Ancient Maize Map

Information

ID: 464
Other ID: TEM-123
Type: MicroSample
Subtype: starch grain
Site: Cueva de los Ladrones
Depositional context: midden

Ten maize starch grains (plus 5 tentatively identified as such) were recovered from a handstone, or trianguar-shaped grinding stone (Artifact No. CL-82b) in Unit 1 Level 11 (Dickau et al. 2007: Table 1; Dickau 2010). The radiocarbon date most closely associated with this artifact is TEM-123, obtained from a charcoal sample (Ranere and Cooke 1996:52).

Radiocarbon Date

Lab number: TEM-123
Dating method: conventional
Directly dated: No
Dated material: charcoal
Contaminated?: No
Lower cal BP (years): 7927
Median cal BP (years): 7707
Upper cal BP (years): 7570
Uncal BP (years): 6860
± 1 σ (years): 90
δ13C:

Attached Files

Dickau%20et%20al.%202007%20pnas%20ladrones%20starch%20grain%20fig%202%20g

Maize starch recovered from surface of grinding stone CL-82b, dating to approx. 7800 cal BP. (Dickau et al. 2007:3655, Fig. 2g). Scale bar = 10 um.

References Cited

Dickau, R.
2010 Microbotanical and Macrobotanical Evidence of Plant Use and the Transition to Agriculture in Panama. In Integrating Zooarchaeology and Paleoethnobotany: A Consideration of Issues, Methods, and Cases, edited by A. M. VanDerwarker and T. M. Peres, pp. 99-134. Springer, New York.

Dickau, R., A. J. Ranere and R. G. Cooke
2007 From the Cover: Starch Grain Evidence for the Preceramic Dispersals of Maize and Root Crops into Tropical Dry and Humid Forests of Panama. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104(9):3651-3656.

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