[Aztlan] Peruvian mummy Maize and modern maize

[michael ruggeri]

Source:
University of Manchester
Date:
February 12, 2007

Mummy's Amazing American Maize
Science Daily — The far-reaching influence of Spanish and Portuguese  
colonisers appears not to have extended to South American  
agriculture, scientists studying a 1,400-year-old Andean mummy have  
found.


The University of Manchester researchers compared the DNA of ancient  
maize found in the funerary offerings of the mummy and at other sites  
in northwest Argentina with that grown in the same region today.
Surprisingly, they found both ancient and modern samples of the crop  
were genetically almost identical indicating that modern European  
influence has not been as great as previously thought.
"The entire culture of South America changed when the Europeans  
arrived in the 15th century - everything from the language to the  
whole way of life," explained Professor Terry Brown, who headed the  
research in the Faculty of Life Sciences.
"Maize is the staple food crop of the region but prior to  
colonisation it also had a ritual significance - the indigenous  
people were amazed by maize and even worshipped it.
"Given the immense changes that took place in South America following  
the arrival of the Europeans it is surprising that this crop has  
remained unaltered for hundreds of years."
Using the new facilities in the Manchester Interdisciplinary  
Biocentre - a cross-faculty institute at the University - Professor  
Brown is now examining the DNA of ancient maize from Peru, up to  
6,000 years old, to determine if these much older specimens are also  
similar to modern crops.
The research was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of  
the Royal Society of London.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by  
University of Manchester


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