I spend all morning at the Museum of the
Tehuacan Valley. This shrine to the history of corn is located in the former Convent
of Carmen, where I stroll happily from exhibit to exhibit in a geek’s paradise. Today, the Tehuacan Valley is a dusty nook
between the states of Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca. Yet, people have camped
here for 12,000 years. When ice-age chill dominated North America, this
cave-dotted hot spot was a migrant tribe magnet and seasonal tourist
destination. The museum documents a transition of humanity from hunting and
gathering to irrigating and farming. Mighty important stuff for those of us
unprepared to track, stalk, kill, and skin our dinner every day.
