Multiproxy evidence highlights a complex evolutionary legacy of maize in South America
- 14 December 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 362 (6420), 1309-1313
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav0207
Abstract
Domesticated maize evolved from wild teosinte under human influences in Mexico beginning around 9000 years before the present (yr B.P.), traversed Central America by ~7500 yr B.P., and spread into South America by ~6500 yr B.P. Landrace and archaeological maize genomes from South America suggest that the ancestral population to South American maize was brought out of the domestication center in Mexico and became isolated from the wild teosinte gene pool before traits of domesticated maize were fixed. Deeply structured lineages then evolved within South America out of this partially domesticated progenitor population. Genomic, linguistic, archaeological, and paleoecological data suggest that the southwestern Amazon was a secondary improvement center for partially domesticated maize. Multiple waves of human-mediated dispersal are responsible for the diversity and biogeography of modern South American maize.Keywords
Funding Information
- Natural Environment Research Council (NE/L012030/1)
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/K001760/1 Sub-award)
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