Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as a pre-Columbian domesticate in Mexico

doi:10.1073/pnas.0711760105

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as a pre-Columbian domesticate in Mexico

*Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221;
^‡Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306;
^§Departamento de Paleobotánico, Instituto de Antropología e Historia, 04510 México D.F., México; and
^¶ Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-226, 04510 México D.F., México

Edited by Michael D. Coe, Yale University, New Haven, CT, and approved March 10, 2008 (received for review December 14, 2007)

Abstract

Mexico has long been recognized as one of the world's cradles of domestication with evidence for squash (Cucurbita pepo) cultivation appearing as early as 8,000 cal B.C. followed by many other plants, such as maize (Zea mays), peppers (Capsicum annuum), common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). We present archaeological, linguistic, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric data demonstrating that sunflower (Helianthus annuus) had entered the repertoire of Mexican domesticates by ca. 2600 cal B.C., that its cultivation was widespread in Mexico and extended as far south as El Salvador by the first millennium B.C., that it was well known to the Aztecs, and that it is still in use by traditional Mesoamerican cultures today. The sunflower's association with indigenous solar religion and warfare in Mexico may have led to its suppression after the Spanish Conquest. The discovery of ancient sunflower in Mexico refines our knowledge of domesticated Mesoamerican plants and adds complexity to our understanding of cultural evolution.

Footnotes

^†To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: david.lentz{at}uc.edu
Author contributions: D.L.L., M.D.P., and R.B. designed research; D.L.L., M.D.P., and R.B. performed research; D.L.L., M.D.P., J.L.A., S.T., and R.B. analyzed data; and D.L.L., M.D.P., and R.B. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0711760105/DCSupplemental.