Maize Domestication and Dispersal in the Americas - Dr. Douglas J. Kennett

Maize Domestication and Dispersal in the Americas
Dr. Douglas J. Kennett

Research during the last four decades has transformed our understanding of maize domestication and dispersal in the Americas. In this talk, Dr. Douglas Kennett will synthesize current genetic, paleoecological, and archaeological data regarding the development of this globally important crop. Evidence indicates initial domestication from teosinte (Zea mays, ssp. parviglumis) in the Balsas region of southwestern Mexico before ~9,000 BP. This was followed by early cultivation in this region and rapid dispersal through Central and South America soon afterward. Recent genetic evidence suggests a subsequent wave of expansion after admixture with a second wild teosinte in the highlands of Mexico. The earliest cobs from the highlands of Oaxaca (6,250 BP) and Tehuacan (5,300 BP) are small and aDNA indicates the domestication syndrome was not fixed. Secondary improvement occurred in South America and Mesoamerica by at least ~6,700 and ~4,300 BP, respectively, with larger, multi-rowed varieties appearing when isotope studies show consumption as a dietary staple. Genetic data suggests subsequent gene flow between Mesoamerica and South America during this interval. Maize was introduced into the southwestern US from the arid highlands of Mexico by 4,000 cal. BP and temperate adapted varieties emerged by 1,900 BP promoting the late dispersal into eastern North America.

Douglas J. Kennett (B.A. [1990]; M. A. [1994]; Ph.D, [1998], University of California, Santa Barbara) is a Professor of Environmental Archaeology and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He has also held faculty positions in Anthropology Departments at California State University Long Beach (1998-2001), the University of Oregon (2001-2011) and Penn State University (2011-2018). He was head of department at Penn State and at UCSB he is Associate Chair of the Department of Anthropology, Director and Curator of the Repository for Archeological and Ethnographic Collections, and the Director and Coordinator of the Central Coast Information Center. Kennett has conducted community based environmental archaeological research Mesoamerica, Polynesia, and California. He is the author of two hundred and fifty academic papers and three books entitled: The Island Chumash (University of California Press, 2005), Behavioral Ecology and the Transition to Agriculture (University of California Press, 2006), and Taking the High Ground: The archaeology of Rapa, a fortified island in remote East Polynesia (Australia National University Press, 2012). His current interests include the origins of agriculture, the study of human sociopolitical dynamics under changing environmental conditions, human impacts on ancient environments, and behavioral response to abrupt climate change in the past.

Presented to the Pacific Coast Archaeological Society (PCAS) on September 11, 2025.

For additional information on the Pacific Coast Archaeological Society, see the PCAS website at www.pcas.org