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Dating the Entry of Corn (Zea Mays) into the Lower Great Lakes Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gary W. Crawford ,
David G. Smith  and
Vandy E. Bowyer
Gary W. Crawford
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6 Canada
David G. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6 Canada
Vandy E. Bowyer
Affiliation:
Terra Archaeological Laboratories, 312A Third Street East, Cornwall, Ontario K6H 2E4 Canada
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Abstract

Five accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) dates on corn (maize or Zea mays) from the Grand Banks site, Ontario, range from cal A.D. 540 to 1030. These are the earliest directly dated corn samples in the Lower Great Lakes region. The presence of corn during the Princess Point Complex, a transitional Late Woodland phase preceding the Ontario Iroquoian Tradition, is confirmed as is an early presence of the Princess Point culture in Ontario. Maize appears to have spread rapidly from the Southeast and/or Midwest to Ontario. The corn cupules and kernel remains are fragmentary, as they are elsewhere in the Eastern Woodlands during this period. The limited morphological data indicate that the corn is a diminutive form of Eastern Eight-Row, or Eastern Complex, maize.

Lasfechas de los cinco espectrómetros aceleradores de masa (SAM) del sitio arqueológico Grand Banks, Ontario, se extienden desde 540 a 1030 a.D. Estos son los ejemplos de maíz más recientes que han sido directamente fechados. Aqui se confirma la presencia del maíz durante el Complejo Princess Point, una fase transitoria de Late Woodland (ultimo periodo de las tierras boscosas) que precedió a la Tradicion Iroquesa de Ontario, asi como se confirma la presencia inicial del complejo Princess Point en Ontario. El maíz parece haber sido diseminado rapidamente a Ontario desde el sureste y el medio-oeste. Los restes de carozo y de granos de maíz se encuentran fragmentados de la misma manera que se encuentran en los Eastern Woodlands (bosques) del este durante este período. La limitada información morfológica señala que el maíz es una forma diminutiva del llamado “maíz de ocho” (Eight-Row), о complejo oriental de maíz.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 62 , Issue 1 , January 1997 , pp. 112 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1997

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