Biologists have been studying the development of corn in Mexico and Central America and have recently discovered that corn was originally hybridized from the Balsas teosinte that is found at mid-range elevations - 500 to 1,5000 meters - in western Mexico, mainly from western Guerrero north to Jalisco. In addition, the earliest traces of corn were dated back to 6700 BC in this area. [Click to enlarge map.]
By tracing the origin of the word teosinte, the precursor of corn, to the Chorti Maya area of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, by mapping all occurrences of it as a place name, and by determining that teo means 'island' in Chorti and teosinte means 'plants in rows on an island', I have been able to isolate two islands in the Chorti area that appear to be very early biological stations in a deliberate effort to perfect corn. These islands are Teopán (meaning 'Sprouting Island') in Lago Coatepeque, in western El Salvador, and Teotipa (meaning 'Food Island') in Lago Güija, which straddles the El Salvador-Guatemala border. Both lakes are within 20 kilometers of Chalchuapa, one of earliest known Mayan sites. Güija would be wihha in Chorti, meaning 'source of stream': a stream drains out of the lake joining the Lempa River.
I am guessing that the dates of the hybridization with teosinte were taking place between 4000 BC and 2000 BC. The start date could be earlier or later. The end date corresponds pretty closely with the date when biologists have determined that corn was approaching a level where it could support higher population densities.
It is no surprise that some of the earliest Mayan villages would be on islands. An island would isolate the experimental fields from most pests and many animals that could harm them. Islands also would have afforded early peoples a measure of safety from predators or enemies.
In addition, both La Venta and Teotihuacán, early civilization sites in Mexico, were built on islands, so there was a tendency for early Mesoamerican people to build on islands. Furthermore, in the case of Teotihuacán it is clear that the Maya were somehow involved in founding the city, given the prefix 'Teo', identifying it as an island. There is no other instance of a place name in Mexico starting with 'Teo' referring to an island. The Aztec god 'Teotl' and all other 'Teo' place names in Mexico were created in reverence for Teotihuacán.
From the two islands, the early Mayans or pre-Mayans identified various sources of teosinte in the area and named the places 'Teosinte' so that they and future generations would remember their location. While the teosinte grass in this area could not be converted into corn, it was, and still is, extremely useful to hybridize with corn plants. Persistent hybridization with teosinte grass was done to continue selecting desired traits, to make different varieties of corn, including popcorn, and to make the corn more disease resistant.
There still is a need to discuss how the two outlier place names of 'Teosinte' ended up in far western Jalisco (see the map), but to do that I will need to discuss the 260-day tzol'kin calendar more, as well as the Mayan sacred text, the Popol Vuh. And I will also take a closer look at both Lago Coatepeque (Lake Serpent Hill) and Lago Güija. Is it possible that western El Salvador was the founding place of all Mesoamerican civilizations, just as the Salvadoran historian Antonio Arocha suggested in El Salvador, La Antigua Patria Maya?
[Post Script: I now believe that the hybridization process may have begun as early as 8300 BC. Feb. 25, 2010]
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