The main subject of the talk last time was ______ of early agriculture-based society.

Good morning, class. Last time, we started to talk about some crops and traditions of early agriculture-based society. We had said that corn was one food that dominated the food-growing activities of those early American Indian tribes that relied on farming for food. The early farmers, or the American Indians, planted lots of varieties of corn, including the kind of corn we’re eating today as popcorn. The corn was prepared in different ways. It could be eaten fresh from the field, sometimes it was boiled, sometimes the corn was roasted, but most of the corn was dried, and later it was ground into flour. The advantage of this method was that the dried corn could be stored for long periods of time without spoiling. The American Indians harvested the corn twice, the first harvest was the sweet or green corn harvest. This harvest was accompanied by a ceremony of thanksgiving. The farmers thought that this celebration would protect the farmers from disaster. The final harvesting of the ripe corn and the harvest ceremony took place about six weeks later. During this harvesting, the farmers pulled back the husks of corn and braided them together. Big bundles were prepared this way and were dried for use later on throughout the winter. After the corn was eaten, these farmers used the dried husks to make different kinds of things like mats, moccasins, dolls and ceremonial masks.