Previous Article |
Table of Contents
| Next Article 
* Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 2072, Balboa, Panama;
and Contributed by K. V. Flannery, November 21, 2000
Accelerator mass spectrometry age determinations of maize cobs
(Zea mays L.) from Guilá Naquitz Cave in Oaxaca,
Mexico, produced dates of 5,400 carbon-14 years before the present
(about 6,250 calendar years ago), making those cobs the oldest in the
Americas. Macrofossils and phytoliths characteristic of wild and
domesticated Zea fruits are absent from older strata
from the site, although Zea pollen has previously been
identified from those levels. These results, together with the modern
geographical distribution of wild Zea mays, suggest that
the cultural practices that led to Zea domestication
probably occurred elsewhere in Mexico. Guilá Naquitz Cave has now
yielded the earliest macrofossil evidence for the domestication of two
major American crop plants, squash (Cucurbita pepo) and maize.
Anthropology-BS / Anthropology
The earliest archaeological maize (Zea mays L.)
from highland Mexico: New accelerator mass spectrometry dates and
their implications
and
Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 1109 Geddes Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079
To whom reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail:
pipernod{at}stri.org.
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg What's this?
Related Commentary in PNAS:
This article has been cited by other articles in HighWire Press-hosted journals:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Zarrillo, D. M. Pearsall, J. S. Raymond, M. A. Tisdale, and D. J. Quon Directly dated starch residues document early formative maize (Zea mays L.) in tropical Ecuador PNAS, April 1, 2008; 105(13): 5006 - 5011. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M.H. Ort, M.D. Elson, K.C. Anderson, W.A. Duffield, J.A. Hooten, D.E. Champion, and G. Waring Effects of scoria-cone eruptions upon nearby human communities GSA Bulletin, March 1, 2008; 120(3-4): 476 - 486. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. C. Burger, M. A. Chapman, and J. M. Burke Molecular insights into the evolution of crop plants Am. J. Botany, February 1, 2008; 95(2): 113 - 122. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A.-C. Thuillet, M. I. Tenaillon, L. K. Anderson, S. E. Mitchell, S. Kresovich, S. M. Stack, B. Gaut, and J. Doebley A Weak Effect of Background Selection on Trinucleotide Microsatellites in Maize J. Hered., January 1, 2008; 99(1): 45 - 55. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. M. Bryant Jr. Microscopic evidence for the domestication and spread of maize PNAS, December 11, 2007; 104(50): 19659 - 19660. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Holst, J. E. Moreno, and D. R. Piperno Identification of teosinte, maize, and Tripsacum in Mesoamerica by using pollen, starch grains, and phytoliths PNAS, November 6, 2007; 104(45): 17608 - 17613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. E. Hughes, R. Govindarajulu, A. Robertson, D. L. Filer, S. A. Harris, and C. D. Bailey Serendipitous backyard hybridization and the origin of crops PNAS, September 4, 2007; 104(36): 14389 - 14394. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. R. Piperno, J. E. Moreno, J. Iriarte, I. Holst, M. Lachniet, J. G. Jones, A. J. Ranere, and R. Castanzo Inaugural Article: Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of the Iguala Valley, Central Balsas Watershed of Mexico PNAS, July 17, 2007; 104(29): 11874 - 11881. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. E. D. Pohl, D. R. Piperno, K. O. Pope, and J. G. Jones Microfossil evidence for pre-Columbian maize dispersals in the neotropics from San Andres, Tabasco, Mexico PNAS, April 17, 2007; 104(16): 6870 - 6875. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Sluyter and G. Dominguez Early maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation in Mexico: Dating sedimentary pollen records and its implications PNAS, January 24, 2006; 103(4): 1147 - 1151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Yamasaki, M. I. Tenaillon, I. Vroh Bi, S. G. Schroeder, H. Sanchez-Villeda, J. F. Doebley, B. S. Gaut, and M. D. McMullen A Large-Scale Screen for Artificial Selection in Maize Identifies Candidate Agronomic Loci for Domestication and Crop Improvement PLANT CELL, November 1, 2005; 17(11): 2859 - 2872. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. M. Clark, S. Tavare, and J. Doebley Estimating a Nucleotide Substitution Rate for Maize from Polymorphism at a Major Domestication Locus Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2005; 22(11): 2304 - 2312. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. D. Smith Inaugural Article: Reassessing Coxcatlan Cave and the early history of domesticated plants in Mesoamerica PNAS, July 5, 2005; 102(27): 9438 - 9445. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Bommert, C. Lunde, J. Nardmann, E. Vollbrecht, M. Running, D. Jackson, S. Hake, and W. Werr thick tassel dwarf1 encodes a putative maize ortholog of the Arabidopsis CLAVATA1 leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase Development, March 15, 2005; 132(6): 1235 - 1245. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. J. Garris, T. H. Tai, J. Coburn, S. Kresovich, and S. McCouch Genetic Structure and Diversity in Oryza sativa L. Genetics, March 1, 2005; 169(3): 1631 - 1638. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. I. Tenaillon, J. U'Ren, O. Tenaillon, and B. S. Gaut Selection Versus Demography: A Multilocus Investigation of the Domestication Process in Maize Mol. Biol. Evol., July 1, 2004; 21(7): 1214 - 1225. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. R. Bellon and J. Berthaud Transgenic Maize and the Evolution of Landrace Diversity in Mexico. The Importance of Farmers' Behavior Plant Physiology, March 1, 2004; 134(3): 883 - 888. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. H. Markelz, D. E. Costich, and T. P. Brutnell Photomorphogenic Responses in Maize Seedling Development Plant Physiology, December 1, 2003; 133(4): 1578 - 1591. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Jaenicke-Despres, E. S. Buckler, B. D. Smith, M. T. P. Gilbert, A. Cooper, J. Doebley, and S. Paabo Early Allelic Selection in Maize as Revealed by Ancient DNA Science, November 14, 2003; 302(5648): 1206 - 1208. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Vogl, A. Das, M. Beaumont, S. Mohanty, and W. Stephan Population Subdivision and Molecular Sequence Variation: Theory and Analysis of Drosophila ananassae Data Genetics, November 1, 2003; 165(3): 1385 - 1395. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. V. Flannery and J. Marcus The origin of war: New 14C dates from ancient Mexico PNAS, September 30, 2003; 100(20): 11801 - 11805. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. R. Orr, K. Mullen, D. Klaahsen, and M. D. Sundberg Inflorescence development in a high-altitude annual Mexican teosinte (Poaceae) Am. J. Botany, November 1, 2002; 89(11): 1730 - 1740. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Gepts A Comparison between Crop Domestication, Classical Plant Breeding, and Genetic Engineering Crop Sci., November 1, 2002; 42(6): 1780 - 1790. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. Matsuoka, Y. Vigouroux, M. M. Goodman, J. Sanchez G., E. Buckler, and J. Doebley A single domestication for maize shown by multilocus microsatellite genotyping PNAS, April 30, 2002; 99(9): 6080 - 6084. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. O. Pope, M. E. D. Pohl, J. G. Jones, D. L. Lentz, C. v. Nagy, F. J. Vega, and I. R. Quitmyer Origin and Environmental Setting of Ancient Agriculture in the Lowlands of Mesoamerica Science, May 18, 2001; 292(5520): 1370 - 1373. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. D. Smith Documenting plant domestication: The consilience of biological and archaeological approaches PNAS, February 13, 2001; 98(4): 1324 - 1326. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. F. Benz Archaeological evidence of teosinte domestication from Guila Naquitz, Oaxaca PNAS, February 13, 2001; 98(4): 2104 - 2106. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
