Re: maize in ancient india: strong transpacific links are indicated
John Davis (jrdavis@netcom.com)
Fri, 27 Dec 1996 04:27:02 GMT
Peter van Rossum (pmv100@psu.edu) wrote:
: In article <59ua4m$na4@news1.io.org> yuku@io.org (Yuri Kuchinsky) writes:
: >Nevertheless, up to now, I've not been able to identify a real
: >"Smoking Gun". Such real "Smoking Gun" would need to be something
: >preferably not too complex to evaluate that, if considered by an
: >impartial observer, will _leave no doubt_ in the mind of the
: >observer that these ancient transoceanic contacts _existed for
: >sure_. But now, it seems, I have it! What a moment...
: This ones going down in flames real fast my man. You were on much
: better ground with the Sweet Potato since at least archaeologists
: have reported finding Precolumbian Sweet Potato remains from
: Polynesian islands.
: This maize "smoking gun" is on the exact same level as the Pompeii
: "pineapple."
: >[I am grateful to my netpal Kerry A. Shirts <shirtale@srv.net> for
: >pointing me towards this research. He seems to have been keeping up with
: >this sort of material for some time, and had accumulated much data about
: >it.]
: >
: >Carl L. Johannessen and Anne Z. Parker, MAIZE EARS SCULPTURED IN
: >12TH AND 13TH CENTURY A.D. INDIA AS INDICATORS OF PRE-COLUMBIAN
: >DIFFUSION, in Economic Botany, 1989, 43 (2): 164-180.
: >
: >Yuri.
: Maybe we should also take a look at:
: Payak, M.M., and Sachan, J.K.S.
: 1993 "Maize Ears Not Sculpted in 13th Century Somnathpur
: Temple in India." Economic botany. APR 01 1993, vol. 47
: no. 2, P. 202-
: I'm afraid I don't have it handy where I am and won't get it until
: Mon/Tue but if I remember correctly they argue that the sculptures
: represent some other plant - not maize. This is just like those
: who say the Pompeii "pineapple" is really a pomegranite.
I'll bet it's millet.
: Hasta la vista to another "smoking gun." Unless of course you've got
: someone who's found actual corn remains - but I'm confident you don't.
Maize is such a valuable grain it would have quickly been grown all over
the old world. If I'm not badly misinformed, 70% of the food plants in
the world are from the new world. That includes all true beans, all
squashes, all peppers (chiles), potatos and corn (maize). If anyone from
the old world had ever reached the Americas and returned, you can bet your
bottom dollar they would have carried some of those plants back and they
would be known from the pre-Columbian old world.
--
A_A
John Davis (o o) "An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere."
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~ Samuel Johnson
jrdavis@databasix.com
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