Fossilized maize, rice found in Temanggung

Jakarta Post ^ | Wednesday, October 29, 2014 | Agus Maryono

[GeronL]

cool

[SunkenCiv]

Jan Carl, from the comments section:

> Maize originates from the selection of teosinte varieties by Central American farmers centuries ago. The maize plant as we know it today has undergone further selection since the time it was “discovered” by the Spaniards who colonized Central America. It is highly unlikely that the grains found by Indonesians archaeologists in Java were maize (unless its origin was very recent), and it is also unlikely that the material found (whatever it is) was “fossilized”.

[chajin]

An amaizeing find

[SunkenCiv]

[Veggie Todd]

You call it corn.

[jjotto]

The word ‘maize’ might be a translation error, or its use there is not the same as in America. The original may have indicated the more generic ‘corn’?

[dsrtsage]

Showing your age, grasshopper, lol

[Lazamataz]

An earlier team of archeologists had also found fossilized grains of rice, indicating that food security in Java was well-managed during that time.

Aw crap. They had EBT cards, and no grocery-store-deserts, even back then.

[Lazamataz]

I’ll GET you for that one.

[jjotto]

mmm...

Are there any other records of maize/corn outside of the Americas from over 1000 years ago?

[Zhang Fei]

It is highly unlikely that the grains found by Indonesians archaeologists in Java were maize (unless its origin was very recent), and it is also unlikely that the material found (whatever it is) was “fossilized”.

Maybe they found a fossilized Iphone among the maize.

[ThanhPhero]

Teosinte is hypothesized because it is the closest plant to corn genetically. There is no actual connection demonstrated, no intermediate plants.

[ThanhPhero]

It referenced teosinte so, while corn/maize probably did not actually derive from teosinte, Teosinte is found only in Central America and is the acceptable precursor for corn/maize because nothing else has been found. So the finders believe that the maize in derives from Central Americ.

[jjotto]

I did not see teosinte referenced in the linked article.

Corn being grown in Asia during pre-Columbian times would seem to be a really big discovery.

[Veggie Todd]

Showing your age, grasshopper, lol

LOL. As are you.

[Conservative4Ever]

Maize? I thought maize was a new world food. Who knew?

[woerm]

bump for later

[stormer]

Although technically “fossilized” merely refers to something dug up in a state of preservation, the reference to maize does seem odd.

[piasa]

I think you’re right... a translation error.