1st Edition

Histories of Maize in Mesoamerica Multidisciplinary Approaches

Edited By John Staller, Robert Tykot, Bruce Benz Copyright 2010

    This volume reprints 20 chapters from the editors’ comprehensive Histories of Maize (2006) that are relevant to Mesoamerican specialists and students. New findings and interpretations from the past three years have been included. Histories of Maize is the most comprehensive reference source on the botanical, genetic, archaeological, and anthropological aspects of ancient maize published. Included in this abridged volume are new introductory and concluding chapters and updated material on isotopic research. State of the art research on maize chronology, molecular biology, and stable carbon isotope research on ancient human diets have provided additional lines of evidence on the changing role of maize through time and space and its spread throughout the Americas. The multidisciplinary evidence from the social and biological sciences presented in this volume have generated a much more complex picture of the economic, political, and religious significance of maize.

    Biography

    Edited by Staller, John; Tykot, Robert; Benz, Bruce

    "This book is the most comprehensive resource on the pre-histories of maize currently available. ..an important, timely, and valuable volume.mandatory reading for any researcher seriously interested in the histories of the extraordinary crop called maize. " American Antiquity

    "Histories of Maize is... certain to be the definitive source on the subject for a generation." Brian Fagan, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara

    "An absolute must for all serious researchers of this dynamic crop as well as students of New World Prehistory and the interested layperson." Catherine S. Fowler, Foundation Professor of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno

    "It will be a key reference for biologists, anthropologists, and many others for decades to come." Gayle J. Fritz, Professor, Washington University in St. Louis

    "Because this volume covers so many aspects of the evolution, dispersal and historical uses of maize, it is destined to be widely consulted by scholars and students alike." -Journal of Ethnobiology