Maya farmers cleared the jungles using a slash and burn method and grew their major crops during the rainy season from May to October. Contemporary Maya continue to farm their land as their ancestors have done for centuries past. So central a role did corn play in the Maya economy that it was considered sacred and treated like a deity. The Maize God is a principal deity in Maya religion. Each stage in the farming cycle was preceded by religious ritual.
Corn continues to be the cornerstone of Maya culture.
It provides sustenance and brings spiritual significance to daily life. Dating to 7000 years ago, these cobs are the earliest evidence of wild corn in the New World. Research has shown that this early form of corn is genetically linked to the domesticated variety grown by the Classic Maya. By 4000 years ago, several varieties of corn existed. Corn agriculture gradually spread north to central Canada and south to the Andean mountains in South America, allowing the transformation of hunting and gathering societies into farming communities.