occupation to be a component of the Laguna Phase which 
is well represented in the hill-top ruins that occur 
throughout the Sierra de Tamaulipas. This phase has 
definite affinities with the El Prisco (II) period of the 
Tampico-Panuco region (the Huasteca), which in turn 
has been correlated by Ekholm (1944) with the Ticoman- 
Cuilcuileo horizon of the valley of Mexico and which is 
dated by radiocarbon determinations at about 2400 years 
ago (de Terra, 1951). Allowing for some lag in the Sierra 
de Tamaulipas, a date of 1800 to 2200 years ago for the 
Laguna Phase would seem to be a fair estimate. 
The foodstuffs in zone A of La Perra Cave indicate 
that the Laguna people were primarily agriculturists, 
growing beans, manihot, cotton, gourds, squashes, and 
maize. The abundance of angle-backed metates and roller 
manos in the hill-top ruins tend to confirm this. Wild 
food plants were, however, still gathered — 1426 speci- 
mens were found. Stemmed, corner-notched and side- 
notched points, as well as 122 animal bones in zone A, 
show that hunting was still practiced. 
In summary, the sequence represented by the archaeo- 
logical remains, seems to comprise three cultures, the 
first a predominantly nomadic hunting culture with no 
agriculture; the second a semi-sedentary hunting and 
food-gathering culture practicing an incipient agricul- 
ture; and the third a sedentary food-growing culture with 
a relatively advanced technology. The remains of maize 
found in the cave are confined to the last two cultures. 
DeEscRIPTION OF THE MAIZE 
The archaeological specimens of maize from La Perra 
Cave are of particular interest from four standpoints: 
1. The oldest specimens may be quite old, ca 4450 
years; 2. The earliest maize is associated with incipient 
agriculture and may represent a maize in the early stages 
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