ORIGINS

There are many theories that explain the origin of corn. Some researchers have doubts about the alleged American origin of this plant and they have developed hypotheses that support a pre-Columbian origin in Levant, or even farther, in India.

Other theories refer to a corn plant that was cultivated in some European and African regions before 1492 and they explain the pre-Columbian existence of the corn in the Ancient World claiming that there were contacts in ancient times between the two worlds, before Christopher Columbus.

Bernardino de Sahagún, in the second half of the 16th century, stated that among all the varieties of food the natives had, almost none was like those in Europe; that wheat, barley, or rye couldn't be found in this land, there were, however, many types of corn.