An Endemic Maize (Zea mays L.) Landrace on the Copacabana Peninsula, Bolivia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

An endemic variety of maize (Zea mays L) cultivated on terraces around the Copacabana Peninsula between 3600 – 4100 masl has been identified in the altiplano of Bolivia. This is the only known maize variety cultivated above 3600 masl. Indigenous communities in this region refer to this maize variety as tunqu and they consider it sacred. There were wide-spread landscape modifications such as raised fields and terraces geared to the cultivation of food crops by Pre-Columbian civilizations of this region particularly maize. Ethnohistoric and ethnographic evidence indicate it is primarily consumed as maize beer (aqha, or chicha) and central to ritual offerings extending back to the Yaya Mama religious tradition (ca. 800 BCE). Its phenotypic characteristics are unlike any other known landrace. It is an endemic maize variety particularly adapted to this part of the Titicaca Basin. Evapotranspiration around the lake reduces the diurnal temperature variation just enough to make its cultivation possible in the Bolivian altiplano. Its cultivation, preparation and consumption among Indigenous cultures are analyzed as are its botanical and biological characteristics.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26297