ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book emphasizes the significance of Native American terminology and classification of maize among different regions of Mesoamerica. It deals with the domestication and production of maize in Mexico and Central America and also provides the paleodietary results from the Maya regions and Soconusco. The book includes a detailed analysis of the chronology of its spread in the Americas. It supports the contention that maize was a major economic staple. The book presents evidence to suggest that the way maize affected sociocultural processes is in fact far more complex and varied than had been originally assumed. It deals with the molecular, biological and micro botanical research, which has so greatly affected recent research on maize. The book explains geographic region going from evidence for maize domestication in Chihuahua northern Mexico to its spread into other areas of the Mesoamerica.
