from Ife in Nigeria, apparently decorated by rolling a 
maize cob over wet clay, Jeffreys (18) proceeded to date 
the introduction of maize into the region in Africa repre- 
sented by Ife at 1000-1100 A.D.', a date slightly earlier 
than the one which he had arrived at on the basis of 
other evidence (19). He then showed by linguistic and 
historical evidence how it might have spread from Africa 
to Asia (20). 
To analyze Jeffreys’ arguments in detail would seem 
to serve no useful purpose until it should first become 
clear: (A) that the impressions on the African pottery 
are unmistakably those of maize*; (B) that they are un- 
mistakably pre-Columbian. Unless these two facts can 
be clearly established, we prefer to agree with Goodwin’s 
recent statement (in a letter) which he has kindly given 
us permission to quote: 
. and am of the opinion that not all of this pottery was decorated 
by rolling a maize cob over the surface. I have no evidence from that 
or from any other source suggesting that maize reached Africa in Pre- 
Columbian times. 
PRE-COLUMBIAN MaIzE IN Europe? 
Finan (11), ina study of the maize illustrated and de- 
scribed in the herbals, concluded that there were two 
' Weatherwax erroneously attributes to Goodwin the idea of a pre- 
Columbian introduction of maize into Africa. Goodwin carefully 
avoided drawing such a conclusion, 
? We have not been able to obtain specimens of the African pot- 
sherds for examination but, since this was written, we have seen 
photographs of one of them displayed at the Tenth International Con- 
gress of Genetics in Montreal by Dr. W.R. Stanton of Nigeria. There 
is little doubt that this impression is of a maize cob since the paired 
arrangement of the spikelets is clearly shown. But Stanton, like 
Goodwin, regards these impressions as post-Columbian and states that 
he is in general agreement with Porteres (35) who, after carefully re- 
viewing the evidence presented by Jeffreys, Mauny, and others, con- 
cluded that maize reached Africa in the sixteenth century by two 
routes: a flint corn by way of the Mediterranean and the Nile; a soft 
[probably dent] corn by way of the coast of Guinea. 
[ 417 ] 
