Duccio Bonavia

Preceramic maize from Paredones and Huaca Prieta, Peru

Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) is among the worlds most important and ancient domesticated crops. Although the chronology of its domestication and initial dispersals out of Mexico into Central and South America has become more clear due to molecular and multiproxy archaeobotanical research, important problems remain. Among them is the paucity of information on maizes early morphological evolution and racial diversification brought about in part by the poor preservation of macrofossils dating to the pre-5000 calibrated years before the present period from obligate dispersal routes located in the tropical forest. We report newly discovered macrobotanical and microbotanical remains of maize that shed significant light on the chronology, land race evolution, and cultural contexts associated with the crops early movements into South America and adaptation to new environments. The evidence comes from the coastal Peruvian sites of Paredones and Huaca Prieta, Peru; dates from the middle and late preceramic and early ceramic periods (between ca. 6700 and 3000 calibrated years before the present); and constitutes some of the earliest known cobs, husks, stalks, and tassels. The macrobotanical record indicates that a diversity of racial complexes characteristic of the Andean region emerged during the preceramic era. In addition, accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon determinations carried out directly on different structures of preserved maize plants strongly suggest that assays on burned cobs are more reliable than those on unburned cobs. Our findings contribute to knowledge of the early diffusion of maize and agriculture and have broader implications for understanding the development of early preindustrial human societies.

Chronology, mound-building and environment at Huaca Prieta, coastal Peru, from 13 700 to 4000 years ago

Renewed in-depth multi-disciplinary investigation of a large coastal mound settlement in Peru has extended the occupation back more than 7000 years to a first human exploitation ~13720 BP. Research by the authors has chronicled the prehistoric sequence from the activities of the first maritime foragers to the construction of the black mound and the introduction of horticulture and monumentality. The community of Huaca Prieta emerges as innovative, complex and ritualised, as yet with no antecedents.

Archaeological Evidence of Cherimoya (Annona Cherimolia Mill.) and Guanabana (Annona Muricata L.) in Ancient Peru

Archaeological Evidence of Cherimoya (Annona cherimolia Mill.)and Guanabana (Annona muricata L.)in Ancient Peru. Economic Botany 58(4):509-522, 2004. The results of this study confirm the presence of both guanabana and cherimoya in ancient Peru. Our evidence consists of linguistic data and botanical remains of plants that were found in archaeological contexts, as well as ceramic phytomorphic representations of the fruits.RésuméCon el presente trabajo se demuestra, que tanto la guanábana como la chirimoya han sido conocidas y utilizadas en el antiguo Perú. Las evidencias consisten en datos linguistícos y restos botánicos de dichas plantas que han sido encontrados en contextos arqueológicos y representaciones en cerámica de sus frutos.

Preceramic maize in the central andes: a necessary clarification

In a recent article published in this journal, botanist Robert McK. Bird (1987) presents views that are at odds with the existing body of archaeological evidence concerning archaeological maize. In spite of having been informed of these discrepancies in print (Bonavia 1982:274, 347-348, 360361) and via various personal communications, he has continued to reiterate these views. Considering that Bird flatly rejects the results of our work, along with that of several colleagues, we feel obliged to summarize and clarify our position. We have maintained on the basis of ample archaeological evidence that maize existed in Peru before the introduction of ceramics (ca. 1800 B.C.). Bird denies this, and asserts that maize does not appear in the central Andes until long after ceramics were in use. We do not wish to engage in polemics, but simply wish to present a synopsis of the evidence in favor of preceramic Peruvian maize in order to allow the reader to judge the merits of the case. The arguments that Bird presents for rejecting the known accounts of maize in preceramic contexts are cited textually (italics ours):

Documenting Cultural Selection Pressure Changes on Chile Pepper (Capsicum baccatum L.) Seed Size Through Time in Coastal Peru (7,600 B.P.–Present)

Documenting Cultural Selection Pressure Changes on Chile Pepper (Capsicum baccatum L.) Seed Size through Time in Coastal Peru (7,600 B.P.–Present). The chile pepper (Capsicum spp.) was independently domesticated in Mexico, the Amazon region, and the Central Andes of South America, though the exact nature of when, where, and how this process took place is uncertain. Current knowledge of early Capsicum domestication is further hindered by the general reliance on the rare preservation of Capsicum fruit, specifically the calyx morphology, from archaeological sites to chart the presence of various Capsicum species through space and time. Capsicum seeds, which are recovered in greater abundance from archaeological contexts, present a prime opportunity for studying selection pressures on Capsicum. Many plants exhibit signs of morphological change through time related to changes in selection pressures and the process of domestication. In food plants, a common occurrence is the change in seed size, which suggests correlating changes in fruit size. To investigate these changes on a species level, we developed the first systematic identification system based on qualitative and quantitative attributes for domesticated Capsicum seeds. In the course of our analysis, we found that C. baccatum L. seeds from Peru (ca. 7,600 cal. B.P. through modern day) change in size over time, suggesting human–influenced selection. Here, we demonstrate that C. baccatum L. seeds increase in size through pre–Columbian times. Remarkably, following Spanish conquest (post–1532 C.E.), the reduction in the size of seeds back to earlier pre–Columbian times suggests a loss of selective pressure for seed size in this particular Capsicum species.Documentando los cambios de presiónes selectivas sobre el tamaño de semilla de ají (Capsicum baccatum L.) a través del tiempo en la costa del Perú (7,600 A.P.–presente). El ají (Capsicum spp.) fue domesticado independientemente en México, la region amazónica, y los Andes centrales del América del sur, aunque la naturaleza exacta de cuándo, dónde, y cómo este proceso se llevó a cabo es incierto. El conocimiento actual de la domesticación temprana del Capsicum se dificulta aún más por la dependencia general de la rara preservación de la fruta Capsicum, específicamente la morfología del cáliz, de los sitios arqueológicos para trazar la presencia de varias especies de Capsicum a través del espacio y el tiempo. Las semillas de Capsicum, que se recuperan en mayor abundancia de los contextos arqueológicos, presentan una oportunidad única para el estudio de las presiones de selección sobre Capsicum. Muchas plantas muestran signos de cambio morfológico a través del tiempo en relación a cambios en las presiones de selección y el proceso de domesticación. En las plantas de alimentos un hecho común es el cambio en el tamaño de la semilla, que sugiere cambios en la correlación de tamaño de la fruta. Para investigar estos cambios a nivel de especies, desarrollamos el primer sistema de identificación sistemática basada en atributos cualitativos y cuantitativos para las semillas de Capsicum domesticados. En el curso de nuestro análisis, encontramos que las semillas de C. baccatum L. de Perú (ca. 7,600 cal. A.P.– presente) cambiaron de tamaño con el tiempo, lo que sugiere la selección por influencia humana. Aquí demostramos que las semillas de C. baccatum L. aumentaron de tamaño durante la época precolombina. Sorprendentemente, después de la conquista española (post–1532 E.C.), la reducción en el tamaño de las semillas de la época precolombina temprana sugiere una pérdida de presión selectiva para el tamaño de las semillas de esta especie de Capsicum en particular.

Maize : origin, domestication, and its role in the development of culture

1. The maize problematic 2. Maize as seen by Europeans 3. The origin of maize 4. The domestication of maize 5. The archaeological evidence 6. The role of maize in Andean culture 7. Maize as seen by the first Europeans 8. The dispersal of maize around the world 9. Chica 10. Discussion and conclusions Appendix Alexander Grobman.

Acute mountain sickness: Critical appraisal of the Pariacaca story and on-site study

The physiological and medical literature on the description of acute mountain sickness by Father Acosta in the Peruvian Andes shows many historical misconceptions and clinical misinterpretations. A recent paper by Gilbert (1983) not only contains these traditional misinterpretations but also adds geographical errors in the description of the area where Acosta described his sufferings. In view of these facts the authors have made a review of the old and modern writings on the so called Pariacaca story and during an on-site visit to the area of Pariacaca have taken actual measurements of distances, altitudes and geographical locations which they hope will put this story in the context of historical and scientific objectivity.

Bibliography of American archaeological plant remains (II).

Data relating to archaeological botany are often omitted or difficult to locate in the standard bibliographic sources of archaeology because the botanical component may be secondary to the principal intent of archaeological publications. Similarly, bibiliographic abstracting and indexing services in the natural sciences do not include archaeological journals and monographs. This bibliography is an effort to ameliorate this shortcoming, especially for sources concerned with South America and primarily for the period from 1966 through 1983.ResumenDatos sobre la botánica arqueológica están frecuentamente ausentes o son dificiles de localizar en los recursos bibliográficos de arqueología por razón de la imnportancia inferior de los datos botánicos en esta literatura. Igualmente, recursos bibliográficos en las ciencias naturales no incluyen revistas ni monografias arqueológicas. Por el medio de este bibliografia tratamos de mejorar esta situación especialmente en cl caso de, América del Sur el el periodo entre 1966 y 1983.