Glossary

Atlatl A Nahuatl (Aztec) word describing a compound throwing weapon consisting of a shaft with a hook at one end into which a spear or dart is inserted. The shaft acts as an extension of the hunter’s arm, providing much greater force and velocity to the thrown dart. Use of the atlatl in the New World extends back at least 12 000 years, when it enabled Native Americans to more effectively hunt large Ice Age animals. Much later the Aztecs found it more effective than the bow and arrow in penetrating the metal armor of the Spanish conquistadors.

Maize Commonly referred to as ‘corn’ or more properly Indian Corn, maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) was first domesticated in Middle America and then spread throughout much of the Americas where it became a staple pre-Columbian food. Because there is no known wild form of maize its origin has been a matter of long-standing inquiry. Although several theories have been offered, it is most widely believed that the progenitor of maize was an annual race of teosinte (Z. mays ssp. Parviglumis), a wild grass native to the Balsas River drainage of southern Mexico. However, the specific process of genetic mutations that produced what we know as the maize cob is still disputed by botanists. Under one reconstruction the teosinte tassel spike, the plant’s male reproductive organ, evolved into the maize ear; another claims that the maize ear developed directly from the teosinte ear. The earliest known archaeological remains of domesticated maize cobs, dated 6250 BP, were found at Guilia Naquitz Cave in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley.

Mano and metate A paired tool set used throughout Middle America to grind maize and other seeds. The mano (‘hand’ in Spanish) is a coarse-grained cylindrical or rounded stone which is rubbed back and forth on the metate, a stone slab or basin on which the seeds are placed. Manos and metates are first found with Early Archaic archaeological remains when seeds and other plant foods became a more important dietary component; they continue to be familiar household implements in rural Middle America.

Middle America Refers to the areas of Mexico, upper Central America, and the neighboring islands. The term encompasses and is often used coterminously with the culture area of temporally varying boundaries known as Mesoamerica, the locus of pre-Columbian high civilization, bordered on one side by the semi-nomadic hunting and gathering societies of northern Mexico and on the other by the chiefdoms of lower Central America.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Unlike most DNA which is located in the cell nucleus, mtDNA is located in the mitochondria (organelles in complex cells that convert food molecules into energy). In mammals mtDNA is inherited only from the mother and mutations are passed from mother to child. Because of its high mutation rate mtDNA can be employed to trace matrilineage over many generations. Research has revealed that mtDNA of Native Americans falls into four lineages called A, B, C, and D as well as a residual X lineage also found in some European populations. Another mutation occurring in Native

American as well as Southeast Asian, Melanesian, and Polynesian populations has suggested that between 6000-12 000years ago people migrated across the Pacific or up the east coast of Asia into the Americas.

Phytolith Rigid deposits in many plants resulting from

Absorption of groundwater containing dissolved minerals. The most useful for archaeology are opal phytoliths, consisting of silica deposited between or within the plant cell walls and often preserved as mineralized copies of the cell long after the plant dies. Consequently they can serve to identify plant species when all other parts have decayed.

Pleistocene The geologic epoch, commonly referred to as the last Ice Age, extending from approximately 1.65 million to 10 000years ago. It precedes the current Holocene epoch. Four major cycles of global glaciation occurred during the Pleistocene, within each of which there were numerous minor advances (stadials) and retreats (interstadials). At its maximums, glacial ice in North America extended as far south as the 40th parallel and sea levels were lowered worldwide by more than 100 m. stable isotope analysis Differing quantities of isotopes are incorporated in animal tissue from the foods consumed over a lifetime. Consequently, measuring the ratios of the stable isotopes of carbon (13C and 12C) and nitrogen (15N and 14N) in preserved bone collagen and dentin can provide insight into the diets of ancient peoples. For example, the photosynthetic pathway in tropical grasses such as maize (referred to as the C4 pathway) differs from that of trees and shrubs (the C3 pathway), the latter of which discriminates against 13C. The resulting differences in 13C/12C ratios between C4 and C3 foods consumed by the Archaic period inhabitants of Middle America and incorporated in their bones and teeth have been used to estimate the date at which maize became a dietary staple. Similarly, 5N/14N ratios have served to identify diets with a primarily marine versus terrestrial food component.