<P> Around 7000 BCE, the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America hunted game and gathered plants, including wild chile peppers . Corn was not yet cultivated, so one main source of calories was roasted agave hearts . By 1200 BCE, corn was domesticated and a process called nixtamalization, or treatment with lye, was developed to soften corn for grinding and improve its nutritional value . This allowed the creation of tortillas and other kinds of flat breads . The indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica had numerous stories about the origin of corn, usually related to being a gift of one or more gods, such as Quetzalcoatl . </P> <P> The other staple was beans, eaten with corn as a complimentary protein . Despite this, studies of bones have shown problems with the lack of protein in the indigenous diet, as meat was difficult to obtain . Other protein sources included amaranth, domesticated turkey, insects such as grasshoppers and ant larvae, iguanas, and turtle eggs on the coastlines . Vegetables included squash and their seeds; chilacayote; jicama, a kind of sweet potato; and edible flowers, especially those of squash . The chile pepper was used as food, ritual and as medicine . </P> <P> When the Spanish arrived, the Aztecs had sophisticated agricultural techniques and an abundance of food, which was the base of their economy . It allowed them to expand an empire, bringing in tribute which consisted mostly of foods the Aztecs could not grow themselves . According to Bernardino de Sahagún, the Nahua peoples of central Mexico ate corn, beans, turkey, fish, small game, insects and a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, pulses, seeds, tubers, wild mushrooms, plants and herbs that they collected or cultivated . </P> <P> Mexican educator Justo Sierra said that "the grocer, not the conquistador, is the real Spanish father of Mexican society ." </P>

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