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Domestication of Plants in Mesoamerica: An Archaeological Review with Some Ethnobotanical Interpretations

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Book cover Ethnobotany of Mexico

Part of the book series: Ethnobiology ((EBL))

Abstract

The great pre-Columbian civilisations of Mesoamerica depended on domesticated plants, notably maize, beans, squashes, grain amaranths and fruits, including avocado, together with cotton for fibre. Domestication is difficult to define in a way that fits this diversity of species and range of human exploitation. Different species were domesticated in the semi-arid highlands and the humid lowlands, but the archaeobotanical record is still frustratingly fragmentary and does not include the transition from wild to domesticated for any species. In the highlands, cultivation seems to have started with Lagenaria, Cucurbita, Agave and Opuntia in the semi-arid valleys, and possibly maize and grain amaranths around lake margins. In the lowlands, most early records of domesticated plants require confirmation. Maize spread relatively rapidly after its domestication, but only as a minor component of the diet. Beans appear at approximately the same time as pottery, possibly because long boiling in fireproof containers was then possible. Manioc was introduced from South America and became a staple among the Classic Maya. Residues in potsherds show that a chocolate drink was made by the Olmec and their successors, but may have been made from an indigenous species of Theobroma. However South American T. cacao was undoubtedly present by Maya times. Plant domestication in Mesoamerica thus began slowly, with more species added gradually to the list of domesticates, but by the time of the Spanish Conquest pre-Columbian farmers had developed an impressive array of different types of maize, beans, chile peppers and other crops.

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  1. Retired from School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, 4 Settle Road, Airton, Near Skipton BD23 4BD, North Yorkshire, UK

    Barbara Pickersgill Ph.D., B.Sc., (Hons.).

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Correspondence to Barbara Pickersgill Ph.D., B.Sc., (Hons.). .

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  1. Unidad de Biotecnología y Prototipos(UBI, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

    Rafael Lira

  2. Instituto de Ivestigaciones en Ecosistem, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Alejandro Casas

  3. Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morel, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca,, Morelos, Mexico

    José Blancas

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Pickersgill, B. (2016). Domestication of Plants in Mesoamerica: An Archaeological Review with Some Ethnobotanical Interpretations. In: Lira, R., Casas, A., Blancas, J. (eds) Ethnobotany of Mexico. Ethnobiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6669-7_9

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