The area known as Mesoamerica was the first place in the Americas where Native Americans learned to grow their own food.
The most important crop was corn, which grew wild in Mesoamerica. These wild corn plants, however, were scrawny, the ears were small, and the corn kernels were tough.
It took thousands of years of trial and error before Native Americans bred a type of corn that could be farmed easily and produce large, healthy ears.
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