Maize for the Gods

Michael Blake is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia who studies the origins of maize agriculture in the Americas and the emergence of sociopolitical complexity in Mesoamerica and the Northwest Coast of Canada. He is the author of Colonization, Warfare, and Exchange at the Postclassic Maya Site of Canajaste, Chiapas, Mexico and the editor of Pacific Latin America in Prehistory.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Archaeology of Maize 2. The Place of Maize in (Agri)cultural Origin Stories 3. Old Puzzles and New Questions about Maize's Origins and Spread 4. Timing Is Everything: Dating Maize 5. Maize through a Magnifying Glass: Macroremains 6. Maize through a Microscope: Microremains 7. Elemental Maize: Tracing Maize Isotopically 8. Genetically Modifi ed Maize the Old Way-By Agriculture 9. Daily Tools and Sacred Symbols Notes Glossary References Index Contents

"Blake lays out a fine and factual feast." -- Bob Grant The Scientist "My recommendation: make yourself a nice bowl of popcorn and settle down with Blake's book for a story as remarkable as the snack you are enjoying." -- Laurence A. Marschall Natural History Magazine "An engrossing scientific excursion." Terrae Incognitae "[Blake's] real triumph lies in his candid explanation and interrogation of modern research methods of maize: everything from archaeological dating and genetic investigation to microscopic analysis and ancient dietary reconstruction. In the end, what emerges is a complex narrative of reciprocal dependence. As Blake succinctly puts it, 'humans grow maize and maize grows humans'." Current World Archaeology