When and where was corn first domesticated?

Corn was first domesticated by native peoples in southern Mexico approximately 9,000 to 10,000 years ago.123

The plant was developed through selective breeding from teosinte, a wild grass native to the region. While the exact origins remain a subject of study, archaeological evidence from sites such as the Guilá Naquitz cave in Oaxaca and the Tehuacán valley in Puebla has provided significant insight into the transition from wild grasses to the domesticated corn (Zea mays) known today. Early inhabitants likely utilized these plants for their sugar content or as a food source, eventually refining them into the staple crop that became central to Mesoamerican civilization.2314