special insert MORE THAN JUST FOOD By Gustavo Calabro THE ANCESTRAL FLATBREAD the diet. It was consumed in various forms: on ETYMOLOGICAL ROOTS its own, as a base for 吀栀e history of the tortilla begins not only in the kitchens of meats and vegetables, ancient civilizations, but also within the lexicon of the Spanish or as an edible utensil language. Derived from the word "torta," meaning "cake," with for scooping up beans the diminutive su昀케x "-illa" implying "small," the word "tortilla" and sauces. was 昀椀rst documented in the mid-17th century. 吀栀is etymology In Aztec society, re昀氀ects the humble origins of the tortilla as a simple food, a tortillas were not merely "small cake" made of corn, which would become a staple of food but a cultural Mesoamerican diets. emblem, deeply ingrained in the fabric of everyday life. 吀栀ey were sold in bustling markets, enjoyed by all levels of society, PREHISTORIC BEGINNINGS and played a key role in rituals and celebrations. Long before the Spanish set foot in the New World, the 吀栀e nixtamalization process, a method developed by these peoples of the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico had already early peoples, involved soaking and cooking corn in an alkaline perfected the art of making tortillas. Dating back to around solution, typically lime water. 吀栀is process improved the 10,000 B.C., the inception of the tortilla coincides with the nutritional value of corn, making the niacin it contained more domestication of corn. 吀栀is era marks a signi昀椀cant turning readily available for absorption by the body and enhancing the point in human civilization, as communities transitioned from amino acid pro昀椀le of the proteins in corn. It also imparted to the nomadic lifestyles to settled agricultural societies. Corn, with tortilla its distinctive 昀氀avor and texture, which remain largely its high caloric value and adaptability to di昀昀erent terrains, unchanged to this day. became the staple of these societies, laying the groundwork 吀栀e importance of the tortilla extended beyond nutrition; for the development of complex civilizations such as the Aztecs it was a symbol of sustenance and innovation, a testament and the Maya. to the ingenuity of the people who 昀椀rst cultivated corn and transformed it into a food that could sustain large populations. CULINARY As we delve further into the journey of the tortilla through EVOLUTION time, we witness not only the evolution of a food item but A medida que el cultivo de also the unfolding of human history itself. From the ancient mAs corn cultivation became more sophisticated, so too "symbol of sustenance and innovation" did the culinary applications highlands of Mexico to a "symbol of sustenance and innovation" of this versatile grain. The on the global culinary stage, the tortilla embodies the resilience, tortilla, a thin 昀氀atbread made adaptability, and cultural richness of the civilizations that from ground nixtamalized cherished it. corn, emerged as a staple in 1212 MMAAYY//JJUUNNE 20E 20224 - 4 - AABABASSTTOO..CCOMOM