Ever since the beginning of agriculture, humankind has made breakthrough after breakthrough,

creating the world we live in today, one of these momentous breakthroughs have been the
domestication of maize (Zea mays).

Maize was a type of small and compact wild grass before it was artificially selected to become
modern day corn. South-central Mexico was the first area to domesticate maize 10,000 years ago, but
the hardy and nutritious plant spread rapidly throughout the Americas. By the time the Europeans
arrived (1604), Maize had already gotten to Western Canada. Without maize, mankind may not have
survived to this day, together with rice and wheat, maize provides 4.5 billion people with food. Corn is
also a key ingredient in animal feed, making maize a key part of the domestication of animals. Without
it, we might not have convinced dogs to defend and serve us, cows and other farm animals might not
have survived through the winter, maize has been and will be a large part of human agriculture, so its
importance to Big History is undeniable.

Furthermore, Current maize breeders have been very successful in creating better and better
maize. To begin with, current maize farmers have been able to produce around 1,300 kilogram per
hectare of land to 7,800. Now modern maize can be mass produced easily and most people can afford
modern maize due to easy farming, mass production has helped maize as now everyone can enjoy corn
or maize. Another example is that current maize is getting healthier and healthier for humans due to
that technology has improved so that modern maize has all kinds of vitamins. Before this, maize was a
vitamin-less crop, now people all over the world can enjoy healthy and delicious maize. Also due to
agriculture and artificial selection of maize we can enjoy delicious, healthy and good maize. Without this
maize is just a tiny not tasty green crop we would not eat. Now everyone can get the same delicious
corn, and we can have different options of maize, sweet, non-sweet, and much more, all thanks to
artificial selection. Now you see that maize is good for you and is tasty, we can thank agriculture and
artificial selection of maize for that.

The nutritional value of corn is one reason, corn is full of carbs and packed with fiber. It also helps that
maize is low in protein and fat while being sweet and filling. Another good reason is because of how
hardy corn is to grow, maize needs only 450 to 600 mm (about half the length of a baseball bat) of water
every season, but about 15kg of grain is produced for each mm of water consumed, also, corn is a
relatively fast-growing plant, a sprout will be visible after 2-3 days and leaves will start appearing after a
week or two, the plant will reach its full size within 9 to 10 weeks.

To conclude, maize has been with humans since the beginning of agriculture. in our times of
need and prosperity, maize has been there to feed us and our animal companions. So next time you bite
into a corn on the cob, remember that you are munching through centuries of history.

Yellow = Alex

Green = James/Owen

Blue = Owen
White = Group effort/Owen