page_title: Arepa
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Arepa / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Arepas being cooked on a wood fire stove
context_page_description: Arepa is a type of food made of ground maize dough, originating from the northern region of South America in pre-Columbian times, and is notable in the cuisines of Colombia and Venezuela. There has been a huge debate between both countries doubting the origin of the dish.
  It is eaten daily in those countries and can be served with accompaniments such as cheese, cuajada, various meats, chicken, avocado, or diablito. It can also be split to make sandwiches. Sizes, maize types, and added ingredients vary its preparation. It is similar in shape to the Mexican gordita and the Salvadoran pupusa.
context_section_description: The arepa is a pre-Columbian dish from the area that is now Colombia and Venezuela. Instruments used to make flour for the arepas, and the clay slabs on which they were cooked, were often found at archaeological sites in the area. Although it has not been specified in which country an arepa was cooked for the first time, it has been possible to define the oldest dates of the presence of maize in Colombia and in Venezuela. For example, In Colombia, the first record of the existence of corn dates from about 3,000 years ago, while in Venezuela the estimate is about 2,800 years ago. In other words, the creation of the arepa most likely happened almost simultaneously in both countries, but well before either territory became a country with demarcated borders.
  Throughout its history, the arepa has stayed mainly unchanged from the arepas that pre-Columbian native peoples would have consumed, making the arepa one of the few pre-contact traditions that have remained popular in the years since colonization.
caption: Arepas being prepared
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