EARLY EIGHT-ROWED MAIZE FROM THE 
MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, 
NEW MEXICO 
BY 
Watton C. Gatinat’, THEeoporE R. Remnuarr’, 
AND THEODORE R. FRISBIE* 
A MUTUAL interest of the maize phylogenist (senior 
author) and the archaeologist (junior authors) in the pre- 
historic spread of the eight-rowed race of maize, Maiz 
de Ocho, has made this and several other similar studies 
possible. Their respective interests, however, lie in dif- 
ferent aspects of the same problem. The evolutionary 
history of Maiz de Ocho involves the origin of the Corn 
Belt dent as well as many sweet corn varieties and its 
understanding could lead to the synthesis of even more 
productive strains in the future. It is an archaeological 
artifact of certain Indian cultures. The distribution of this 
race may also reveal some of the history of its possessors. 
In an earlier study it was found that the dates for this 
' Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of 
Massachusetts, Waltham, Mass. and Honorary Research Associate in 
the Bussey Institution of Harvard University. 
? Asst. Prof., Department of Anthropology, College of William and 
Mary, Williamsburg, Va. 
> Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Anthropology, Southern Illinois Uni- 
versity, Carbondale, [I]. 
This investigation was supported in part by a grant (GB-15767) 
from the National Science Foundation to the senior author and in 
part by the Bussey Institution of Harvard University. 
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