"Stamped Indian": Finding history and culture in terms for American 'cornbread'

Under consideration are two databases from the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States; one contains the responses to the 'cornbread' question, and the other the responses to the 'other bread made of cornmeal' question. Taken together, these databases offer a staggering 336 different terms used for cornbreads. The present work investigates the depth of this variation, looking first at the LAMSAS responses and then at the history of cornbread itself. A historical perspective reveals that represented by these 'cornbread' responses are different preparations, ingredients, shapes, cooking methods, cooking vessels, and varied cultural and linguistics contacts, all of which grow out of the history of cornmeal-based cooking in America. This article demonstrates how the variation found within the cornbread-related databases offers a compelling description of American lifeways and cultureways.