The Maya were the longest-lived civilization in history. Their history lasted 3500 years, starting from 2500 BC. e. in parallel with the ancient Sumerians and ending in 900 AD. e. The Mayans were the ghosts of history, whose legacy we still use today.
Agronomy specialists
They reached the forefront of astronomy, mathematics, and created one of the five original written languages in the world. They built grand, high-rise cities, teeming with incredible architecture and art, the secrets of which we are still trying to uncover. But their greatest science was agronomy. They were some of the best agronomists in world history. They developed varieties that fed the Maya, promoting their rapid growth in a society of fundamental thinkers.
Millennia ago, Mayan agronomists created crops, plant varieties of unsurpassed quality, combining science with plant breeding. Their main goal was to develop varieties that improved the lifestyle of their population.
After the discovery of America, Spanish explorers encountered Mayan plant cultures, and they adopted them, spreading them throughout the world. The adoption of unique varieties by the peoples of Afro-Eurasia changed history.
Promotional video:
Mayan varieties are cultivated all over the world
In the 16th century, Mayan varieties were spread to varying degrees throughout the world. By 1530, tomatoes were being grown in Italy; by 1590, maize was the African crop; papayas were grown in Asia by 1530, tobacco by 1520. In 1550, Europeans introduced cassava (which now feeds more than 500 million people on earth) K and peanuts to tropical Southeast Asia and West Africa.
This exchange of varieties, animals and ideas became known as the Columbia Exchange. Scientists believe that the environmental transformation launched by the Colombian stock exchange was one of the events that influenced the modern world.
Mayan crops that have survived to our time: clockwise, top left: 1. Corn 2. Tomato 3. Potatoes 4. Vanilla 5. Rubber tree 6. Cocoa 7. Tobacco.
The greatest long-term effect of the Colombian Exchange is the introduction of Mayan varieties to the rest of the world:
These varieties have made important changes in food security around the world. In addition, the introduction of new cultures from the New World has had a significant impact on demographics.
Changing the world with food
Mayan crops influenced politics, laws, customs, technology, and financial empires. They spurred armed revolutions, initiated uprisings, changed political boundaries, inspired industrial, technical, and scientific revolutions, created college systems, fostered lethal habits, sparked sports empires, and changed cultural speech, music, and lifestyles.
Chili peppers have become the world's most popular spice. The Mayans have made changes in the taste of food around the world. What would Indian or Thai food be without chili?
Chocolate is popular sweet all over the world.
Cotton is the most popular fiber and has changed history frequently; the initiation of the Industrial Revolution, the outbreak of the American Civil War and the spread of slavery. It inspired the college system to land (the sale of land-controlled lands to fund educational institutions), turning the US into a technology superpower. Cotton makes up 90 percent of the world's population.
Corn feeds billions of people every day. Corn has made significant changes in history, influencing the tastes of food in the world, thanks to it, the whiskey appeared, which was loved by gangsters and bandits.
Peanuts played a key role in the election of the 39th President of America. It is a popular candy and chocolate filling.
Attempts to grow pineapple in Europe led to the invention of greenhouse system technology, which led to the emergence of glass high-rise buildings in modern cities.
Tobacco, the world's favorite drug, has killed more people than all wars and disasters in history. Tobacco is the cause of 100 million deaths in the 20th century.
The tomato is the world's favorite vegetable. Worldwide tomato turnover with potato turnover. These vegetables are among the most popular in our country.
Mayan varieties and demographics
At the Columbia Exchange, Europe has received new sources of food and fiber. This great exchange between the new and the old world forever changed the history of our planet. The changes included the death of Native Americans, the re-settlement of the Western Hemisphere by European immigrants, improved food security around the world, and significant historical changes.
The introduction of Mayan varieties caused an increase in the world population. In 1500, the world's population was 425 million. By 1600, it was 545 million, reaching 610 million in 1700.
Thereafter, thanks to the increased nutrition from Maya varieties, the population increased at a faster rate. By 1750, the population was 720 million, reaching one billion in 1810 and 1930 to two billion. The three billion mark was passed in 1960, in 1980 - four billion, in 1990 - five billion. In 2000, the population exceeded six billion, and in 2010 the world saw 7 billion people.
Bred Maya crops currently feed 60% of the world's population. Cassava alone feeds 500 million people daily!
The importance of Mayan agronomic sciences has not been explored, and scholars have largely overlooked the impact that Mayan varieties have had on the history and food security of the world.
Mayan philosophy was based on the thesis: "remember the future in order to anticipate the past." This philosophy is still valid in the 21st century. When thinking about the future of the Earth, it is important to remember that the most advanced Maya civilization collapsed when they lost their land and became vulnerable to environmental changes. Although Mayan varieties still continue to change the world.