| The origin of peanut is traced to Brazil or Peru although there are no known fossils which confirm this. In South America various forms of pottery have been discovered both shaped as peanuts as well as decorated with peanut motifs. Cultivation reached as far as Northern Mexico. Following the arrival of Spanish discoverers, peanut seeds were brought to Spain, where production still exists albeit on a small scale. It was the explorers of the same time period who apparently brought the seed to Africa and Asia. From that point, it was the Africans brought to North America as slaves who extended peanut consumption; large-scale cultivation began at the start of the 20th century. | | |