What was so special about corn in the civilizations of the Americas?

What was so special about corn in the civilizations of the Americas?
How did the treatment of women in African societies demonstrate the mixing of cultures in nations south of the Sahara Desert?
How was the Mayan civilization like the civilizations of ancient Greece and China?
Why is charting an exact history of early American peoples so difficult?
How did African societies keep their own ways in the face of changes from the Christian and Islamic religions?
How did the Islamic and Mongols conquests we examined last week influence the Spanish conquest of the Americas?
From this week’s presentation, what are the two ways a state of war can affect how a society treats women in terms of rights and power?