The video argues for a 12,000-year Valley of Mexico origin, a 6,000-plus-year spread into South America and 10,000-year-old terra preta. The evidence is narrower: agriculture in Mesoamerica was under way by about 10,000 years ago, with early maize evidence in Oaxaca and cobs just a few centimetres long. Maize reached Ecuador by about 7,000 years ago and Argentina by about 3,000 years ago; some crops were domesticated independently in South America. Terra preta is man-made, but its oldest well-dated deposits are about 8,500–9,000 years old. Mesoamerica runs from central Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and western Nicaragua.
Evidence puts early Mesoamerican agriculture near 10,000 years ago
Key facts
- Archaeological evidence places independent agriculture in Mesoamerica by about 10,000 years ago, with early maize evidence in Oaxaca—not a 12,000-year-old origin in the Valley of Mexico.
- The earliest maize cobs were only a few centimetres long, far smaller than modern ears.
- Maize spread from Mesoamerica into South America, reaching Ecuador by about 7,000 years ago and Argentina by about 3,000 years ago; some South American crops were domesticated independently.
- Amazonian dark earth, or terra preta, is human-made, but its oldest well-dated examples are roughly 8,500–9,000 years old, not over 10,000.
- Mesoamerica extends from central Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador to western Nicaragua.
Sources
The beginning and growth of agriculture in Mexicoroyalsocietypublishing.org
The area was chosen because it was a promising region to search for wild maize, and what was believed to be wild maize was indeed found there, although the ...
Ancient agriculture in Mexico - CogWebcogweb.ucla.edu
The earliest macrofossils (cobs) of maize have been found in the arid highland Tchuacan and Oaxaca valleys. It has been argued on the basis of these ...
The Invention of American Agriculture in Tehuacan Valley - ThoughtCothoughtco.com
Extensive excavations in the valley's caves, particularly Coxcatlán Cave, led to the discovery of the earliest appearance at the time of several important ...
“4. AGRICULTURE” in “Pre-Hispanic Occupance in the Valley of ...open.uapress.arizona.edu
Here information pertaining to pre-Hispanic agriculture is synthesized from three sources—historical documentations, archaeological remains, and ethnographic ...
Aztec Agriculture: Floating Farms Fed the People - HistoryOnTheNethistoryonthenet.com
In terms of Aztec agriculture, in order to grow all this food, the Aztecs used two main farming methods: the chinampas and terracing. Chinampas were essentially ...
The cultural and chronological context of early Holocene ...pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by AJ Ranere · 2009 · Cited by 351 — Mexico was one of the world's great centers for the independent development of agriculture beginning 10,000 calendrical years B.P. (cal B.P.) ( ...
A Sense of Place - Albuquerque's Environmental Storyalbuqhistsoc.org
The history of settlement in the South Valley area began when bands of nomadic hunters and gatherers entered the area at least 12,000 years ago
The Development of Agricultureeducation.nationalgeographic.org
The development of agricultural about 12000 years ago changed the way humans lived. They switched from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to ...
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