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News From the Field

Ancient Sunflower Fuels Debate About Agriculture in the Americas


April 29, 2008

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David Lentz and his fellow researchers have documented archaeological, linguistic, ethnographic and ethnohistoric data demonstrating that the sunflower entered the repertoire of Mexican domesticates by 2600 B.C.; that its cultivation was widespread in Mexico and extended as far south as El Salvador by the first millennium B.C.; that it was well known to the Aztecs; and that it is still in use by traditional Mesoamerican cultures today.Full Story

Source
University of Cincinnati

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