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Phytolith Evidence for Early Maize (Zea Mays) in the Northern Finger Lakes Region of New York

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John P. Hart ,
Robert G. Thompson  and
Hetty Jo Brumbach
John P. Hart
Affiliation:
Research and Collections Division, New York State Museum, 3140 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230. (jph_nysm@mail.nysed.gov)
Robert G. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Hubert H. Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455. (phytodog@aol.com)
Hetty Jo Brumbach
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University at Albany, SUNY, Arts & Sciences Building, Room 237, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12222. (brumbach@albany.edu)
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Abstract

The timing of crop introductions, particularly of maize (Zea mays), has been of long-standing interest to archaeologists working in various regions of eastern North America. The earliest confirmed macrobotanical evidence for maize in New York is A.D. 1000. We report on the results of accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) dating, phytolith analysis, and stable carbon isotope analysis of carbonized cooking residues adhering to the interior surface of pottery sherds from three sites in the northern Finger Lakes region of New York. Maize, squash (Cucurbita sp.), wild rice (Zizania aquatica), and sedge (Cyperus sp.) were identified in phytolith assemblages dating to as early as the first half of the calibrated seventh century A.D. The results demonstrate that low δ13C values on cooking residues cannot be used to preclude the possibility that maize was cooked in vessels. Two of the maize-bean-squash crop triad were present in New York at least 350 years earlier than previously documented, and the Northern Flint Corn Complex was present in New York by at least the first half of the seventh century A.D. This research highlights the potential of cooking residues to provide new insights on prehistoric plant-based subsistence.

Résumé

Résumé

El fechamiento de la introducción de productos agrícolas, especialmente el maíz (Zea mays), ha sido de interés por mucho tiempo para los arqueólogos que realizan investigaciones en varias regiones del este de América del Norte. La evidencia macrobotánica más antigua de maíz en Nueva York data de 1000 d.C.. En este estudio se presentan los resultados del fechamiento por EMA, de análisis de fitolitos y de isótopos estables de carbono realizados en residuos de alimentos carbonizados adheridos en la superficie interna de tiestos de tres sitios en el norte de la region de los Finger Lakes, Nueva York. De los conjuntos de fitolitios se han identificado maíz, calabaza (Cucurbita sp.), arroz silvestre (Zizania aquatica) y juncos (Cyperus sp.), con fechas calibradas correspondientes a la primera mitad de siglo VII d.C. Los resultados demuestran que los valores bajo de 13C en los residuos de alimentos no pueden ser usados para excluir la posibilidad de que el maíz se cocinaba en vasijas. Del trío maíz-frijol-calabaza, dos de los componentes estaban presentes en Nueva York por lo menos 350 años antes de lo que se había reportado previamente, mientras que el complejo de Maíz Northern Flint se identifica en Nueva York por lo menos para la primera mitad del siglo VII d.C. En esta investigación resalta el potencial que tienen los residuos de alimentos para aportar nuevas perspectivas acerca de la subsistencia basada en plantas.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 68 , Issue 4 , October 2003 , pp. 619 - 640
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2003

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