Refining Plains Woodland Chronology

Maize fragments recovered from the Middle Woodland Holding site (11MS118) in the American Bottom have for several decades been recognized as the oldest directly dated maize east of the Mississippi River. A reevaluation of maize samples from this site indicates that finding was in error. Carbon isotope assessment (δ13C ratios) run on the original samples dated in 1994 indicated that they were not maize. Six additional samples originally identified as maize were submitted to the Illinois State Geological Survey for carbon ratio assessment and direct accelerated mass spectrometry dating. Three of the fragments, including one from the same feature dated previously, returned non-maize δ13C ratios. The other three samples were correctly identified as maize, but all returned post–A.D. 900 dates. These results invalidate the original report of Middle Woodland maize at Holding and support our ongoing reevaluations of maize histories in the American Bottom and western Illinois, which show that it was not an important cultivated crop plant in this part of the Midwest until about A.D. 900.

Section: The Maize Paradoxmentioning

confidence: 98%

Reevaluating the Evidence for Middle Woodland Maize From the Holding Site

Simon¹

2017

“…North of Mexico, maize entered the economies of indigenous foragers in the US Southwest by approximately 2500-2000 BC and was part of the package of cultural traits that moved with Basketmaker II phase farming groups early in the first millennium AD (Hanselka and Vierra 2017). The pathway(s) that maize took into the Plains is currently unclear, but macrobotanical evidence in the eastern Plains points to its appearance between cal AD 688 and 977 (Adair 2012). Recent microbotanical evidence suggests that maize was part of Indigenous systems in the eastern Plains as early as cal 361-197 BC (Adair et al 2022).…”

Section: Maize Historiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Ohio Valley Maize Histories: New Dates from the Crossroads of the Midcontinent

Comstock,

Cook

2024

The transition to maize agriculture frames important cultural shifts in the Eastern Woodlands. However, the tempo and mode of this transition are unclear, particularly when analytical techniques are not standard across the region. In this article, we present evidence of directly dated maize macrobotanical fragments from the Turpin site in southwest Ohio that date between cal AD 552–649 and 684–994. These dates add to current dialogues on the spread of maize in the American Midcontinent and help further situate the Middle Ohio Valley as a cultural crossroads through which people and ideas flowed. We echo suggestions that, to refine our understanding of the introduction of maize into the region, we must develop pan-regional analytical standards and create multiple working hypotheses at a variety of scales.

“…To account for the maize histories in the Northeast, sufficient time would be needed for maize to adapt to temperate latitudes as it was adopted by different groups. However, the oldest directly dated maize macroremain from the central Plains is AD cal 874 (δ 13 C of −9.48 and 2σ range of cal AD 777–977) and AD cal 810 (δ 13 C of −9.4 and 2σ range of cal AD 688–935) from the Avoca site (Adair 2003, 2012), centuries later than the microbotanical evidence for early maize in the Northeast.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Maize (Zea mays) in the North American Central Plains: The Microbotanical Evidence

Adair

Duncan

Young³

et al. 2022

Self Cite

Artifacts, including ceramics, ground stone, and soil samples, as well as dental calculus, recovered from sites in the eastern North American central Plains were submitted to multiple laboratories for analysis of microbotanical remains. Direct accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) dates of 361–197 cal BC provide evidence for the earliest use of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) in this region. Squash (Cucurbita sp.), wild rice (cf. Zizania spp.), and palm (Arecaceae sp.) microremains were also found. This research adds to the growing evidence of the importance of microbotanical analysis in documenting plant use and in the identification of early maize. The combined data on early maize from the eastern Plains adds to our understanding of the timing and dispersal of this crop out of the American Southwest. Alternative explanations for the adoption and early use of maize by eastern central Plains communities include its value as a secondary resource, as an addition to an existing farming strategy, or as a component of Middle Woodland rituals.