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The Americas from Foraging to Agriculture, 10,000 BC-4000 BC

Tides of History

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The Journey From Teosinte to Maize

maize bears very little resemblance to Teosinte, enough so that botanists debated for a long time whether or how maize could have ever arisen from the plant. The best answer is the Balcess River Valley of South Central Mexico. Around 5100 BC, pollen samples show that people there were already growing an early form of maize. That seems like the most ancient evidence we have in Mexico.

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