[Aztlan] 10 Maya foods that changed the world's eating habits

[dlbrowma at artsci.wustl.edu]

All

The "10 Maya foods" aren't, in a real sense.

That is squash is a generic term.  There are as early if not earlier squash
varieties in the Andes.  As well, one of the examples given was 'pumpkins'. 
Pumpkins were domesticated n the SE U.S., not Mesoamerica.

Chile peppers also are rather generic.  There are Andean varieties domesticated
as early if not earlier than the ones in Mesoamerica.

Which avocado?  There were two major domestication - one in Mesoamerica, and one
in the Andes.  

Black beans: very slippery slope.  While the specific subvariety seems to have
Yucatecan linkages, the plant itself is found early in both North and South America.

The sweet potato is certainly much earlier in South America than Mesoamerica.

Ecuadorian folk claim their variety of tomato is the earliest.  And so on.

It would be much better to call these "New World" rather than "Maya", since
several of them have no Maya antecedents.

Dave Browman