Society for American Archaeology

What Are the Chances of Finding Maize in Peru Dating before 1000 B.C.?: Reply to Bonavia
and Grobman
Author(s): Robert McKelvy Bird
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), pp. 828-840
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/281253
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 comment

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF FINDING MAIZE

IN PERU DATING BEFORE 1000 B.C.?:
REPLY TO BONAVIA AND GROBMAN

Robert McKelvy Bird

Maize is claimed to occur occasionally in preceramic deposits in Peru. Cobs, kernels, tassels, pollen, and plant
parts have been reported to be associated with Cotton Preceramic period refuse (ca. 2500-1750 B.C., uncorrected)
in severalnorth-centralcoast sites. Maize has beenfound in some much earlierhighlandoccupationsthat also
have yielded a wide range of ancient dates. These samples represent many types, some with characteristics not
found again until late in the first millennium A.D. This arouses suspicion. Checking of artifacts, ecofacts, and
radiocarbon dates associated with the maize reveals some that are less than 100 years old and many that are less
than 1,500 years old. It also reveals shallow deposits and/or much disturbed context.
Algunos investigadores han sostenido que restos de maiz se encuentran ocasionalmente en varios dep6sitos
precerdmicos en el Peru. Sitios localizados en la costa centro-norte han rendido tusas, semillas, espigas, pollen,
y partes de plantas asociados a desechos del periodo precerdmico con algod6n (ca. 2500-1750 A.C., no corregido).
Maiz ha sido encontrado en varias ocupaciones serranas mds tempranas, las cuales han producido ademds un
amplio rango defechas antiguas. Estas muestras representan muchos tipos de maiz, algunos de ellos con carac-
teristicas no duplicadas hasta fines del primer milenio D.C. Este hecho suscita sospechas. La verificaci6n de
artefactos, ecofactos, yfechas radiocarb6nicas asociadas a los restos de mafz revela que unos tipos tienen menos
que cien anos y que muchos tienen menos de 1.500 anos de antigiiedad. Ademds, tal verificaci6n indica que
algunos dep6sitos tienen poca profundidad y/o mucha perturbaci6n.

This is a reply to comments by Bonavia and Grobman (1989b), which support proposals that
maize occurred occasionally in various areas of Peru in the three millennia before the appearance
of ceramics. Such a distribution would challenge a broadly based archaeological model. Many
cultigens and other cultural traits spread rapidly and extensively along the Peruvian coast in three
"waves" (widespread appearances of groups of botanical and technological markers) after 3000 B.C.
The first wave introduced cotton, many other cultigens, a simple lithic tradition, and elaborate
twining. The second brought ceramics and other markers at ca. 1750 B.C. (dates cited here are not
corrected for radiocarbon anomalies). Still, maize was virtually lacking in the subsequent nine
centuries, until it became common when the last wave arrived. If maize is proposed for preceramic
periods at a few sites, why is it absent from so many second millennium preceramic and ceramic
sites widely found in Peru? Rapid spread of many botanical and other markers on two occasions
would be expected to have included maize if it were in the region. Further, the putatively preceramic
cobs come from probable disturbed contexts, or from within 30 cm of post-900 B.C. deposits or
the present surface.
A botanical evolutionary model also would be contradicted by the cobs found in preceramic units,
if they are truly preceramic, because (1) many of the cobs resemble only maize dating after A.D.

RobertMcKelvyBird, P.O. Box 5142, Raleigh, NC 27650

AmericanAntiquity,55(4), 1990, pp. 828-840.

CopyrightC 1990 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

828
 COMMENT 829

20, (2) many of the specimens would have yielded more kernel weight and/or larger kernels than
documented maize of the first millennium B.C., and (3) such collections are quite variable. These
arguments would be countered strongly if preceramic maize specimens were found to be over 3,700
years old by direct radiocarbon dating and if they belonged to one or a few types that could be fitted
into an alternative evolutionary model.

THE BASES OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MODEL

The three pertinent periods that were initiated by the "waves" are the Cotton Preceramic or
Upper Archaic (CP), the Initial Pottery or Lower Formative (IP), and the Early Horizon or Middle
Formative (EH). The markers have been defined by research at many sites, primarily coastal. At
or soon after the start of the CP period (ca. 2500 B.C.), a large group of cultigens (cotton, gourd,
two squash species, lima and jack beans, chili pepper, canna, guava, lucuma, and Bunchosia sp.)
and technological traits (production of textiles predominantly by several twining techniques, yam
usually of cotton, dying of yam only in blue, and crudely made lithics-flakes, cores, grooved stones,
hammerstones, etc.) spread widely (Bird et al. 1985; Bird 1988; Bonavia 1982; Cohen 1979; Feldman
1986; Patterson and Moseley 1968; Pozorski and Pozorski 1979a, 1987a; Weir et al. 1988; Wendt
1964). Ceramics, heddle weaving with continuous wefts (contrasted with discontinuous weft, finger-
weaving found earlier), peanuts, and possibly, pacay (Inga feuillei) mark the IP period (1750-900
B.C.) (Bird 1948; Bird et al. 1985; Cohen 1979; Feldman 1986; Grieder 1986; Moseley 1975; Pozorski
and Pozorski 1987a; Wallace 1979). The EH period on the coast (900-200 B.C.) is marked by wool
and bones of domestic camelid, tapestry, and new ceramic forms and decorative techniques, with
cassava (Manihot sp.), guinea pig, brocade, ceramic panpipes, and polished slate blades as probable
markers (Browman 1989; Cohen 1979; Conklin 1974a, 1974b; Daggett 1987; Fung 1972; Pozorski
and Pozorski 1987a; Wallace 1979).

PRE-EARLY HORIZON EVIDENCE OF MAIZE

Most CP sites or site components on the Peruvian north, central, and south coasts entirely lack
maize and the IP and EH markers while yielding most of the CP markers-the deep Huaca Prieta
midden, Alto Salaverry, Huaynunai, Rio Seco, Chuquitanta (= El Paraiso), six sites in or near the
Chillon Valley (including the Tank site near Ancon), Asia Beach, Chilca I, and others (Figure 1).
The more prominent of the sites for which there are claims of preceramic maize are Los Gavilanes
and Aspero on the coast (both mainly CP) and, in the mountains, Guitarrero Cave, Pikimachay,
Rosamachay, and Tambillo Boulder Cave, the montane sites having much earlier occupations.
Other claims for small amounts of preceramic maize, only briefly discussed in the literature and
omitted here, involve Culebras (superficial CP, with guinea-pig tunnels), Las Haldas (uppermost
CP deposit, with great IP construction and many IP and EH deposits at the site) (Lanning 1960,
1967), and PV32-1 and PV32-2 (dating seventh millennium B.C., one cob each) (Bonavia and
Grobman 1989a, 1989b).
Los Gavilanes (= Huarmey North 1) on the north-central coast is unique in its wide, propor-
tionately shallow, stone-lined depressions (47 found to date) and for the large number of maize
remains found in a CP site (Bonavia 1982; Bonavia and Grobman 1978). In the upper level(s) of
Bonavia's excavations there were at least 10 ceramic specimens (whole or broken partial vessels)
mostly identified as Middle Horizon (A.D. 550-850), and in lower components there were remnants
of chirimoya (Annona cherimolia, generally thought to be post-EH), avocado, cassava, pacay, pea-
nuts, woven cloth, and camelid wool. Also, sharply interrupted strata and at least several anomalous
radiocarbon dates (maize directly dated at "between 200 and 800 years before the present era" and
sample GX-5077-charcoal from the middle stratum-which dates 2080 ? 130 B.P., 130 B.C.)
have been reported (Bonavia 1982:275-276; Grobman et al. 1977:224). Maize most frequently was
found in or just under strata with ceramics or the other late markers, though specifics are lacking
(Bonavia 1982:27-61, 144-145). Bonavia and Grobman (1979) (see also Bonavia 1982:271-273)
 HUACA
I5

Truj

Chimbote

/ GUITARRERO CAVE
IPA DE LOS LLAMAS-MOXEKE

LOS

LICiHTHOUSI

LI-3
Huacho

Lima

,.
0

ASIA BE,
E -100
-Y

PAR) 3O I \ /
- 200 ROSAMACHAY/ /
PIKIMACHAY /
CERRILLOS _ / [ Ayaci
Ica
"TAMBILLO BOULDER CAVE
/
/ \ \/a
Figure 1. Map of pertinent sites in central Peru.
 COMMENT 831

propose that much maize was transported on llamas to be stored in the depressions, covered by
sand. They calculate the total volume of the stone-lined depressions at 1,590 m3, enough to hold
about a half million kilograms of unshelled maize.
About 100 km south-southeast of Los Gavilanes, in the Aspero (= Asl) CP midden and around
scattered associated structures, Feldman (1980:182-185) found occasional maize cobs at shallow
depths (0-25 cm) or with intrusive markers (ceramics and newspaper) or with evidence of late
digging (human and rodent). To one side of that midden, near an EH period cemetery, Willey and
Corbett (1954:27-29, 151-152, Plate 21) excavated a near-surface "temple" and found 49 maize
cobs under an undisturbed floor, intruded before or during construction. The building did not
contain many artifacts or other remains but did yield a chipped-stone point, polishing stones, a
bone spatula or spoon, and a piece of woven cloth (Willey and Corbett 1954:26-29, 75-76, 82,
124), which are possible indications of post-CP occupation that need further study.
Many intrusive elements (a radiocarbon age of 0 ? 100 B.P., A.D. 1950, some pottery sherds,
relatively fresh human bone, and woven textiles) have been listed for Complex III (5600? B.C.-?),
the earliest maize-bearing component of Guitarrero Cave, in the north-central mountains (Lynch
1980:40-42, 266-267; Lynch et al. 1985; Vescelius 1981a, 1981b). Complex III is a shallow, very
restricted deposit lying just under ceramic-bearing units; 26 cobs came from a small area at the rear
of the deposit where the cave ceiling peaks sharply to only 1.3 m over the older Complex II (Lynch
1980:305-306, Figures 1.15, 1.19, 2.3).
At Pikimachay (= AclO 100), a large "rat"-riddled cave site in the southern Peruvian mountains,
three radiocarbon dates fall in the A.D. 280-885 range which, with occasional peach pits, modern
and Early Horizon ceramics, and rodent nests, are strong indicators of important disturbed context
in strata labeled Cachi (2700-1500? B.C.) and Chihua (4400-2700? B.C.), as well as in earlier
occupations (MacNeish 1969; MacNeish et al. 1981). Maize accompanied the Chihua and later
markers. In the same area, maize also was found in a Cachi stratum at the Tambillo Boulder Cave
and in a Chihua stratum at the Rosamachay cave, both at very shallow depth (0-15 cm) relative
to the lower limit of post-900 B.C. layers (MacNeish et al. 1981:123-129).
Another "association" of maize with CP occupation can be quickly dealt with-Huaca Negra
(north coast) yielded maize, but it came from Grave 13, a late intrusion (Grobman et al. 1961;
Towle 1952).
Initial Pottery units at many sites-Tortugas, Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke, Las Haldas, the
structures north of the Huaca Prieta midden, La Florida, and Galgada-lack maize and the EH
markers (Bird et al. 1985; Fung 1972; Grieder and Mendoza 1985; Matsuzawa 1978; Patterson
1985; Pozorski and Pozorski 1987a). The Pozorskis have added considerably to the knowledge of
the CP, IP, and EH periods in the Casma Valley by excavating at one CP site, two IP sites, and
two EH sites, plus components of all three periods at Las Haldas. They opened 102 test pits of
which 17 were expanded into stratigraphic excavations and 19 were architectural clearings. Pozorski
and Pozorski (1987a: 126-127) state: "It is significant that no maize was present during the Initial
[Pottery] Period in the Casma Valley." In addition, a set of ceramic traits, an architectural complex,
and, apparently, social modes spread over a large part of the central and north coast regions in the
middle of the Initial Pottery period, a development sometimes called Aldas, sometimes more linked
to Garagay (Bird 1987; Fung 1972; Patterson 1971; Ravines et al. 1984). Even this "mini-wave"
was not associated with maize. The only hints of IP maize in Peru are (1) sketches on a Kotosh
phase bottle from Kotosh in the Sierra (1200-800 B.C.) (Izumi and Sono 1963); (2) a few rotted
fragments in Burial 867 at Huaca Prieta (ca. 1000 B.C.) (Bird et al. 1985:64-65, Junius Bird, personal
communication 1981); (3) two cobs and a husk fragment from 14 test pits and two excavations of
structures at Gramalote (found in the upper 30 cm and by a building) (Pozorski and Pozorski 1979b;
Thomas Pozorski, personal communication 1989); (4) one or more specimens from the Tank site
placed at ca. 1200 B.C. (Cohen 1979; Patterson and Moseley 1968; Thomas Patterson, personal
communication 1989); and (5) some samples whose specific proveniences are not given, found by
Ravines and associates (Ravines et al. 1984) at Garagay (late IP-early EH); by Lanning (1960:52-
54) at Chira-Villa (Chira phase, 1400-1300 B.C.); and by Engel (1976) at Las Haldas and Huarangal.
No IP maize has been illustrated or directly dated; only one cob has been measured (see below).
832 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 55, No. 4, 1990]

EARLY HORIZON CHANGES AND THE NEW MAIZE

Although the Early Horizon recently has undergone redefinition (Bird 1987; Burger 1981; Moseley
1985; Patterson 1971; Pozorski and Pozorski 1987b; Ravines and Isbell 1976; Williams 1981, 1985),
this period of influence by Chavin, Cupisnique, Paracas, and other regional cultures remains very
significant (Burger 1985:282). The Pozorskis (1 987a: 120) state: "domesticated camelids and guinea
pigs ... appeared suddenly in the Casma Valley along with the new architecture, artifacts, and
maize." This parallels Junius Bird's (1948) observations that Cupisnique refuse accompanied the
first maize just north of the Huaca Prieta CP midden (except for the cob fragments of Burial 867,
above), lying over many units of two IP cultures. There are only minor possible exceptions to this
pattern in sites near Anc6n (Cohen 1979; Patterson and Moseley 1968). Early in the EH period at
many sites along 800 km of the Peruvian coast, maize became an important, dramatic factor in
subsistence. Throughout this region there is great similarity among maize collections at this time.
The EH maize complex known as Confite Iquenio (Grobman et al. 1961:75-85), the only EH
maize yet described, has small, rotund ears with many rows of small kernels. A hypothetical Confite
Chavinense was its only apparent direct ancestor (Grobman et al. 1961:337-338). It cannot easily
be subdivided into types as can Gallinazo (A.D. 20-200) maize collections (Bird and Bird 1980),
but Grobman et al. (1961:77-78) define one aspect of Confite Iqueiio as having pointed kernels,
narrow ears, and long staminate ear tips. Confite Iquenio (over 62 cobs from five sites that I have
measured; Table 1) has row numbers that range from 10 to 22, rachis (inner cob) diameters of 5.2-
14.9 mm, and ear lengths of 35-95 mm. Cupules (hard depressions in the rachis) are small (2.0-
5.0 mm wide by 1.1-2.4 mm long) and thin-walled (Bird 1978, 1984:Figure 2; for terminology see
Bird and Bird [1980]). Cupule wings range from .2 to 1.0 mm in width. These are not narrow ranges,
but they do define a unique maize. Confite Iquenio kernels from the Cerrillos site average 4.7 mm
long, 4.6 mm wide, and 4.5 mm thick (Grobman et al. 1961:78); few ears with kernels are available
from other sites. Most later Peruvian maize has fewer, straighter rows, larger kernels, broader, larger
cupules, and much thicker, harder cupules and glumes, glumes being flaps that enclose the kernel
bases (Bird 1980; Grobman et al. 1961).

MORPHOLOGY AND COMPARISONS OF PRE-EARLY HORIZON(?) MAIZE

Although a few of the 61 cobs from Aspero resemble Confite Iquenio, most that I have measured
fall well outside the Confite Iqueno ranges in one or more dimensions-8 of 12 midden cobs and
13 of 18 Aspero "temple" cobs (Table 2). Many are inside the values of later maize. The majority
have cupules over 5.0 mm wide (to 7.6 mm), and several cob lengths are over 100 mm (Towle
1954:Table 14; Willey and Corbett 1954:Plate 31). One, Towle's (1954:Table 14) number 44, has
cupules 7.2 mm wide, a rachis diameter of 17.9 mm, and cupule wings 1.7 mm wide. Another,
Towle's number 3, combines excessive length (over 110 mm, broken) with long cupules, long rachis-
segment lengths, and wide cupule wings. In must be noted that my criteria for selection of temple
cobs for measuring imposed a bias toward larger dimensions.
Smith defines three broad groupings of Guitarrero Cave cobs (slim, medium, and thick). Complex
III slim cobs (N = 6) have 10-16 rows and rachises 6.2 mm in diameter; one slim cob has cupules
about 3.3 mm longby 2.7 mm wide (1980:125, Table 6.1, Figure 6.1). Medium cobs (N = 20) have
12-22 rows and rachis diameters averaging 8.5 mm (1980:126, Figure 6.2). Thick cobs are rare.
Except for the much greater proportion of thick cobs in Complex IV and the greater variability of
the Complex III slim set, there is little difference between the Complex III and Complex IV collections
(Smith 1980:127-131, Table 6.1), the latter being post-Early Horizon. According to the few data
and photos available, many Complex III cobs from Guitarrero Cave seem less like Confite Iqueino
than like modern cobs from the upper Huallaga Valley just across the mountains, specifically small
examples of chushpilyu from the Chupachu ethnic area and yuraq gapia and kashpish from the
Serrano area (Bird 1970, 1989).
Most of over 200 Los Gavilanes cobs have 8-10 kernel rows, while ranges for cupules are: widths
2-12 mm, lengths 1-5 mm, and wing widths, incredibly, .5-3 mm (Grobman 1982; Grobman et
 COMMENT 833

Table 1. Ranges of Measurements of Early Horizon Maize Cobs.

Rachis-
Site Number Cob Row Rachis Cupule Cupule Wing Segment
Layer or Unit in Unita Lengtha Number Diameter Length Width Width Length
Structures north of Huaca Prieta middenb
Test pit 5, layers Al
and A2 13 (7) 35-79 10-20 5.4-14.9 1.1-1.8 2.4-4.8 .4-.7 2.5-3.7
Test pit 5, layers A3
andA4 8(5) 44-60 14-20 5.2-10.4 1.3-1.8 2.0-3.1 .3-.6 -
Test pit 5, house 2 and
storage vault 2 10 (5) 46-57 12-22 6.4-12.3 1.3-2.2 2.3-3.7 .3-.8 -
Lighthouse sitec
Pit 3 2 (2) 38, 62 12, 22 9.6, 14.2 1.5,2.0 2.9,5.0 .3,.7 -
Li-31 (= As2A)d
Level 4 (72-95 cm) 2 (2) 53, 65 10, 18 6.8, 9.0 1.7, 2.2 3.0, 3.2 .6, .7 3.4, 4.0
6 (3) 44-67 12-18 - - 3.2-4.5 - -
Level 5 (95-120 cm) 11(11) 42-91 12-22b 7.8-19.3b 1.3-2.1 3.1-4.5 .4-1.0 3.24.1
7 (7) 54-76 14-18 - - 3.14.6 - -
Level 6 (120-157 cm) 3 (3) 54-59 10-22 7.9-14.5 1.2-2.4 3.1-3.9 .4-1.0 2.9-3.7
8 (3) 41-72 14-20 - - 2.8-4.6 - -
Carhua (= 14B-X-48) 3 (3) 49-84 10-14 6.5-11.5 1.5-2.2 3.0-4.6 .8-1.0 3.2-3.8
Cerrillos 10 (10) 41-95 16-28c 6.7-13.2c 1.1-2.3 2.0-4.5 .2-.9 2.84.1d
Overall rangese N = 62 (61) 35-95 10-22f 5.2-14.9f 1.1-2.4 2.0-5.0 .2-1.0 2.54.1
Note: Huaca Prieta is on the north coast, the Lighthouse and Li-31 sites are close to Aspero, and Carhua and
Cerrillos are on the south coast (Figure 1).
a The number of unbroken cobs is in
parentheses; only these are used for cob length.
b All but one of the 11 had 12-18 rows and
rachis diameters of 7.8-12.3 mm.
c All but one of the 10 had 16-22 rows and rachis diameters of 6.7-12.4 mm.
d
Rachis-segment length measured on only six cobs.
e
Ranges are calculated (for all measurements except cob length) using a total N = 62 (discounting cobs not
measured fully); the range for cob length is based on N = 61 (total number of unbroken cobs).
fLeft out are a cob with 28 rows and one with a 19.3 mm rachis diameter.

al. 1977)! Data I obtained from cobs excavated in 1957-1958 by Kelley and Bonavia (1963) are in
Table 2. Some appear similar to north-coast cobs of A.D. 20-600 (Bird 1984; Grobman et al. 1977:
Plate 46A, left; Grobman 1982:Photograph 82c), and some seem later because of their large size
and prominent glumes (Grobman et al. 1977:Plate 46). Several of the 35 Los Gavilanes kernels are
exceptionally large for types over 2,000 years old, exceeding 8 mm in width by 9.5 mm in length
(Grobman 1982:164-166), comparable to the modern races Mochero and Chaparreno (Grobman
et al. 1961:196-210). In addition, they are .5 mm wider than all but one of the kernel casts on
Moche ceramics (A.D. 200-600) (Eubanks Dunn 1979; Grobman et al. 1961:95-107). Also the
endosperm texture and pericarp color of these kernels are quite variable (Grobman 1982:164-165).
Grobman has named six categories (races and interracial hybrids) for the array.
An Initial Pottery period maize cob from Gramalote is reported to be 55 mm long by 15 mm in
diameter(Pozorsky 1976).
Many maize collections in the United States have been well dated by accelerator mass spectrometer
(AMS) techniques, thereby greatly changing archaeobotanical hypotheses about maize introduction
there (Creel and Long 1986; Ford 1985). These techniques clearly could help to date those South
American cultigen specimens that seem unduly early, but they have been little used. A set of non-
AMS dates ranging "between 200 and 800 years before the present era" was calculated for maize
cobs from Los Gavilanes (Grobman et al. 1977:224), but details of the individual dates are not
published. Bonavia (1982) distrusts these dates because there is skewed absorption of 14C by maize,
normally corrected by adding 200-300 years to the radiocarbon age (Browman 1981; Creel and
834 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 55, No. 4, 1990]

Long 1986). By making this correction the earliest these dates can be interpreted is 1100 B.C.,
though their morphology indicates a much later date.

DISCUSSION
Two models are affected by claims for preceramic period maize. A widely used archaeological
model for the first three millennia B.C. of the Peruvian coast and sierra defines several short intervals
when innovations were spread, each followed by a long period when there were incorporation and
refinement of the innovations in the context of what remained from earlier cultures. Many more
traits entered the picture than left it, especially those that were cultigens or cultivars. Communication
along the coast and through the mountains seems to have been rapid enough that markers could
spread over long distances rather quickly. Cultural bias against new items kept some from extending
as far, as effectively or as rapidly as others, and ecological barriers slowed the spread of such
innovations as the use of camelids to the coast. But it is hard to imagine (1) that maize could be
in the central and southern highlands in the fourth-sixth millennia B.C. and not have spread to the
not-so-distant coast before 2000 B.C., and (2) that maize was important at Los Gavilanes and/or
Aspero before 1750 B.C. but did not appear in the Casma area 50 km north-northwest of the former
site nor in the Chill6n-Ancon area ca. 125 km south-southeast of the latter until after 1000 B.C.
If one were to argue that maize was present in preceramic occupations, then later major gaps would
need to be explained thoroughly. One cannot expect that maize could remain limited to one or a
few sites and occupations before 1000 B.C. if great numbers of cultigens and technological traits
spread quickly and widely in the middle of the third millennium B.C. and early in the second
millennium B.C.
Any organic remains that seem to challenge this model should be carefully illustrated, measured,
and AMS dated, and all aspects of their proveniences should be presented. I am willing, along with
others, to help anyone obtain AMS dates of exceptionally early maize specimens that have detailed
stratigraphic associations. On the coast any sample of cassava, avocado, or wool or bones of do-
mesticated camelid that is thought to precede the Early Horizon, and any peanuts, pacay, or textiles
with continuous wefts apparently woven with heddles that are considered to precede pottery also
would be especially noteworthy. I mention avocado because, while it is absent from all of the many
IP units at Huaca Prieta (north coast) and Tank site (central coast), it is reported from IP components
of five sites on the north and north-central coasts (J. Bird 1948; R. Bird 1988; Fung 1972; Patterson
and Moseley 1968; Pozorski and Pozorski 1979a, 1979b, 1987a). Study of isotopic discrimination
in Peruvian crops is needed to improve accuracy.
More attention should be paid to color, another key to age. Some of the supposed preceramic
maize specimens from Aspero and Los Gavilanes look fresher, that is they are lighter and have
more purple, red, or orange color, than the Early Horizon cobs with which I am familiar that usually
are grayish brown.
Evolutionary maize models usually define (1) differentiation of new races in separated regions,
(2) tendencies to increases in ear and/or kernel dimensions and thereby productivity, and (3) mul-
tiplication of races available in a region through exchange and genetic recombination (Bird 1980,
1984, 1989; Bird et al. 1988; Grobman et al. 1961; Wellhausen et al. 1952). Differences in the
dimensions and morphological proportions of maize types often are reflections of differences between
cultural regions. Cobs and ceramic ear casts from the Peruvian north coast dating A.D. 200-600
indicate that there was mainly one maize type, Moche Type 1, with few rows of kernels and a kernel
width: thickness ratio over 1.7 (the casts indicate other types may have been grown), while con-
temporaneous Nazca (south-coast) maize had row numbers over 12 and kernel width: thickness
ratios near 1.0 (Bird 1984; Eubanks Dunn 1979; Grobman et al. 1961). Even so, calculating kernel
yield per ear as the volume of the empty "cylinder" of kernels removed from the cob shows that
there was little difference between the two regions and that both yields were greater than that of
Confite Iquenio. Later, the Wari empire (A.D. 550-850) promoted the long-range exchange of germ
plasm leading to the development of important new types, many with much higher yields (Bird et
 COMMENT 835

Table 2. Measurements of Cobs Found in Cotton Preceramic Context.

Rachis-
Site/Layer Specimen Cob Row Rachis Cupule Cupule Wing Segment
or Unit Identification Lengtha Number Diam. Length Width Width Length

Aspero/pit 2b #2 (85) 14 11.9 1.5 5.4 1.2 -3.8

#4 51 10 9.1 1.1 5.9 1.1 3.2
#7 61 10 10.1 1.0 6.3 1.6 3.0
#8 83 14 8.7 1.8 4.2 .8 -3.6
#9 73 12 12.8 1.0 7.0 1.5 -3.4
#15 68 18 13.3 1.4 5.2 .7 3.4
#16 (81) 16 15.0 1.1 6.0 1.4 -3.4
#21 54 14 10.0 1.5 4.5 .9 -3.0
#28 (42) 14 13.4 1.0 6.2 1.6 -2.4
#29 54 10 4.4 2.1 2.6 .4 3.9
#32 (53) 14 8.3 2.5 4.3 1.3 -4.2
#35 48 10 7.8 2.3 4.5 1.1 -4.5
#37 48 14 12.0 2.0 5.8 1.5 -3.6
#39 52 14 4.9 2.6 2.8 .8 3.8
#40 47 14 6.8 1.7 3.7 .8 -3.5
#43 (38) 16 11.1 1.8 4.6 1.4 -3.0
#44 (59) 18 17.9 1.1 7.2 1.7 3.6
#49 45 18 7.2 2.3 2.3 .4 -4.2
Asperoc /? (33) 16 13.8 1.0 5.3 1.1 3.0
/Level D-1 -50 8 7.7 2.5 5.3 1.0 3.6
/Level N-3 (25) 16 - 5.7 - -
/Level N-3 (26) 10 - 6.8 - -
/Level N-4 (18) 20-24 - 7.6 - -
/Level N-4 (16) 16 - 6.2? - -
/Level N-4 (42) 16 - 4.7 - -
/Level N-4 -86 14 - 4.9 - -
/Level M-10 109 10 10.3 2.5 5.8 1.4 4.1
/Level M-10 -73 14 14.7 1.5 6.2 1.7 3.2
/Level M-10 (110) 18 12.0 2.8 4.3 1.3 5.7
/Level M-10 66 14 12.8 2.2 4.7 1.1 4.3
Aspero ranged N = 24-30 [17] 45-110+ 8-22 4.4-17.9 1.0-2.8 2.6-7.6 .4-1.7 2.4-5.7
Los Gavilanese /Pit 1, L.2 8 7.5 2.4 7.8 1.9 -
/Pit 1, L.3 96 8 6.9 2.8 7.7 1.5 4.5
/Pit 1, L.4 -35 8 4.1 2.4 3.8 .7 3.1
/Pit 2, L.2 -100 10 6.5 2.1 4.7 1.5 4.3
/Pit 2, L.2 4-5! 3.8 2.7 6.7 1.9 -
/Pit 2, L.2 43 14 11.1 1.6 5.2 - -
/Pit 2, L.5 29 18 5.7 1.4 1.7 .4 2.7
/Pit 2, L.5 10 3.4 2.4 2.9 .9 -
/Pit 2, L.5 8 5.4 1.7 5.5 1.4 -
Los Gavilanes
range N = 4-9 35-100 4-18 4.1-11.1 1.4-2.8 1.7-7.8 .4-1.9 2.7-4.5
a
Parentheses indicate broken cob, length quite incomplete; - indicates tip broken, and missing tip length
estimated.
b
Excavated by G. Willey and J. Corbett (1954); specimen numbers according to Towle. Towle's (1954)
measurements of specimen length are used for 12 of these.
c Excavated by R. Feldman (1980); also called Asl.
d
[17] indicates 17 cobs are complete or nearly complete in length.
e Excavated
by D. Kelley and D. Bonavia (1963); also called Huarmey North 1.

al. 1988; Grobman et al. 1961). A corollary of the model is that as new races are developed and
introduced, many old races remain or have significant influence (for example, Ladyfinger Popcorn
with small ears and extremely small kernels still is grown for its ornamental value in the United
States Corn Belt). Thus, the variation in a region is a cumulative and complex feature. The consid-
836 AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 55, No. 4, 1990]

erable variation of the supposedly early Aspero, Guitarrero Complex III, and the Los Gavilanes
collections and the occasional large cobs therein are not expected for preceramic period maize.
This is not the place to describe the types of and changes in maize after the Early Horizon, but
there are many cobs from Aspero, Los Gavilanes, and Guitarrero that not only exceed in several
dimensions the early types that have been described but also overlap modem Peruvian maize races
and populations (there are no quantitative data on the maize reported from Pikimachay, Rosa-
machay, and Tambillo Boulder Cave). It would be most improbable to evolve these productive
types in preceramic periods, then lose them in the archaeobotanical record for well over two
millennia, only to have them reappear.
In definitions and comparisons of Peruvian archaeological maize types, it is apparent that mean
values of only a few measures are but a start toward the information needed (Bird and Bird 1980).
Also, ear length should not be used in these definitions, as it is too often incomplete and breaks
may be overlooked. With the wide range of measurement values in the Aspero collection-the largest
are 2.4-4.3 times the smallest-one might expect several types (an archaeological maize type being
somewhat broader than a modem race). Combinations of characters can be used to define more
than four Aspero types. Each type would have its own means and ranges of variation, therefore
overall means and ranges for an occupation would convey much less information. The Guitarrero
Complex III population is even more varied; Smith (1980) makes comparisons to three Peruvian
and one Colombian race.
Many agents of archaeological intrusion may be suggested to explain these discoveries of maize
in preceramic contexts: tomb builders or grave robbers digging pits and spreading backfill, pack
rats, guinea pigs, and many others. If the depressions at Los Gavilanes were used for large-scale
maize storage, why have no whole ears been found and why were there so few kernels (35) (Bonavia
1982:164-165)? Why would the area be used for storage if it is reported to be humid below the
upper sand layer (Bonavia 1982:60)? There is a bit of evidence that may help to explain the Los
Gavilanes situation-analyses of coprolites from the midden area surprisingly show that pollen
grains of montane plant genera commonly are represented-Podocarpus, Alnus, Cantua, and mem-
bers of the Campanulaceae, Rosaceae, and Rubiaceae families (Weir and Bonavia 1985). Perhaps
some Middle Horizon people occasionally came from the mountains to gather marine products,
such as algae (Masuda 1985) and, to escape the wind off the ocean, they dug wide depressions in
an area previously occupied during the CP period. On later visits they lined some depressions with
rocks because of the loose sand and brought piles of corn plants to sleep on or to use for llama feed.
Remains of their corn and highland foods that were intruded accidentally into the midden would
have led to peculiar associations.
At Aspero the 12 cobs in the midden may have been intruded over the last 2,000 years, many
of them quite recently, mainly by exploratory excavation. On the other hand, the maize cobs from
under the Aspero "temple" demand a different explanation. The structure possibly was built during
a ceramic period, and the cobs underneath it either were in earlier midden or were placed as an
offering associated with the construction of the building. The temple might have been kept largely
free of ceramic and other artifacts as happened at many IP ceremonial sites (Burger and Salazar-
Burger 1985). Midden deposits within 30 m of the building have not been studied in any detail,
and the zone, like the cemetery 20 m away, could have some post-preceramic occupation (Feldman
1980; Willey and Corbett 1954); morphology of the maize indicates the occupation may be post-
EH.
A critique of Guitarrero Cave has been written by Vescelius (198 la, 198 1b); Lynch emphasizes
the mixed nature of Complex III (Lynch et al. 1985; Thomas Lynch, personal communication 1990).
The maize there could have been deposited in a short period less than 2,000 years ago, perhaps
when a large-walled tomb was being built or when a deep pit was dug, both within 5 m of the maize
(Lynch 1980:Figure 1.18,2.1, bottom). Complex III could be backfill from these excavations, thrown
where habitation was most unlikely, and the maize could be the remains of a workman's lunches.
It would certainly have been strange to have so little difference between maize of the fifth and sixth
millennia B.C. (Complex III) and maize of the last two millennia (Complex IV).
The considerable evidence of intrusion at Pikimachay seems to have been induced by rodents.
 COMMENT 837

Nests were noted near the maize, at least 1.3 m deep (MacNeish 1969; MacNeish et al. 1981). On
the other hand, the maize remains from shallow Tambillo Boulder and Rosamachay CP units could
have been intruded by man, rodent, or skunk (Vescelius 1981 a, 1981b). They need to have been
intruded only slightly to be in preceramic strata.
In summation, if maize were found in very secure preceramic contexts and yielded the expected
direct radiocarbon dates, and if that maize appeared intermediate between an anticipated early
domesticate and Cupisnique, Gallinazo, or other first-millennium-A.D. types, without high vari-
ability in the population, then there would be great merit in arguing for preceramic maize. However,
no Peruvian "preceramic" maize sample fits any of these criteria, nor is there any better evidence
for Initial Pottery period maize before 1000 B.C. Thus, the answer to the question in the title is:
Not good.
Acknowledgments. I thank the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research for their
support of my studies of Early Horizon maize. I am most appreciative of comments by David
Browman, Mary Eubanks, Robert Feldman, Thomas Lynch, Thomas Patterson, and Shelia and
Thomas Pozorski. Several institutions deserve special mention for storing archaeological maize
collections for many years and making them available for my studies: The Botanical Museum of
Harvard University (Willey and Corbett's Lighthouse and Aspero collections, Kelley and Bonavia's
1957-1958 Los Gavilanes collection); the American Museum of Natural History (Junius Bird's
collections from the Huaca Prieta area); the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Feldman's
Aspero and As2A collections); and the Centro de Investigacion de Zonas Aridas of the Universidad
Nacional Agraria del Perui (Engel's Carhua collection).

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Received July 28, 1989; accepted July 15, 1990