Corn: From Ancient Crop to Soda Pop |
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April 28, 2015, Volume 61, No. 32 |
Corn: From Ancient Crop to Soda Pop, the Penn Museum’s student-curated exhibition, is in celebration of the Provost’s 2014-2015 theme, Year of Health. The exhibit opened earlier this month on the second floor of the Penn Museum.
Where did “corn” begin? It was a long journey. From its earliest days as an important crop in the Americas to its current presence in food and drink around the world, corn has impacted human health–for better or worse–for thousands of years.
The student exhibition team included curators Monica Fenton, C’15, Kirsten Myers, C’15 and Julia Chatterjee, C’17.
This effigy vessel (below), made in Peru around 450-550 CE, may depict Ai-apaec, the Moche Creator God. The ears that form his body are molded from real cobs of Chapalote corn, an ancient popcorn variety.
This is one of a dozen objects from three continents (North America, South America and Africa) on display until next spring as part of Corn: From Ancient Crop to Soda Pop.
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Photo by Penn Museum. |
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