7. There is an increase in diameter of the rachis of the 
cobs from the lower to the upper levels; this is accom- 
panied by an increase in kernel-row number and in the 
length and width of the kernels. There is a slight de- 
crease in kernel thickness. 
8. The remains of the husks and other parts of the 
husk systems suggest that the long husks found in one 
of the levels of the 1948 excavations enclosed not a single 
ear but a cluster of ears each enclosed in its own husk. 
9, Comparisons with the prehistoric maize of other 
sites suggest that the earliest maize from Bat Cave should 
be dated at not earlier than 2800 B.C. and perhaps 
several centuries later. 
