Reevaluation of the Identification of Ancient Maize Pollen from Alabama

Fearn and Liu (1995) reported positive identification of a large Poaceae pollen grain recovered from a lake bed core in Alabama dating to 3500 B.P. as Zea mays. Reinterpretation of old data and new data reported here indicate this identification is questionable. Review of the evidence at hand indicates the most likely identification of the pollen grain in question is Tripsacum, although it could be primitive maize, teosinte, or Zea “indiana,” a hybrid between Tripsacum and teosinte. Until the sample size is expanded and a firm identification can be made, caution is urged in interpretations about the significance of this find for early maize agriculture in eastern North America.