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121-604: A frieze located at Sechin Bajo dated at 3600 BCE is the oldest example of monumental architecture discovered thus far in the Americas. This date, if confirmed by additional discoveries, means that the Casma/Sechin culture may have originated as early or earlier than the Caral–Supe civilization , currently considered the oldest civilization of the Americas. The Peruvian Pacific coast is one of

242-399: A broad range of empirical data on the production, processing, and consumption of maize. New data drawn from coprolites , pollen records, and stone tool residues, combined with 126 radiocarbon dates, demonstrate that maize was widely grown, intensively processed, and constituted a primary component of the diet throughout the period from 3000 to 1800 BC. For Beresford-Jones, his new research on

363-810: A conventional breeding program to provide optimized strains. The program began in the 1980s. Hybrid seeds are distributed in Africa by its Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project. Tropical landraces remain an important and underused source of resistance alleles – both those for disease and for herbivores . Such alleles can then be introgressed into productive varieties. Rare alleles for this purpose were discovered by Dao and Sood, both in 2014. In 2018, Zerka Rashid of CIMMYT used its association mapping panel, developed for tropical drought tolerance traits. to find new genomic regions providing sorghum downy mildew resistance , and to further characterize known differentially methylated regions . Genetically modified maize

484-403: A corn head (with points and snap rolls instead of a reel) does not cut the stalk; it simply pulls the stalk down. The stalk continues downward and is crumpled into a mangled pile on the ground, where it usually is left to become organic matter for the soil . The ear of maize is too large to pass between slots in a plate as the snap rolls pull the stalk away, leaving only the ear and husk to enter

605-471: A dietary backbone of this and later pre-Columbian civilizations. Moseley found a small number of maize cobs in 1973 at Aspero (also seen in site work in the 1940s and 1950s) but has since called the find "problematic". However, increasing evidence has emerged about the importance of maize in this period: Archaeological testing at a number of sites in the Norte Chico region of the north central coast provides

726-429: A few locations in coastal Peru, including the Casma/Sechin valleys, a sizable population was present and undertaking large projects such as building pyramids and other ceremonial and monumental structures. The earliest Peruvian civilization differed from the other five pristine civilizations in the world in that it lacked ceramics (pottery) in its initial stages. The importance of agriculture to early Peruvian civilization

847-408: A large cob. Yellow maizes derive their color from carotenoids ; red maizes are colored by anthocyanins and phlobaphenes ; and orange and green varieties may contain combinations of these pigments. Maize has short-day photoperiodism , meaning that it requires nights of a certain length to flower. Flowering further requires enough warm days above 10 °C (50 °F). The control of flowering

968-509: A linear oasis in which irrigated agriculture is possible. The valleys of the Casma River and its tributary, the Sechin River, are one of the linear oases. The area of the Casma/Sechin culture extended about 40 kilometres (25 mi) inland from the sea. The width of the irrigable valleys range from one to seven kilometers (0.62 to 4.35 miles). Located along about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) in

1089-499: A measure of protection against a wide range of pests. Because of its shallow roots, maize is susceptible to droughts, intolerant of nutrient-deficient soils, and prone to being uprooted by severe winds. Maize is diploid with 20 chromosomes . 83% of allelic variation within the genome derives from its teosinte ancestors, primarily due to the freedom of Zea species to outcross . Barbara McClintock used maize to validate her transposon theory of "jumping genes", for which she won

1210-573: A mechanism of control to gather and supervise workers. Pottery was not in use during this period. Preceramic Period (3000–1800 BCE) (2500–1800 BCE is called the Cotton Preceramic Period or Preceramic Period VI). The Preceramic Period is characterized by the growth of the coastal settlements of Huaynuná, with a settlement dated as old as 2900 BCE, and Las Haldas where a settlement is dated back to 2200 BCE. Both Huaynuná and Las Haldas are located more than 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) distant from

1331-614: A place but a condition, a savage rather than a civilized grain". International groups such as the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International consider maize the preferred common name. The word maize is used by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization , and in the names of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center of Mexico, the Indian Institute of Maize Research,

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1452-590: A plant that uses C 4 carbon fixation , maize is a considerably more water-efficient crop than plants that use C 3 carbon fixation such as alfalfa and soybeans . Maize is most sensitive to drought at the time of silk emergence, when the flowers are ready for pollination. In the United States, a good harvest was traditionally predicted if the maize was "knee-high by the Fourth of July ", although modern hybrids generally exceed this growth rate. Maize used for silage

1573-408: A ruling elite to provide the benefit of cloth for clothing, bags, wraps, and adornment". He is willing to admit to a mutual dependency dilemma: "The prehistoric residents of the Norte Chico needed the fish resources for their protein and the fishermen needed the cotton to make the nets to catch the fish." Thus, identifying cotton as a vital resource produced in the inland does not by itself resolve

1694-409: A summary of the literature. Concomitant to the maritime subsistence hypothesis was an implied dominance of sites immediately adjacent to the coast over other centers. This idea was shaken by the realization of the magnitude of Caral, an inland site. Supplemental to a 1997 article by Shady dating Caral, a 2001 Science news article emphasized the dominance of agriculture and also suggested that Caral

1815-641: A survey of the Caral research, and a 2004 article in Nature , describing fieldwork and radiocarbon dating across a wider area, revealed Caral–Supe's full significance and led to widespread interest. The dating of the Caral–Supe sites has pushed back the estimated beginning date of complex societies in the Peruvian region by more than one thousand years. The Chavín culture , c.  900 BC , had previously been considered

1936-604: A total lack of ceramics persists across the period. Crops were cooked by roasting. The lack of pottery was accompanied by a lack of archaeologically apparent art. In conversation with Mann, Alvaro Ruiz observes: "In the Norte Chico we see almost no visual arts. No sculpture, no carving or bas- relief , almost no painting or drawing—the interiors are completely bare. What we do see are these huge mounds—and textiles." Maize Maize / m eɪ z / ( Zea mays ), also known as corn in North American English ,

2057-453: A unique emergence of human government, one of two alongside Sumer (or three, if Mesoamerica is included as a separate case). While in other cases, the idea of government would have been borrowed or copied, in this small group, government was invented . Other archaeologists have rejected such claims as hyperbolic. In exploring the basis of possible government, Haas suggests three broad bases of power for early complex societies: He finds

2178-417: A variety of residential architecture were discovered at this site. The monumental architecture was constructed with quarried stone and river cobbles. Using reed "shicra-bags", some of which have been preserved, laborers would have hauled the material to sites by hand. Roger Atwood of Archaeology magazine describes the process: Armies of workers would gather a long, durable grass known as shicra in

2299-473: Is a problem in Asia. Some fungal diseases of maize produce potentially dangerous mycotoxins such as aflatoxin . In the United States, major diseases include tar spot , bacterial leaf streak , gray leaf spot , northern corn leaf blight, and Goss's wilt ; in 2022, the most damaging disease was tar spot, which caused losses of 116.8 million bushels . Maize sustains a billion dollars' worth of losses annually in

2420-667: Is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain . It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte . Native Americans planted it alongside beans and squashes in the Three Sisters polyculture . The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen , and female inflorescences called ears . The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern commercial varieties, these are usually yellow or white; other varieties can be of many colors. Maize relies on humans for its propagation. Since

2541-408: Is composed of transposons , contains 32,540 genes. Much of it has been duplicated and reshuffled by helitrons , a group of transposable elements within maize's DNA. Maize breeding in prehistory resulted in large plants producing large ears. Modern breeding began with individuals who selected highly productive varieties in their fields and then sold seed to other farmers. James L. Reid was one of

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2662-534: Is cultivated throughout the world; a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. In 2020, world production was 1.1 billion tonnes. It is afflicted by many pests and diseases ; two major insect pests, European corn borer and corn rootworms , have each caused annual losses of a billion dollars in the US. Modern plant breeding has greatly increased output and qualities such as nutrition, drought tolerance, and tolerance of pests and diseases. Much maize

2783-436: Is debated with some archaeologists proposing a "maritime hypothesis" in which the rich maritime resources of the nearby Pacific Ocean enabled sedentary coastal societies to flourish before irrigated agriculture was initiated. Some artifacts of the Casma/Sechin culture may predate the Norte Chico civilization. Radiocarbon dating indicates a plaza at Sechin Bajo was constructed in 3500 BCE. A nearby 2 meter-tall (2 yards) frieze

2904-742: Is derived from the city of Caral in the Supe Valley, a large and well-studied Caral–Supe site. Complex society in the Caral–Supe arose a millennium after Sumer in Mesopotamia , was contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramids , and predated the Mesoamerican Olmecs by nearly two millennia. In archaeological nomenclature, Caral–Supe is a pre-ceramic culture of the pre-Columbian Late Archaic ; it completely lacked ceramics and no evidence of visual art has survived. The most impressive achievement of

3025-528: Is from 3200 BC onward that large-scale human settlement and communal construction are clearly apparent. Mann, in a survey of the literature in 2005, suggests "sometime before 3200 BC, and possibly before 3500 BC" as the beginning date of the Caral–Supe formative period. He notes that the earliest date securely associated with a city is 3500 BC, at Huaricanga , in the Fortaleza area of the north, based on Haas's dates. Haas's early third millennium dates suggest that

3146-414: Is harvested while the plant is green and the fruit immature. Sweet corn is harvested in the "milk stage", after pollination but before starch has formed, between late summer and early to mid-autumn. Field maize is left in the field until very late in the autumn to thoroughly dry the grain, and may, in fact, sometimes not be harvested until winter or even early spring. The importance of sufficient soil moisture

3267-560: Is in decline, we begin to find extensive canals farther north. People were moving to more fertile ground and taking their knowledge of irrigation with them". It would be 1,000 years before the rise of the next great Peruvian culture, the Chavín . Cultural links with the highland areas have been noted by archaeologists. Ruth Shady highlights the links with the Kotosh Religious Tradition : Numerous architectural features found among

3388-533: Is now genetically modified . As a food, maize is used to make a wide variety of dishes including Mexican tortillas and tamales , Italian polenta , and American hominy grits . Maize protein is low in some essential amino acids , and the niacin it contains only becomes available if freed by alkali treatment . In Mesoamerica, maize is deified as a maize god and depicted in sculptures. Maize requires human intervention for it to propagate. The kernels of its naturally-propagating teosinte ancestor fall off

3509-457: Is now the Caral region of north-central coastal Peru . The civilization flourished between the fourth and second millennia BC, with the formation of the first city generally dated to around 3500 BC, at Huaricanga , in the Fortaleza area. From 3100 BC onward, large-scale human settlement and communal construction become clearly apparent. This lasted until a period of decline around 1800 BC. Since

3630-444: Is ongoing regarding two related questions: the degree to which the flourishing of the Caral–Supe was based on maritime food resources, and the exact relationship this implies between the coastal and inland sites. A broad outline of the Caral–Supe diet has been suggested. At Caral, the edible domesticated plants noted by Shady are squash , beans , lúcuma , guava , pacay ( Inga feuilleei ), and sweet potato . Haas et al. noted

3751-655: Is seen as decisive in the emergence of Caral–Supe; since all of the monumental architecture at various sites has been found close to irrigation channels. The radiocarbon work of Jonathan Haas et al. , found that 10 of 95 samples taken in the Pativilca and Fortaleza areas dated from before 3500 BC. The oldest, dating from 9210 BC, provides "limited indication" of human settlement during the Pre-Columbian Early Archaic era. Two dates of 3700 BC are associated with communal architecture, but are likely to be anomalous. It

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3872-468: Is set genetically; the physiological mechanism involves the phytochrome system. Tropical cultivars can be problematic if grown in higher latitudes, as the longer days can make the plants grow tall instead of setting seed before winter comes. On the other hand, growing tall rapidly could be convenient for producing biofuel. Immature maize shoots accumulate a powerful antibiotic substance, 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one ( DIMBOA ), which provides

3993-490: Is shown in many parts of Africa, where periodic drought regularly causes maize crop failure and consequent famine . Although it is grown mainly in wet, hot climates, it can thrive in cold, hot, dry or wet conditions, meaning that it is an extremely versatile crop. Maize was planted by the Native Americans in small hills of soil, in the polyculture system called the Three Sisters . Maize provided support for beans ;

4114-543: Is the domesticated variant of the four species of teosintes , which are its crop wild relatives . The teosinte origin theory was proposed by the Russian botanist Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov in 1931, and the American Nobel Prize -winner George Beadle in 1932. The two plants have dissimilar appearance, maize having a single tall stalk with multiple leaves and teosinte being a short, bushy plant. The difference between

4235-405: Is the leaf most closely associated with a particular developing ear. This leaf and those above it contribute over three quarters of the carbohydrate ( starch ) that fills the grain. The grains are usually yellow or white in modern varieties; other varieties have orange, red, brown, blue , purple , or black grains. They are arranged in 8 to 32 rows around the cob; there can be up to 1200 grains on

4356-424: Is which of the areas developed first and created a template for subsequent development. Haas rejects suggestions that maritime development at sites immediately adjacent to the coast was initial, pointing to contemporaneous development based on his dating. Moseley remains convinced that coastal Aspero is the oldest site, and that its maritime subsistence served as a basis for the civilization. The use of cotton (of

4477-522: The Andean highlands , hallucinogenic snuff from the Amazon ." (Given the still limited extent of Caral–Supe research, such claims should be treated circumspectly.) Other reports on Shady's work indicate Caral traded with communities in the jungle farther inland and, possibly, with people from the mountains. Haas postulates that ideological power exercised by leadership was based on apparent access to deities and

4598-602: The Balsas River valley in Mexico's southwestern highlands, as the crop wild relative genetically most similar to modern maize. The middle part of the short Balsas River valley is the likely location of early domestication. Stone milling tools with maize residue have been found in an 8,700 year old layer of deposits in a cave not far from Iguala, Guerrero . Doebley and colleagues showed in 2002 that maize had been domesticated only once, about 9,000 years ago, and then spread throughout

4719-700: The Columbian exchange , it has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat and rice . Much maize is used for animal feed , whether as grain or as the whole plant, which can either be baled or made into the more palatable silage . Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are grown for human consumption, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, for uses such as cornmeal or masa , corn starch , corn syrup , pressing into corn oil , alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey , and as chemical feedstocks including ethanol and other biofuels . Maize

4840-466: The supernatural . Evidence regarding Caral–Supe religion is limited: in 2003, an image of the Staff God , a leering figure with a hood and fangs, was found on a gourd that dated to 2250 BC. The Staff God is a major deity of later Andean cultures, and Winifred Creamer suggests the find points to worship of common symbols of deities. As with much other research at Caral–Supe, the nature and significance of

4961-433: The "First Building" dated from 3700 BC to 2900 BC during which time multiple reconstructions of the building were undertaken. The location of Sechin Bajo inland from the sea and from marine resources suggests that agriculture had become a significant contributor to the livelihood of the builders and nearby occupants. The labor requirement for construction also implies a numerous sedentary or semi-sedentary population nearby with

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5082-594: The 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine . Maize remains an important model organism for genetics and developmental biology . The MADS-box motif is involved in the development of maize flowers. The Maize Genetics and Genomics Database is funded by the US Department of Agriculture to support maize research. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center maintains a large collection of maize accessions tested and cataloged for insect resistance. In 2005,

5203-463: The 2001 Shady paper, the BBC suggests workers would have been "paid or compelled" to work on centralized projects of this sort, with dried anchovies possibly serving as a form of currency. Mann points to "ideology, charisma, and skilfully timed reinforcement" from leaders. When compared to the common Eurasian models of the development of civilization, Caral–Supe's differences are striking. In Caral–Supe,

5324-594: The Americas. Maize pollen dated to 7,300 years ago from San Andres, Tabasco has been found on the Caribbean coast. A primitive corn was being grown in southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America 7,000 years ago. Archaeological remains of early maize ears, found at Guila Naquitz Cave in the Oaxaca Valley , are roughly 6,250 years old; the oldest ears from caves near Tehuacan , Puebla, are 5,450 years old. Around 4,500 years ago, maize began to spread to

5445-474: The B-vitamin niacin , the lack of which caused pellagra . Once alkali processing and dietary variety were understood and applied, pellagra disappeared in the developed world. The development of high- lysine maize and the promotion of a more balanced diet have contributed to its demise. Pellagra still exists in food-poor areas and refugee camps where people survive on donated maize. The name maize derives from

5566-547: The MFAC hypothesis now "emerges more persuasive than ever". It was the potential for increased quantities of food production that the cultivation of cotton allowed that was the key in precipitating revolutionary social change and social complexity, according to the authors. Previous to that, the gathering of bast fibers of wild Asclepias was used for fiber production, which was far less efficient. Beresford-Jones and others also offered further support for their theories in 2021. It

5687-671: The Maize Association of Australia, the National Maize Association of Nigeria, the National Maize Association of Ghana, the Maize Trust of South Africa, and the Zimbabwe Seed Maize Association. Maize is a tall annual grass with a single stem, ranging in height from 1.2 m (4 ft) to 4 m (13 ft). The long narrow leaves arise from the nodes or joints, alternately on opposite sides on

5808-483: The Peruvian coast. It is possible that the major inland centers of Caral–Supe, were at the center of a broad regional trade network centered on these resources. Citing Shady, a 2005 article in Discover magazine suggests a rich and varied trade life: "[Caral] exported its own products and those of Aspero to distant communities in exchange for exotic imports: Spondylus shells from the coast of Ecuador , rich dyes from

5929-529: The Sechin River valley, just upstream from its junction with the Casma, is a complex of archaeological ruins that comprises sites such as Sechin Bajo, Sechin Alto, Cerro Sechin, and Taukachi-Konkan, all of them except Sechin Alto in the desert at the edge of the irrigated river valley. Chankillo and Mojeque are located in the Casma River valley. Other smaller sites are scattered up and down the two river valleys. The Casma valley

6050-513: The Sechin valley are four large ruins: Sechin Bajo, Taukachi-Konkan, Cerro Sechin, and Sechin Alto. Sechin Alto was dominant, the largest of the flat-topped pyramids characteristic of the Peruvian coast, a mound 300 by 250 metres (980 by 820 ft) in length and width and 35 metres (115 ft) in height. This was the largest construction in the Americas when it was built from about 1600 to 1400 BCE. The size, concentration, and uniformity of monuments in

6171-494: The Sechin valley has led archaeologists to suggest that Sechin Alto was the administrative center of a polity which united the valleys and possibly coastal sites under one government. The dominance of Sechin Alto is also suggested because of its location. All the other major sites are located in the desert at the edge of the irrigable area; Sechin Alto, in a display of conspicuous consumption, occupies scarce irrigable land. Many industrial and food plants were cultivated by

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6292-574: The Spanish form maíz of the Taíno mahis . The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus used the common name maize as the species epithet in Zea mays . The name maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as a common name because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike corn , which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region. Most countries primarily use

6413-544: The US National Science Foundation , Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Energy formed a consortium to sequence the maize genome . The resulting DNA sequence data was deposited immediately into GenBank , a public repository for genome-sequence data. Sequencing of the maize genome was completed in 2008. In 2009, the consortium published results of its sequencing effort. The genome, 85% of which

6534-529: The US from each of two major insect pests , namely the European corn borer or ECB ( Ostrinia nubilalis ) and corn rootworms ( Diabrotica spp ) western corn rootworm , northern corn rootworm , and southern corn rootworm . Another serious pest is the fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda ). The maize weevil ( Sitophilus zeamais ) is a serious pest of stored grain. The Northern armyworm, Oriental armyworm or Rice ear-cutting caterpillar ( Mythimna separata )

6655-416: The absence of warfare contrasts markedly to archaeological theory, which suggests that human beings move away from kin-based groups to larger units resembling " states " for mutual defense of often scarce resources. In Caral–Supe, a vital resource was present: arable land generally, and the cotton crop specifically, but Mann noted that apparently, the move to greater complexity by the culture was not driven by

6776-437: The anchovy fish reached inland is clear, although Haas suggests that " shellfish [which would include clams and mussels], sea mammals , and seaweed do not appear to have been significant portions of the diet in the inland, non-maritime sites". The role of seafood in the Caral–Supe diet has aroused debate. Much early fieldwork was conducted in the region of Aspero on the coast, before the full scope and inter-connectedness of

6897-418: The beans provided nitrogen derived from nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria which live on the roots of beans and other legumes ; and squashes provided ground cover to stop weeds and inhibit evaporation by providing shade over the soil. Sweet corn, harvested earlier than maize grown for grain, grows to maturity in a period of from 60 to 100 days according to variety. An extended sweet corn harvest, picked at

7018-598: The body of Christ. Maize spread to the rest of the world because of its ability to grow in diverse climates. It was cultivated in Spain just a few decades after Columbus's voyages and then spread to Italy, West Africa and elsewhere. By the 17th century, it was a common peasant food in Southern Europe. By the 18th century, it was the chief food of the southern French and Italian peasantry, especially as polenta in Italy. When maize

7139-442: The civilization was its monumental architecture, including large earthwork platform mounds and sunken circular plazas . Archaeological evidence suggests use of textile technology and, possibly, the worship of common deity symbols, both of which recur in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations . Sophisticated government is presumed to have been required to manage the ancient Caral . Questions remain over its organization, particularly

7260-557: The coast, approximately 150 to 200 km north of Lima , roughly bounded by the Lurín Valley on the south and the Casma Valley on the north. It comprises four coastal valleys: the Huaura , Supe , Pativilca , and Fortaleza . Known sites are concentrated in the latter three, which share a common coastal plain. The three principal valleys cover only 1,800 km², and research has emphasized

7381-572: The cob on their own, while those of domesticated maize do not. All maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. The oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands. Maize spread from this region to the lowlands and over the Americas along two major paths. The centre of domestication was most likely the Balsas River valley of south-central Mexico. Maize reached highland Ecuador at least 8000 years ago. It reached lower Central America by 7600 years ago, and

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7502-487: The culture was 23,000. The amount of irrigable land is the narrow valleys is not large, although some population lived outside the agricultural area in the coastal sites. The waters of the Pacific Ocean off Peru are extremely rich and some of the earliest settlements were on the desert coast and depended upon fishing rather than agriculture or hunting and gathering for subsistence. The earliest settlements also developed in

7623-566: The density of the population centers. The Peruvian littoral appears an "improbable, even aberrant" candidate for the "pristine" development of civilization, compared to other world centers. It is extremely arid, bounded by two rain shadows (caused by the Andes to the east, and the Pacific trade winds to the west). The region is punctuated by more than 50 rivers that carry Andean snowmelt. The development of widespread irrigation from these water sources

7744-582: The development of coastal and inland sites occurred in parallel. But, from 2500 to 2000 BC, during the period of greatest expansion, the population and development decisively shifted toward the inland sites. All development apparently occurred at large interior sites such as Caral, although they remained dependent on fish and shellfish from the coast. The peak in dates is in keeping with Shady's dates at Caral, which show habitation from 2627 BC to 2020 BC. That coastal and inland sites developed in tandem remains disputed, however (see next section). By around 2200 BC,

7865-491: The driest deserts in the world with average annual precipitation of less than 10 millimetres (0.39 in). Except in the river valleys the desert is nearly devoid of vegetation. Along the 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi) of Peruvian coast, 57 small rivers flow into the sea, watered by the higher precipitation received in the Andes Mountains inland at elevations higher than 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). Each river valley forms

7986-425: The earliest and most successful, developing Reid's Yellow Dent in the 1860s. These early efforts were based on mass selection (a row of plants is grown from seeds of one parent), and the choosing of plants after pollination (which means that only the female parents are known). Later breeding efforts included ear to row selection (C. G. Hopkins c. 1896), hybrids made from selected inbred lines (G. H. Shull, 1909), and

8107-539: The early 21st century, it has been recognized as the oldest-known civilization in the Americas, and as one of the six sites where civilization separately originated in the ancient world. This civilization flourished along three rivers, the Fortaleza , the Pativilca, and the Supe. These river valleys each have large clusters of sites. Farther south, there are several associated sites along the Huaura River. The name Caral–Supe

8228-609: The end of the Initial Period, the character of the architecture, artifacts, and food changed in the Casma/Sechin area which implies a "hostile invasion." Maize and domestic animals, llamas , alpacas , and guinea pigs , were introduced during the Early Horizon period and the dependence upon marine resources for protein declined, suggesting that the invaders (if such there were) came from the highlands of Peru rather than other coastal cultures. Military themes were much more prominent in

8349-413: The entire ear is harvested, which requires a separate operation of a maize sheller to remove the kernels from the ear. Whole ears of maize were often stored in corn cribs , sufficient for some livestock feeding uses. Today corn cribs with whole ears, and corn binders, are less common because most modern farms harvest the grain from the field with a combine harvester and store it in bins . The combine with

8470-705: The expansion of the Inca Empire , maize was traded and transported as far south as 40° S in Melinquina, Lácar Department , Argentina, probably brought across the Andes from Chile. After the arrival of Europeans in 1492, Spanish settlers consumed maize, and explorers and traders carried it back to Europe . Spanish settlers much preferred wheat bread to maize. Maize flour could not be substituted for wheat for communion bread, since in Christian belief at that time only wheat could undergo transubstantiation and be transformed into

8591-453: The find has been disputed by other researchers. Mann postulates that the act of architectural construction and maintenance at Caral–Supe may have been a spiritual or religious experience: a process of communal exaltation and ceremony. Shady has called Caral "the sacred city" ( la ciudad sagrada ) and reports that socio-economic and political focus was on the temples, which were periodically remodeled, with major burnt offerings associated with

8712-459: The first civilization of the area. Regularly, it still is cited incorrectly as such in general works. The discovery of Caral–Supe has also shifted the focus of research away from the highland areas of the Andes and lowlands adjacent to the mountains (where the Chavín, and later Inca , had their major centers) to the Peruvian littoral , or coastal regions. Caral is located in a north-central area of

8833-478: The first two present in ancient Caral–Supe. Economic authority would have rested on the control of cotton, edible plants, and associated trade relationships, with power centered on the inland sites. Haas tentatively suggests that the scope of this economic power base may have extended widely: there are only two confirmed shore sites in the Caral–Supe (Aspero and Bandurria) and possibly two more, but cotton fishing nets and domesticated plants have been found up and down

8954-568: The ground-breaking work during 1973 at Aspero , at the mouth of the Supe Valley, suggested a site of approximately 13 hectares (32 acres). Surveying of the midden suggested extensive prehistoric construction activity. Small-scale terracing was noted, along with more sophisticated platform mound masonry . As many as eleven artificial mounds were estimated to exist at the site. Moseley calls these "Corporate Labor Platforms", given that their size, layout, and construction materials and techniques would have required an organized workforce. The survey of

9075-540: The highlands above the city, tie the grass strands into loosely meshed bags, fill the bags with boulders, and then pack the trenches behind each successive retaining wall of the step pyramids with the stone-filled bags. In this way, the people of Norte Chico achieved formidable architectural success. The largest of the platforms mounds at Caral, the Piramide Mayor , measures 160 by 150 m (520 by 490 ft) and rises 18 m (59 ft) high. In its summation of

9196-532: The highly successful double cross hybrids using four inbred lines ( D. F. Jones c. 1918, 1922). University-supported breeding programs were especially important in developing and introducing modern hybrids. Since the 1940s, the best strains of maize have been first-generation hybrids made from inbred strains that have been optimized for specific traits, such as yield, nutrition, drought, pest and disease tolerance. Both conventional cross-breeding and genetic engineering have succeeded in increasing output and reducing

9317-538: The history of the word corn in North America that "[t]o say the word corn is to plunge into the tragi-farcical mistranslations of language and history". Similar to the British usage, the Spanish referred to maize as panizo , a generic term for cereal grains, as did Italians with the term polenta . The British later referred to maize as Turkey wheat, Turkey corn, or Indian corn; Fussell comments that "they meant not

9438-722: The influence of Norte Chico civilization spread far along the coast. To the south, it went as far as the Chillon valley, and the site of El Paraiso . To the north, it spread as far as the Santa River valley. The Caral–Supe civilization began to decline c.  1800 BC , with more powerful centers appearing to the south and north along the coast, and to the east inside the belt of the Andes. The success of irrigation-based agriculture at Caral–Supe may have contributed to its being eclipsed. Anthropologist Professor Winifred Creamer of Northern Illinois University notes that "when this civilization

9559-487: The influence of food resources on politics. Archaeologists have been aware of ancient sites in the area since at least the 1940s; early work occurred at Aspero on the coast, a site identified as early as 1905, and later at Caral, farther inland. In the late 1990s, Peruvian archaeologists, led by Ruth Shady , provided the first extensive documentation of the civilization with work at Caral. A 2001 paper in Science , providing

9680-454: The inhabitants of the Casma and Sechin Valleys, but evidence of maize , the most important crop of the Americas, is absent during the Initial Period and earlier. Early Horizon (900–200 BCE) (Also called Formative Period). The culture of the Casma and Sechin river valleys came under the influence, and possibly the political control, of the highland Chavin culture during the Early Horizon. Near

9801-595: The irrigable lands of the Casma River Valley and thus fishing was their principal means of subsistence. Inland sites also grew during this period with the coastal settlements providing fish and other marine resources to interior settlements and the interior settlements providing agricultural products to the coastal settlements. Particularly important in this trade was cotton which was used by the coastal settlements for fishing nets and lines and gourds used for floats and containers. Floodplain agriculture seems to have been

9922-541: The issue of whether the inland centers were a progenitor for those on the coast, or vice versa. Moseley argues that successful maritime centers would have moved inland to find cotton. In a 2018 publication, David G. Beresford-Jones with coauthors have defended Moseley's (1975) Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization (MFAC) hypothesis. The authors modified and refined the Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization hypothesis of Moseley. Thus, according to them,

10043-470: The largest and most complex preceramic site, it is not the oldest. They admitted the importance of agriculture to industry and to augment diet, while broadly affirming "the formative role of marine resources in early Andean civilization". Scholars now agree that the inland sites did have significantly greater populations, and that there were "so many more people along the four rivers than on the shore that they had to have been dominant". The remaining question

10164-419: The machinery. The combine separates the husk and the cob, keeping only the kernels. Drying is vital to prevent or at least reduce damage by mould fungi, which contaminate the grain with mycotoxins . Aspergillus and Fusarium spp. are the most common mycotoxin sources, and accordingly important in agriculture. If the moisture content of the harvested grain is too high, grain dryers are used to reduce

10285-413: The milk stage, can be arranged either by planting a selection of varieties which ripen earlier and later, or by planting different areas at fortnightly intervals. Maize harvested as a grain crop can be kept in the field a relatively long time, even months, after the crop is ready to harvest; it can be harvested and stored in the husk leaves if kept dry. Before World War II , most maize in North America

10406-427: The moisture content by blowing heated air through the grain. This can require large amounts of energy in the form of combustible gases ( propane or natural gas ) and electricity to power the blowers. Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. In 2020, total world production was 1.16 billion tonnes , led by the United States with 31.0% of

10527-426: The most common means of raising crops although small-scale canal irrigation was probably also used in the Casma and Sechin valleys during this time. Initial Period (1800–900 BCE) (Also called Formative Period). During the Initial Period, the Casma/Sechin culture achieved its most prominence. Technological developments included woven textiles and pottery, the adoption or expansion of canal irrigation for agriculture in

10648-501: The need for cropland, pesticides, water and fertilizer. There is conflicting evidence to support the hypothesis that maize yield potential has increased over the past few decades. This suggests that changes in yield potential are associated with leaf angle, lodging resistance, tolerance of high plant density, disease/pest tolerance, and other agronomic traits rather than increase of yield potential per individual plant. Certain varieties of maize have been bred to produce many ears; these are

10769-494: The need for defense or warfare. Caral–Supe sites are known for their density of large sites with immense architecture. Haas argues that the density of sites in such a small area is globally unique for a nascent civilization. During the third millennium BC, Caral–Supe may have been the most densely populated area of the world (excepting, possibly, Northern China). The Supe, Pativilca , Fortaleza, and Huaura River Valleys of Caral–Supe each have several related sites. Evidence from

10890-400: The new crop. The rise in maize cultivation 500 to 1,000 years ago in what is now the southeastern United States corresponded with a decline of freshwater mussels , which are very sensitive to environmental changes. Because it is cold-intolerant, in the temperate zones maize must be planted in the spring. Its root system is generally shallow, so the plant is dependent on soil moisture. As

11011-473: The new style of architecture. The large mounds characterizing Initial Period culture were no longer built. Chankillo is one of the Early Horizon ruins of most interest. Dating from as early as 350 BCE, Chankillo incorporated a fortress, a solar observatory, and ceremonial areas. The observatory, called the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo, permitted an observer to determine a precise date of the year by observing

11132-459: The north. In the United States, maize was first cultivated at several sites in New Mexico and Arizona about 4,100 years ago. During the first millennium AD, maize cultivation spread more widely in the areas north. In particular, the large-scale adoption of maize agriculture and consumption in eastern North America took place about A.D. 900. Native Americans cleared large forest and grassland areas for

11253-513: The northern rivers found sites between 10 and 100 ha (25 and 247 acres); between one and seven large platform mounds —rectangular, terraced pyramids —were discovered, ranging in size from 3,000 m (110,000 cu ft) to more than 100,000 m (3,500,000 cu ft). Shady notes that the central zone of Caral, with monumental architecture, covers an area of just greater than 65 hectares (160 acres). Also, six platform mounds, numerous smaller mounds, two sunken circular plazas, and

11374-473: The other hand, was a permanently occupied settlement, and shows a population that was an order of magnitude greater than earlier. Obsidian debitage was abundant at La Yerba III, as opposed to earlier. This suggests an increasing interaction extending to the highlands where obsidian was procured. The population of La Yerba III already practiced some floodplain horticulture. They cultivated gourds, Phaseolus and Canavalia beans, and plant fiber production

11495-416: The position of the sun at sunrise and sunset on the towers. Chankillo and other structures of the Casma/Sechin culture were partially destroyed and their use abandoned in an apparent conflict about 100 BCE. Caral%E2%80%93Supe civilization Caral–Supe (also known as Caral and Norte Chico ) was a complex Pre-Columbian era society that included as many as thirty major population centers in what

11616-539: The pre-ceramic era and did not use pottery. The Casma/Sechin culture was located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of the northern outposts of the Norte Chico civilization , believed by archaeologists to be the oldest in the Americas. Given the short distances contact and transmission of cultural traits between the two areas was likely. Coastal Peru is one of six areas of the world in which civilization developed independently without outside influences. By 3000 BC, at

11737-753: The presence of Starlink genetically modified corn, which had been approved only for animal consumption. The maize genus Zea is relatively closely related to sorghum , both being in the PACMAD clade of Old World grasses, and much more distantly to rice and wheat , which are in the other major group of grasses, the BOP clade . It is closely related to Tripsacum , gamagrass. various grasses e.g. fescue , ryegrass Hordeum (barley) Triticum (wheat) Oryza (rice) Pennisetum (fountaingrasses) Sorghum (sorghum) Tripsacum (gamagrass) Zea mays (maize) other Zea species ( teosintes ) Maize

11858-486: The remodeling. Haas notes the absence of any suggestion of physical bases of power, that is, defensive construction, at Caral–Supe. There is no evidence of warfare "of any kind or at any level during the Preceramic Period ". Mutilated bodies, burned buildings, and other tell-tale signs of violence are absent and settlement patterns are completely non-defensive. The evidence of the development of complex government in

11979-549: The river valleys, and the construction of many large monumental pyramids and plazas. Many of the prominent sites of the Initial Period, such as Sechin Bajo and Cerro Sechin, date back to the Preceramic Period, but they were reconstructed and expanded during this time span. The concentration of monumental constructions in the Sechin Valley during this period is remarkable. Within a distance of about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) in

12100-404: The same foods in their survey farther north, while adding avocado and achira . In 2013, evidence for maize also was documented by Haas et al. (see below). There was also a significant seafood component at both coastal and inland sites. Shady notes that "animal remains are almost exclusively marine" at Caral, including clams and mussels , and large amounts of anchovies and sardines . That

12221-689: The settlements of Supe, including subterranean circular courts, stepped pyramids and sequential platforms, as well as material remains and their cultural implications, excavated at Aspero and the valley sites we are digging (Caral, Chupacigarro, Lurihuasi, Miraya), are shared with other settlements of the area that participated in what is known as the Kotosh Religious Tradition. Most specific among these features include rooms with benches and hearths with subterranean ventilation ducts, wall niches, biconvex beads, and musical flutes. Research into Caral–Supe continues, with many unsettled questions. Debate

12342-406: The several sites of the civilization were realized. In a 1973 paper, Michael E. Moseley contended that a maritime subsistence (seafood) economy had been the basis of the society and its remarkably early flourishing, a theory later elaborated as a "maritime foundation of Andean civilization" (MFAC). He confirmed a previously observed lack of ceramics at Aspero , and he deduced that " hummocks " on

12463-608: The site constituted the remains of artificial platform mounds . This thesis of a maritime foundation was contrary to the general scholarly consensus that the rise of civilization was based on intensive agriculture, particularly of at least one cereal. The production of agricultural surpluses had long been seen as essential in promoting population density and the emergence of complex society. Moseley's ideas would be debated and challenged (that maritime remains and their caloric contribution were overestimated, for example), but have been treated as plausible as late as 2005, when Mann conducted

12584-487: The source of the " baby corn " used as a vegetable in Asian cuisine . A fast-flowering variety named mini-maize was developed to aid scientific research, as multiple generations can be obtained in a single year. One strain called olotón has evolved a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing microbes, which provides the plant with 29%–82% of its nitrogen. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) operates

12705-530: The species Gossypium barbadense ) played an important economic role in the relationship between the inland and the coastal settlements in this area of Peru. Nevertheless, scholars are still divided over the exact chronology of these developments. Although not edible, cotton was the most important product of irrigation in the Caral–Supe culture, vital to the production of fishing nets (that in turn provided maritime resources) as well as to textiles and textile technology. Haas notes that "control over cotton allows

12826-415: The stalk. Maize is monoecious , with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. At the top of the stem is the tassel, an inflorescence of male flowers; their anthers release pollen, which is dispersed by wind . Like other pollen, it is an allergen , but most of it falls within a few meters of the tassel and the risk is largely restricted to farm workers. The female inflorescence, some way down

12947-425: The stem from the tassel, is first seen as a silk, a bundle of soft tubular hairs , one for the carpel in each female flower, which develops into a kernel (often called a seed. Botanically, as in all grasses, it is a fruit, fused with the seed coat to form a caryopsis ) when it is pollinated. A whole female inflorescence develops into an ear or corncob , enveloped by multiple leafy layers or husks. The ear leaf

13068-598: The term maize , and the name corn is used mainly in the United States and a handful of other English-speaking countries. In countries that primarily use the term maize , the word corn may denote any cereal crop, varying geographically with the local staple , such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland or Ireland. The usage of corn for maize started as a shortening of " Indian corn " in 18th-century North America. The historian of food Betty Fussell writes in an article on

13189-472: The total (table). China produced 22.4% of the global total. Many pests can affect maize growth and development, including invertebrates, weeds, and pathogens. Maize is susceptible to a large number of fungal, bacterial, and viral plant diseases . Those of economic importance include diseases of the leaf, smuts such as corn smut , ear rots and stalk rots. Northern corn leaf blight damages maize throughout its range, whereas banded leaf and sheath blight

13310-500: The two is largely controlled by differences in just two genes, called grassy tillers-1 ( gt1 , A0A317YEZ1 ) and teosinte branched-1 ( tb1 , Q93WI2 ). In the late 1930s, Paul Mangelsdorf suggested that domesticated maize was the result of a hybridization event between an unknown wild maize and a species of Tripsacum , a related genus; this has been refuted by modern genetic testing . In 2004, John Doebley identified Balsas teosinte, Zea mays subsp. parviglumis , native to

13431-426: The two main platform mounds at Caral, appear to have been constructed in one or two intense construction phases. As further evidence of centralized control, Haas points to remains of large stone warehouses found at Upaca, on the Pativilca, as emblematic of authorities able to control vital resources such as cotton. Haas suggests that the labour mobilization patterns revealed by the archaeological evidence, point to

13552-455: The two nearby ancient coastal settlements of La Yerba, on the east bank of Ica River , Peru ( Río Ica ) was very important. This is not far from the southern Peruvian town of Ica . The earlier of these settlement was La Yerba II (7571–6674 Cal BP, or ca 5570–4670 BC). When it was occupied, La Yerba II shell midden was situated rather close to the ancient surf line. This was not a permanently occupied site. A somewhat later site, La Yerba III, on

13673-582: The valleys of the Colombian Andes between 7000 and 6000 years ago. The earliest maize plants grew a single, small ear per plant. The Olmec and Maya cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica ; they cooked, ground and processed it through nixtamalization . By 3000 years ago, maize was central to Olmec culture, including their calendar, language, and myths. The Mapuche people of south-central Chile cultivated maize along with quinoa and potatoes in pre-Hispanic times. Before

13794-509: Was Swiss archaeologist Frédéric Engel  [ fr ] , originally, who coined the term "Cotton Preceramic Stage" in 1957 to describe the unusual coastal sites such Norte Chico that had cotton but lacked ceramics and were very ancient. This stage was seen as running for about 1200 years from 3000 to 1800 BC. The development of Caral–Supe is particularly remarkable for the apparent absence of an agricultural staple food . However, recent studies increasingly dispute this and point to maize as

13915-400: Was dated at 3600 BCE. The plaza and the frieze are the two oldest examples of monumental architecture discovered thus far in the Americas. Lithic Period (12,000–3000 BCE). The earliest radio carbon dating of human occupation in the Casma/Sechin valley is near the ruin of Cerro Sechin and dates to 7600 BC. Sechin Bajo has the earliest remains discovered of monumental architecture with ruins of

14036-458: Was harvested by hand. This involved a large number of workers and associated social events (husking or shucking bees ). From the 1890s onward, some machinery became available to partially mechanize the processes, such as one- and two-row mechanical pickers (picking the ear, leaving the stover ) and corn binders, which are reaper-binders designed specifically for maize. The latter produce sheaves that can be shocked . By hand or mechanical picker,

14157-425: Was introduced into Western farming systems, it was welcomed for its productivity. However, a widespread problem of malnutrition soon arose wherever it had become a staple food . Indigenous Americans had learned to soak maize in alkali -water — made with ashes and lime — since at least 1200–1500 BC, creating the process of nixtamalization. They did this to liberate the corn hulls, but coincidentally it also liberated

14278-429: Was of great importance for their fishing economy. Therefore, they were "pre-adapted to a Cotton Revolution". The degree of centralized authority is difficult to ascertain, but architectural construction patterns are indicative, at least in certain places at certain times, of an elite population who wielded considerable power: while some of the monumental architecture was constructed incrementally, other buildings, such as

14399-466: Was one of the 26 genetically engineered food crops grown commercially in 2016. The vast majority of this is Bt maize . Genetically modified maize has been grown since 1997 in the United States and Canada; by 2016, 92% of the US maize crop was genetically modified. As of 2011, herbicide-tolerant maize and insect-resistant maize varieties were each grown in over 20 countries. In September 2000, up to $ 50 million worth of food products were recalled due to

14520-431: Was populated long before the monumental construction at those sites began. The earliest radio carbon date indicating human habitation is 7600 BCE found at Cerro Sechin. The Casma and Sechin river valleys have, in more recent times, supported a population of 14,000 people and perhaps the population during the height of the Casma/Sechin culture was similar. However, another estimate is that the number of people associated with

14641-508: Was the oldest urban center in Peru (and the entire Americas). It rejected the idea that civilization might have begun adjacent to the coast and then moved inland. One archaeologist was quoted as suggesting that "rather than coastal antecedents to monumental inland sites, what we have now are coastal satellite villages to monumental inland sites". These assertions were quickly challenged by Sandweiss and Moseley, who observed that Caral, although being

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