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Origin and Environmental Setting of Ancient Agriculture in the Lowlands of Mesoamerica
Abstract
Archaeological research in the Gulf Coast of Tabasco reveals the earliest record of maize cultivation in Mexico. The first farmers settled along beach ridges and lagoons of the Grijalva River delta. Pollen from cultivated Zea appears with evidence of forest clearing about 5100 calendar years B.C. (yr B.C.) [620014C years before the present (yr B.P.)]. LargeZea sp. pollen, typical of domesticated maize (Zea mays), appears about 5000 calendar yr B.C. (6000 yr B.P.). AManihot sp. pollen grain dated to 4600 calendar yr B.C. (5800 yr B.P.) may be from domesticated manioc. About 2500 calendar yr B.C. (4000 yr B.P.), domesticated sunflower seeds and cotton pollen appear as farming expanded.
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Funded by grants from the Archaeology Program of NSF (grant BCS-9617389) and from the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. We thank the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antrolopogı́a e Historia, especially R. González Lauck, and The New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
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Published In
Science
Volume 292 | Issue 5520
18 May 2001
18 May 2001
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Received: 28 February 2001
Accepted: 6 April 2001
Published in print: 18 May 2001
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