant. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nopales are a vegetable, made from the young stem segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines. ... Species See Example species. ... Species Pachyrhizus ahipa Pachyrhizus erosus Pachyrhizus ferrugineus Pachyrhizus panamensis Pachyrhizus tuberosus Ref: ILDIS Version 6. ... Binomial name Carica papaya L. The papaya, also known as mamão, tree melon, fruta bomba, lechosa (Venezuela and the Dominican Republic), or pawpaw is the fruit of the tree Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. ... Species About 100 species, see text. ... Species See text. ... Binomial name Annona cherimola Mill. ... Binomial name Mammea americana Mammea americana, commonly known as Mammee, mammee apple, mamey apple, San Domingo apricot or South American apricot, is a evergreen tree of the family Clusiaceae, whose fruit is edible. ... Binomial name Clinopodium douglasii (Benth. ... Binomial name Helianthus annuus L. The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae, with a large flower head (inflorescence). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Cassava hay. ... Tapioca is an essentially flavourless starchy ingredient, or fecula, produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking. ... Species Nicotiana acuminata Nicotiana alata Nicotiana attenuata Nicotiana benthamiana Nicotiana clevelandii Nicotiana excelsior Nicotiana forgetiana Nicotiana glauca Nicotiana glutinosa Nicotiana langsdorffii Nicotiana longiflora Nicotiana obtusifolia Nicotiana paniculata Nicotiana plumbagifolia Nicotiana quadrivalvis Nicotiana repanda Nicotiana rustica Nicotianasuaveolens Nicotiana sylvestris Nicotiana tabacum Nicotiana tomentosa Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Land Use

One of the greatest challenges in Mesoamerica for farmers is the lack of usable land, and the poor condition of the soil. Several different methods have been used to combat these problems. The two main ways to combat poor soil quality, or lack of nutrients in the soil, are to leave fields fallow for a period of time, and to use slash and burn techniques. In slash and burn agriculture, trees are cut down and left to dry for a period of time. The dry wood and grasses are then set on fire, and the resulting ash adds nutrients to the soil. These two techniques are often combined to retain as many nutrients as possible. However, in the jungle environment, no matter how careful a farmer is, nutrients are often hard to retain. Satellite image of circular crop fields in Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. ...

To combat the lack of large tracts of usable land, farmers in Mesoamerica have found ways to create more land. The first way to create land is to form terraces along the slopes of mountain valleys. Terraces allow farmers to use more land on the mountain slopes, and to move further up the mountain than they normally would be able to. Some terraces were made out of walls of stones, and others were created by cutting down large trees, and mounding soil around them. In the valleys themselves, there is evidence that the Maya used raised fields in some of the swampy areas, and onto the flood plains. These practices were also used by the Aztecs. However, the Aztecs created floating plots of land called chinampas. These were floating plots of mud and soil, placed on top of layers of thick water vegetation. Terraced vineyards near Lausanne The Incan terraces at Písac are still used today. ... The Maya civilization is a culture Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, its spectacular art and monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... A freshwater swamp This article is about the wetland type (a landform). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Floodplain. ... The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. ... Chinampas is an Aztec term referring to a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture through floating gardens—small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable land used for agriculture in the Xochimilco region of the Basin of Mexico. ...