01673nas a2200205 4500008004100000245012100041210006900162300001200231490000700243520101300250653001501263653002901278653001001307653003101317653002401348100001701372700002101389700001601410856004101426 2007 eng d00aExtending the Phytolith Evidence for Early Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and Squash (Cucurbita sp.) in Central New York0 aExtending the Phytolith Evidence for Early Maize Zea mays ssp ma a563-5830 v723 a
The timing of the adoptions of maize and squash across eastern North America has been a topic of long-standing interest among archaeologists and paleoethnobotanists. The use of flotation for macrobotanical remains beginning in the 1960s and 1970s coupled with the application of accelerator mass spectrometry dating beginning in the 1980s has led to substantial revisions of knowledge about the history of these crops in the region. A complementary source of evidence for the crops histories in the eastern North America comes from opal phytoliths. Analysis of phytolith assemblages recovered from charred food residues has shown that maize and squash were being used in central New York well before the macrobotanical record indicates. In combination with previously analyzed samples, 16 additional residue assemblages help to clarify the history of maize and squash in central New York. The results indicate that maize and squash were being used in New York by 2270 B.P and 2945 B.P, respectively.
10aAMS dating10acucurbit; Cucurbita pepo10amaize10aphytolith cooking residues10aZea mays ssp. maize1 aHart, J., P.1 aBrumbach, H., J.1 aLusteck, R. uhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/40035861