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Maize

Maize

Maize

Origin, Domestication, and its Role in the Development of Culture
June 2013
Available
Hardback
9781107023031

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£130.00
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    This book examines one of the thorniest problems of ancient American archaeology: the origins and domestication of maize. Using a variety of scientific techniques, Duccio Bonavia explores the development of maize, its adaptation to varying climates and its fundamental role in ancient American cultures. An appendix (by Alexander Grobman) provides the first-ever comprehensive compilation of maize genetic data, correlating this data with the archaeological evidence presented throughout the book. This book provides a unique interpretation of questions of dating and evolution, supported by extensive data, following the spread of maize from South to North America and eventually to Europe and beyond.

    • Provides discussion of all the hypotheses related to the origin of maize, including all the hypotheses formulated to date about domestication and the spread of maize in the Americas
    • Examines archaeological evidence from all the sites where early maize has been found, from Canada to Argentina
    • An appendix provides the first ever comprehensive compilation of maize genetic data

    Reviews & endorsements

    'Maize: Origin, Domestication, and its Role in the Development of Culture is perhaps best seen as a provoking and critical appraisal of the current corpus of evidence for the expert reader. Extensively and meticulously referenced, it provides a wealth of data to explore and a wealth of critical perspectives to consider.' Penny Jones, Archaeological Review from Cambridge

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    Product details

    June 2013
    Hardback
    9781107023031
    601 pages
    262 × 185 × 39 mm
    1.44kg
    24 b/w illus.
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 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.
      Contributors
    • Alexander Grobman

    • Author
    • Duccio Bonavia

      Duccio Bonavia held professorships at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Universidad Nacional San Cristobal de Huamanga (Ayacucho) and at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima), before he retired in 2005. He served as the Assistant Director of the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Antropología de Lima and has written fourteen books, including Peru: Hombre e Historia, Mural Paintings in Ancient Peru and The South American Camelids.