A study published today in Cell uncovers the deep evolutionary roots of flint and dent maize (also commonly known as “corn”), two foundational varieties central to modern maize breeding and ...

Water engineers in ancient South America turned seasonally flooded Amazonian savannas into hotbeds of year-round maize farming. Previous excavations dated Casarabe society, which covered an area of ...

Morphological characterization of a teosinte sample at Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in the United States. Credit: Flaviane Malaquias Costa Morphological ...

Researchers have tested ancient DNA from corn found at archaeological sites in Arkansas, shedding new light on the dispersal of one of the world's most important food crops. Researchers have tested ...

New research suggests seabird guano helped transform the Chincha Kingdom into one of the most prosperous societies in ancient Peru. Chemical clues in centuries-old maize show farmers fertilized their ...

Maize is one of humanity's most incredible achievements and it allowed Ancient American culture to blossom and thrive.

Add independent.com on Google Add the SB Independent as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Explore the cooking processes behind Mesoamerican civilization in this free public ...

Jaenicke-Despres, Viviane and Smith, Bruce D. 2010. "Ancient DNA and the integration of archaeological and genetic approaches to the study of maize domestication." In Histories of Maize in Mesoamerica ...

Powerful fertiliser based on seabird droppings may have fuelled the rise of a Peruvian agricultural kingdom 900 years ago and helped drive its eventual takeover by the Incas. Chemical analyses of ...