There are few things humans love more than food. For centuries, humans have been creating new, delicious recipes to enjoy. While we may eat somewhat differently nowadays (after all, I don’t think our...
The first published European account of the lost city of Palenque is from 1567, by the Spaniard, Father Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada, who found this vast abandoned Maya city. The local Chol Maya called...
A team of archaeologists and genetic scientists have just announced the results of a groundbreaking study of DNA obtained from ancient “migrant” skeletons found in Belize. What they discovered helped...
An international team of researchers has investigated the earliest humans in Central America and how they adapted over time to new and changing environments, and how those changes have affected human...
Corn cultivation spread from Mesoamerica to what is now the American Southwest by about 4000 BC, but how and when the crop made it to other parts of North America is still a subject of debate. In a...
The scientific cultivation of lost ancient seed crops has yielded much higher than expected growth rates, challenging assumptions about maize (corn) growth in prehistoric North America . According to...
Conventional wisdom holds that prehistoric villagers planted corn, and lots of it, to survive the dry and hostile conditions of the American Southwest. But University of Cincinnati archaeology...
The Maya were the longest-lived civilization in history. Their history lasted for 3,500 years and traced parallel time lines with other ancient civilizations. They began their civilization in 2500 BC...
By analyzing calculus on the teeth of the remains of people who died in an influential Mexican city hundreds of years ago, researchers are getting clues about their diet. One finding was that the...
While archaeologists and historians know much about the lives of Maya royalty and rulers, the lifestyles of the poor and middle class are wrapped in mystery. A new study that is examining hordes of...
Archaeologists have found an artifact made of jadeite at an Olmec site in Mexico that they think represents a cob of corn and that may have been offered to the gods. Corn was a vitally important crop...