Maize Recovered at La Ponga, an Early Ecuadorian Site

Abstract
Recent archaeological excavations at a Machalilla (“Early Formative”) site on Ecuador's south coast have resulted in the recovery of charred maize kernel and cupule fragments. A detailed study of the Machalilla maize described here suggests that two primitive varieties were present on the coast of Ecuador by 1200 B.C. Previously published reports that have attempted to establish the presence of maize during the preceding Valdivia phase are reviewed briefly, and their incompleteness is discussed.