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- Recently, a study has thrown light on how Maya people fortified their maize with the chemical process known as ‘nixtamalisation’.
Nixtamalisation Method
- Nixtamalisation is a method by which the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica like the Maya used to soak and cook their maize in an alkaline solution and make it more palatable, nutritious and non-toxic.
- The process ensures that the maize contains amino acids, calcium and Vitamin B2, which can be utilised by the human body.
- It also eliminates certain mycotoxins present in maize.
About Maya people
Image Courtesy: Science.smith
- The Maya Classic Period (c. 250–900 CE) was the golden age of the Maya Empire in Central or Meso-America.
- The Maya peoples are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica.
- The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today’s Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical civilization.
- They inhabit southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.
About Maize Crop
- Maize is the primary crop of the Americas and has been cultivated in the region for millennia.
- Maize, beans and squash are called the ‘Three Sisters’ and formed the basis of diets throughout pre-Columbian North and Mesoamerica.
- They built indoor toilets in pits they dug into the limestone bedrock of the Yucatan peninsula in Mesoamerica.
Source: DTE
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