Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the bounty this country enjoys, said a horticulture specialist with New Mexico State University. Historically, the holiday is based on the story of how Native Americans taught the Pilgrims to grow corn, which helped them survive the bitter winter of 1620. Probably the oldest known remains of corn are cobs dating back 7,000 years that were found in Tehucan, Mexico. Corn was the foundation of many New World civilizations including the Incas, Mayas and Aztecs.
Corn remains the foundation of modern agriculture in the United States.
As Americans sit down to a Thanksgiving meal of turkey with cornbread stuffing and, perhaps, corn on the cob, they are honoring a tradition begun by their ancestors. Here in the Southwest, corn and corn products have an even greater heritage. Blue corn and other flour corns historically have been the major types that are ground into harinas, or cornmeals, and corn flours. Some Native Americans consider blue and white flour corns sacred. Atole is a cornmeal mush often eaten for breakfast.