Preceramic Adoption of Peanut, Squash, and Cotton in Northern Peru

TLDR

Early agriculture in the New World is thought to have begun in Andean settlements, yet the archaeological record remains sparse. Macrofossils of peanut, squash, and cotton were excavated from multiple sites on the western slopes of northern Peru, including household clusters, architectural structures, gardens, irrigation canals, hoes, and storage facilities. Radiocarbon dates show these plants grew between 9240 and 5500 14C years BP, indicating that peanut and squash were part of the diet and cotton was used industrially by around 10,000 years ago. Peanut (Arachis sp.).

Abstract

The early development of agriculture in the New World has been assumed to involve early farming in settlements in the Andes, but the record has been sparse. Peanut (Arachis sp. ), squash (Cucurbita moschata), and cotton (Gossypium barbadense) macrofossils were excavated from archaeological sites on the western slopes of the northern Peruvian Andes. Direct radiocarbon dating indicated that these plants grew between 9240 and 5500 (14)C years before the present. These and other plants were recovered from multiple locations in a tropical dry forest valley, including household clusters, permanent architectural structures, garden plots, irrigation canals, hoes, and storage structures. These data provide evidence for early use of peanut and squash in the human diet and of cotton for industrial purposes and indicate that horticultural economies in parts of the Andes took root by about 10,000 years ago.