Evidence for maize (Zea mays) in the Late Archaic (3000–1800 B.C.) in the Norte Chico region of Peru

Authors

Jonathan Haas, Department of Anthropology, The Field Museum
Winifred Creamer, Northern Illinois University
Luis Huamán Mesía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
David Goldstein, National Park Service
Karl Reinhard, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Cindy Vergel Rodríguez, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

Date of this Version

2013

Document Type

Article

Citation

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1219425110 PNAS, March 26, 2013, vol. 110, no. 13 | 4945–4949.

Comments

Copyright 2013. Used by permisison.

Abstract

For more than 40 y, there has been an active discussion over the presence and economic importance of maize (Zea mays) during the Late Archaic period (3000–1800 B.C.) in ancient Peru. The evidence for Late Archaic maize has been limited, leading to the interpretation that it was present but used primarily for ceremonial purposes. Archaeological testing at a number of sites in the Norte Chico region of the north central coast provides a broad range of empirical data on the production, processing, and consumption of maize. New data drawn from coprolites, pollen records, and stone tool residues, combined with 126 radiocarbon dates, demonstrate that maize was widely grown, intensively processed, and constituted a primary component of the diet throughout the period from 3000 to 1800 B.C.