Maize
Maize (Zea mays) is a tall cereal grass domesticated in the Americas and cultivated for its edible kernels, which develop on ears.
Teosinte: A group of wild grasses in the genus Zea, including the closest living relatives of maize. Maize was domesticated from teosinte, whose small seed cases differ sharply from modern ears.
Balsas River valley: A river basin in southwestern Mexico that contains archaeological evidence of early maize domestication. Early maize remains from this region anchor evidence for domestication in Mexico.
Nixtamalization: A process that cooks maize in alkaline water, loosening its hull and changing its nutritional properties. This treatment makes maize easier to grind and increases the availability of niacin.
Sorghum: A group of cereal grasses cultivated for grain, forage, and sweet stalks, especially in warm and dry regions. Like maize, sorghum is a C4 cereal, but it generally tolerates drought better.
Three Sisters (agriculture): An Indigenous American intercropping system combining maize, beans, and squash. Maize provides a climbing support for beans in this complementary planting system.
Ear (botany): A compact inflorescence of a cereal plant bearing rows of grains along a central axis. An ear holds maize kernels in tightly packed rows on a cob.
Maize domestication: The long process by which people transformed wild teosinte into cultivated maize. Selection for larger ears and exposed kernels reshaped maize from its wild ancestors.
Polenta: A dish made by cooking ground maize in water or broth until thick. Ground maize becomes polenta, a staple preparation in parts of Italy.
Wheat: A group of cereal grasses grown mainly for flour-producing grains. Wheat became a major staple through a separate domestication history and is usually milled for bread.
Columbian exchange: The transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia after 1492. Maize spread globally through these post-1492 exchanges and became a staple in many regions.