Abstract
Previous suggestions that prehistoric agriculturalists of the Ozark Bluff Dweller culture utilized a fully domesticated form ofChenopodium have been confirmed. Comparative examination of infructescence and fruit structure indicates that archaeological material is assignable toC. berlandieri ssp.nuttalliae, a product of Mexican agriculture. Large-fruited chenopod remains from other sites in eastern North America, often identified as those of wild species, may also belong to the Mexican domesticated form. A related, wild species of northeastern North America,C. bushianum, shows similarities to the Mexican weed-crop complex that may reflect prehistoric genetic interaction. This is the first documented report of domesticatedChenopodium from prehistoric North America.
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Wilson, H.D. DomesticatedChenopodium of the Ozark Bluff Dwellers. Econ Bot 35, 233–239 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858690
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858690