Changes

__NOTOC__

Popcorn is often associated as a relatively modern snack that is usually consumed while watching television or a movie. Although popcorn can simply develop from a dried corn seed being heated, culture and taste has played an important role in how it has become a popular snack present in many regions today.

==Early Evidence of Popcorn==

Corn was domesticated more than 9,000 years ago in the New World, most likely in Mexico. Some researchers have suggested popcorn was made even before corn was domesticated, as wild varieties of corn can also be used to create popcorn. Pollen evidence of corn in Mexico suggest that popcorn could go back to more than 15,000 years ago. At about 5500-5600 years ago, evidence from Mexico becomes more evident that popcorn may have been made, where burnt remains have been found.

As corn spread in its use throughout the New World prior to the arrival of Columbus, many cultures that adopted corn began to also make popcorn. This was often, though not always, done by taking a long stick, attaching the corn, and then letting the ear of corn pop its kernels over an open fire. The popcorn would then be captured, but the process may have been somewhat inefficient as likely kernels would be lost. Another way included using clay pots where the corn was placed and then the kernels popped inside the jar. In some exceptional preservation environments, intact popcorn older than 1,000 years has been found in Utah and Peru, where both regions are dry and can preserve archaeological remains.<ref>For more on the earliest finds of popcorn, see: Elton, B. (2003). <i>Popcorn.</i> London: Black Swan.</ref>