Amazing Maize: The Science, History and Culture of Corn
Did you know, Road Trips Foodies, that it takes 25 corn plants per person per day to support the American way of life?
“Amazing Maize: The Science, History and Culture of Corn” outlines a 10,000-year global genetic journey exploring the relationship between people and corn. The exhibit opens September 24, 2011, in the Indiana State Museum, White River State Park, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. (It doesn’t close until January 20, 2013, so you’ve got plenty of time to drive on over to see it.)
Thousands of years ago, several cultures in Mesoamerica worshiped corn as a god, and acknowledged corn’s importance by developing myths about its origins.
In building the corn god for the “Amazing Maize” exhibit, the museum took elements from Mayan and Zapotec cultures. Two ears of corn, like those the museum god is holding in the picture on the left, are commonly seen with Zapotec, Mayan and Aztec corn gods. The two cobs relate back to creation stories that include twins. The disc on the front of the base is symbolic of the cross-section of an ear of corn. The corn god’s colors are based on examples seen on artifacts in other museum collections. Though ancient Mesoamerican sculptures were originally painted, the polychrome finishes are now missing from most of the surviving examples. The colors of our museum god are based on the surviving examples.
