Archaeological findings show the extent of primitive characteristics of maize in South America
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Publication Date
9-6-2024
Publication Title
Science Advances
Volume Number
10
Issue Number
36
Abstract
Scientific research has suggested that maize spread from Mexico and arrived in lowland South America in a state of partial domestication. However, archaeological samples with primitive morphological characteristics that corroborate this finding have not been recorded in the region thus far. Unexpectedly, many samples were identified in the Peruaçu Valley with characteristics never previously observed in South America. These archaeological samples with primitive characteristics, which are the focus of this work, represent the furthest records from the center of origin of the species and the longest duration of the maintenance of such characteristics (between 1010 and 570 years before present). The findings of this study, including archaeological samples, native races, and samples of teosinte, attest to a long history of maize diversification in lowland South America.
Document Type
Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn1466
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Costa, Flaviane Malaquias; Vidal, Rafael; de Almeida Silva, Natalia Carolina; Veasey, Elizabeth Ann; de Oliveira Freitas, Fabio; and Zucchi, Maria Imaculada, "Archaeological findings show the extent of primitive characteristics of maize in South America" (2024). KIP Articles. 10528.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/10528
