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Popcorn May Be One Thousand Years Older Than We Thought

by Susana Polo | 3:59 pm, January 22nd

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No, not that kernel you found in the couch cushions. Archaeologists in Peru found that people there may have invented popcorn before pottery.

Clearly everybody had their priorities in the right order.

Corn and corn cobs are not easily preserved in the humid climate of South America’s rain forests, but nevertheless, scientists have discovered 3,000 to 6,700 year old corncobs, husks, stalks, and tassels. The corn remnants themselves suggest that while they weren’t exactly a dietary staple yet, they were eaten in several ways, including being dried and popped.

Appetizing!

“Corn was first domesticated in Mexico nearly 9,000 years ago from a wild grass called teosinte,” said Dolores Piperno. “Our results show that only a few thousand years later corn arrived in South America where its evolution into different varieties that are now common in the Andean region began. This evidence further indicates that in many areas corn arrived before pots did and that early experimentation with corn as a food was not dependent on the presence of pottery.”

Armed with this new quasi useless knowledge, we can suggest no better activity than to nuke up some popcorn yourself, and watch a version of Star Wars made entirely from 15-second fan made segments.

(via Gizmodo.)

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=25519882 Amy Canada Ellenhorn

    that does not look like a picture of popcorn?