Reflections on Maize in Indian Culture ("Spanish Missionary," ca. 16th century)

As I labor to bring divine clarity to the Indians of the new Spanish territory in America, I have had to learn their languages well, and heard many of their histories. One subject that particularly interests me, and as I know well, many of the curious at home, is that of the Indian staple, maize, and its development. In many of the cultures I have come across, maize is revered as a power source and even plays a role in the creation myths of the people. I have heard, for instance, that the Indians in the South believe that they were created from maize dough. Certainly, a grand variety of products are made from this vegetable, from bread to honey to wine; it is indispensable to these cultures.¹ These facts lead me to believe that maize has indeed been with the Indians for a very long time and that this accounts for their intimate knowledge of it; for even savages, given enough time, will adapt and respond to what they perceive in their natural surroundings, and even have an impact on them. We have seen examples of this in the Eastern cultures, who periodically burn the forests surrounding their villages in order to allow growth of more useful species and get rid of undergrowth.²

Just as we do, the Indians pass their knowledge down to future generations – though truthfully their method is not so reliable as written word, being often outlandish tales. Many Europeans do not place importance upon these stories, but I have carefully listened to them and they have led me to conclude that there was, in fact, a civilization here before any of the cultures we now
encounter. This civilization must have been the source of the corn which the Indians now tend and depend on. The Indians tell their tales not only to outsiders, but to each other, and in this way knowledge is passed between groups; and so, across the new continent, one finds similar fields and foods despite the different cultures and climates. One also finds similar tools for processing the maize: stone tools for grinding the kernels, which have been named the "mano" and "metate," and are essential for the production of Indian bread. I may be excused, then, for surmising that maize processing techniques have been shared and, through experiments of many groups over many years, best practices have come to light.³

1. Linda S Cordell, Wolcott Toll, Mollie S. Toll and Thomas C. Windes. “Archaeological Corn from Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico: Dates, Contexts, Sources,” American
Antiquity 73 (2008): 491-511. Accessed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/25470501.

2. H. Thomas Foster II, Bryan Black, and Marc D. Abrams. "A Witness Tree Analysis of Effects of Native American Indians on the Pre-European Settlement Forests in East-Central Alabama," Human Ecology 32 (2004): 27-47. Accessed at http://www.jstor.org/pss/4603501.

3. Kent G. Lightfoot and William S. Simmons. “Culture Contact in Protohistoric California: Social Contexts of Native and European Encounters,” Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 20 (1998): 138-170. Accessed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/27825674.
(image from http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/nativeamericans/apalachee.htm)