Stone-boiling maize with limestone: Experimental results and implications for nutrition among SE Utah preceramic groups

Journal of Archaeological Science

Volumn 40, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 35-44

  Ellwood, Emily C ^a   Scott, M Paul ^b   Lipe, William D ^c   Matson, R G ^d   Jones, John G ^c  

^a Archaeological Investigations Northwest Inc   (United States)

^b AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE   (United States)

^c WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA   (Canada)

Author keywords

Basketmaker II; Experimental archaeology; Maize; Nixtamalization; Preceramic; Stone boiling

Indexed keywords

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE; ARCHAEOLOGY; CERAMICS; COOKING APPLIANCE; EXPERIMENTAL STUDY; LIMESTONE; MAIZE;

UNITED STATES; UTAH;

ZEA MAYS;

EID: 84867909855     PISSN: 03054403     EISSN: 10959238     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2012.05.044     Document Type: Article

References (78)

1. Aasen, K., 1984. Pollen, Macrofossil, and Charcoal analyses of Basketmaker coprolites from Turkey Pen Ruin, Cedar Mesa, Utah. MA thesis, Dept. Anthropology, Washington State U., Pullman.
2. Abrams E.M., Freter A.C. A Late Classic lime-plaster kiln from the Maya centre of Copan, Honduras. Antiquity 1996, 70:422-428.
3. Adams K. A regional synthesis of Zea mays in the prehistoric American Southwest. Corn and Culture in the Prehistoric New World 1994, 273-623. Westview Press, Boulder, CO. S. Johannessen, C.A. Hastorf (Eds.).
4. Adams, K., Patersen, J., 2011. Plant Materials Associated with Falls Creek North Rockshelter Burial and Burial Crevice Fill. Report on file, San Juan National Forest, San Juan Public Lands Center, Durango, CO.
5. Atalay S., Hastorf C.A. Food, meals, and daily activities: food habits at Neolithic Catalhoyuk. Am. Antiq. 2006, 72(2):283-319.
6. Barger R.L., Folliott P.F. Research Paper RM-83, USDA Forest Serv 1972, Rocky Mtn. Forest and Range Exper. Station, Ft. Collins, CO.
7. Blinman E., Swink C. Technology and organization of Anasazi trench kilns. Prehistory & History of Ceramic Kilns 1997, 85-102. Amer. Ceramic Soc, Westerville, OH. P.M. Rice, W.D. Kingery (Eds.).
8. Boynton R.S. Chemistry and Technology of Lime and Limestone 1980, John Wiley & Sons, New York. second ed.
9. Bressani R., Wilson D., Chung M., Behar M., Scrimshaw N.S. Supplementation of cereal proteins with amino acids V: effect of supplementing lime-treated corn with different levels of lysine, tryptophan, and isoleucine on the nitrogen retention of young children. J. Nutr. 1963, 80:80-84.
10. Bressani R., Turcios J.C., de Ruiz A.S.C. Nixtamalization effects on the contents of phytic acid, calcium, iron and zinc in the whole grain, endosperm and germ of maize. Food Sci. Food Sci. Technol. Internat 2002, 8(2):81-86.
11. Bressani R., Turcios J.C., de Ruiz A.S.C., de Palomo P.P. Effects of processing conditions on phytic acid, calcium, iron, and zinc contents of lime-cooked maize. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2004, 52(5):1157-1162.
12. Brisbin J.M. Mesa Verde segment pottery firing kiln. Mesa Verde Waterline Replacement Project, Phase III: Archaeological and Historical Studies 1999, 281-323. Divis. of Research and Resource Mgmt., Mesa Verde Nat. Park, CO. G.A. Ives, J.M. Brisbin, J.A. Bell, C.L. Williams, P.R. Flint-Lacey, S. Dominguez (Eds.).
13. Carrera E.M.C., Cardenas J.D.F., Villa G.A., Flores H.E.M., Sandoval S.J.J., Barcenas G.L. New ecological nixtamalization process for tortilla production and its impact on the chemical properties of whole corn flour and wastewater effluents. Intl. J. Food Sci. Technol. 2011, On-line publication. 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2011.02878.x.
14. Chisholm B., Matson R.G. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic evidence on Basketmaker II diet at cedar mesa, Utah. Kiva 1994, 60:239-256.
15. Clark J.E., Pye M.E., Gosser D.C. Thermolithics and corn dependency in Mesoamerica. Archaeology, Art, and Ethnogenesis in Mesoamerican Prehistory: Papers in Honor of Gareth W. Lowe 2007, 23-42. Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation 68, Provo, UT. L.S. Lowe, M.E. Pye (Eds.).
16. Coltrain J.B., Janetski J.B., Carlyle S.W. Stable and radio-isotope chemistry of eastern Basketmaker and Pueblo groups in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest: implications for Anasazi diets, origins, and abandonments in southwestern Colorado. Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, Domestication, and Evolution of Maize 2006, 275-287. Academic Press, Amsterdam. J. Staller, R. Tykot, B. Benz (Eds.).
17. Coltrain J.B., Janetski J.B., Carlyle S.W. Stable-and radio-isotope chemistry of western Basketmaker burials: implications for early Puebloan diets and origins. Am. Antiq. 2007, 72(2):301-321.
18. Cordell L. Archaeology of the Southwest 1997, Academic Press, San Diego. second ed.
19. Dohm K.M. The search for Anasazi village origins: Basketmaker II dwelling aggregation on Cedar Mesa. Kiva 1994, 60(2):257-276.
20. Ermigiotti P. Kiln Conference at Crow Canyon: A Summary Report 1991 to 1996 1997, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Cortez, CO.
21. FAO Corporate Document Repository Physical and chemical changes in maize during processing. Maize in Human Nutrition 1992, Electron. doc.:, (accessed 02.08.09.). http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0395E/T0395E06.htm.
22. FAO Corporate Document Repository Lime-treated maize (part II). Hum. Nutr. Electron. doc. 1992, (accessed 02.08.09.). http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0395E/T0395E06.htm.
23. FAO Corporate Document Repository Processing of whole maize: lime cooking. Human Nutrition. Electron. doc. 1992, (accessed 02.08.09.). http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0395E/T0395E06.htm.
24. Geib P.R. Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region: Excavations along the Navajo Mountain Road 2011, U. of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
25. Gutierrez-Dorado R., Ayala-Rodriquez A.E., Milan-Carillo J., Lopez-Cervantes J., Garzon Tiznado J.A., Lopez-Valenzuela J.A., Paredes-Lopez O., Reyes-Moreno C. Technological and nutritional properties of flours and tortillas from nixtamalized and extruded protein maize. Cereal Chem. 2008, 85(6):808-816.
26. Harper A.E., Punekar B.D., Elvehjem C.A. Effect of alkali treatment on the availability of niacin and amino acids in maize. J. Nutr. 1958, 163-172.
27. Hart T. Evaluating the usefulness of phytoliths and starch grains found on survey artifacts. J. Archaeol. Sci. 2011, 38:3244-3253.
28. Hill W.W. Agricultural and Hunting Methods of the Navaho Indians 1938, vol. 18. Yale U. Publ. Anthropology, New Haven, CT.
29. Holstad, E.C., 2010. Basketmaker II Stone-boiling Technology at Cedar Mesa, Utah: an Study, Experimental Study. MA thesis, Dept. Anthropology, Washington State U., Pullman (*E.C. Holstad is now E.C. Ellwood).
30. Hovezak T.D., Sesler L.M., Fetterman J.E., Honeycutt L. The 2002 Canyons of the Ancients National Monument Survey, Montezuma County, Colorado 2003, Woods Canyon Archaeol. Consultants, Yellow Jacket, CO.
31. Huber E.K. Early maize at the old corn site (LA137258). Fence Lake Project. Tech. Series 2005, vol. 84:36/1-36/33. Statistical Research, Inc., Tucson, AZ.
32. Katz S.H., Hediger M.L., Valleroy L.A. Traditional maize processing techniques in the New World. Science 1974, 184:765-773.
33. 13C in carbonized residues. J. Archaeol. Sci. 2011, 38:2726-2730.
34. Matson R.G. Origins of Southwestern Agriculture 1991, U. Arizona Press, Tucson.
35. Matson R.G. What is Basketmaker II?. Kiva 2006, 72(2):149-166.
36. Matson R.G., Chisholm B. Basketmaker II subsistence: carbon isotopes and other dietary indicators from Cedar Mesa, dietary indicators from Cedar Mesa, Utah. Am. Antiq. 1991, 56:444-459.
37. Matson R.G., Lipe W.D., Haase W.R. Adaptational continuities and occupational discontinuities: the Cedar Mesa Anasazi. J. Field Archaeol. 1988, 15(3):245-264.
38. Matson R.G., Lipe W.D., Haase W.R. Human Adaptations on Cedar Mesa 1990, U. of British Columbia Lab. of Archaeol, southeastern Utah, Electronic document:, (accessed January 2012). http://www.anth.ubc.ca/%3fid%3d3125.
39. Merrill W.L., Hard R.J., Mabry J.B., Fritz G.J., Adams K.R., Roney J.R., MacWilliams A.C. The diffusion of maize to the southwestern United States and its impact. PNAS 2009, 106(50):21019-21026.
40. Mertz Edwin T. Nutritive value of corn and its products. Corn: Culture, Processing, Products 1970, 350-359. AVI Publishing Company Inc., Roslyn, New York. G.E. Inglett (Ed.).
41. Milan-Carrillo J., Gutierrez-Dorado R., Cuevas-Rodriguez E.O., Garzon-Tiznado J.A., Reyes-Moreno C. Nixtamalized flour from quality protein maize (Zea mays L.): optimization of alkaline processing. Plant Foods Hum. Nutrit 2004, 59:35-44.
42. Mills Barbara Ceramics and the social contexts of food consumption in the northern Southwest. Pottery and People: a Dynamic Interaction 1999, 99-114. U. Utah Press, Salt Lake City. J.M. Skibo, G.M. Feinman (Eds.).
43. Mora-Aviles A., Lemus-Flores B., Miranda-Lopez R., Hernandez-Lopez D., Acosta-Gallegos J.A., Guzman-Maldonado S.H. Effects of common bean enrichment on nutritional quality of tortillas produced from nixtamalized regular and quality protein maize flours. J. Sci. Food Agric. 2007, 84(5):880-886.
44. Morris E.H., Burgh R.F. Anasazi Basketry: Basketmaker II through Pueblo III 1941, Carnegie Instit. Washington Pub. 533, Washington, D.C.
45. Myers T.P. The role of pottery in the rise of American civilizations: the ceramic revolution. BAR International Series 1989, vol. 513:1-28. C.C. Kolb (Ed.).
46. Myers T.P. Hominy technology and the emergence of Mississippian societies. Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, and Evolution of Maize 2006, 511-520. Academic Press, Amsterdam. J. Staller, R. Tykot, B. Benz (Eds.).
47. Nakazawa Y., Straus L.G., Gonzales-Morales M.R., Solana D.C., Saiz J.C. On stone-boiling technology in the Upper Paleolithic: behavioral implications from an early Magdalenian Hearth in El Miron Cave, Cantabria, Spain. J. Archaeol. Sci. 2009, 36:684-693.
48. Nations J.D. Snail shells and maize preparation: a Lacandon Maya analogy. Am. Antiq. 1979, 44(3):568-571.
49. Oerthoefer F.T., Eastman J. Corn processing and products. Corn: Origin, History, Technology, and Production 2004, 867-896,. John Wiley and Sons. C.W. Smith, J. Betran, E.C.A. Runge (Eds.).
50. Pearsall D.M. Paleoethnobotany: a Handbook of Procedures 2000, Academic Press, San Diego, CA. second ed.
51. Pearson W.N., Stempel S.J., Valenzuela J.S., Utley M.H., Darby W.J. Influence of cooked vs. raw maize on the growth of rats receiving a 9% casein ration. J. Nutr. 1957, 62(3):445-463.
52. Pennington C.W. The Tepehuan of Chihuahua: Their Material Culture 1969, U. of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
53. Pierce C.D. Reverse engineering the ceramic cooking pot: cost and performance properties of plain and textured vessels. J. Archaeol. Meth. Theory 2005, 12(2):117-157.
54. Piperno D.R. Phytoliths: a Comprehensive Guide for Archaeologists and Palaeoecologists 2006, AltaMira Press, Lanham, MD.
55. Pollock, K.H., 2001. Pits without Pots: Basketmaker II houses and lithics of Southeastern Utah, Utah. MA thesis, Dept. Anthropology, Washington State U., Pullman, WA.
56. Robles R.R., Murray E.D., Paredes-Lopez O. Physicochemical changes of maize starch during the lime-heat treatment for tortilla making. Intl. J. Food Sci. Technol 1988, 23:91-98.
57. Robles-Ramirez M.d.C., Acoltzi-Tamayo Y., Sanches-Vega C., Sosa-Montes E., Reyes-Moreno C., Milan-Carrillo J., Mora-Escobedo R. Physiological effects of products obtained by nixtamalization and extrusion of quality protein maize. Intl. Biotech. Color J. 2011, 1(1):20-25.
58. Rojas-Molina I., Gutierrez E., Cortes-Acevedo M.E., Falcon A., Bressani R., Rojas A., Ibarra C., Pons-Hernandez J.L., Guzman-Maldonado H., Cornejo-Villegas A., Rodriguez M.E. Analysis of quality protein changes in nixtamalized QPM flours as a function of the steeping time. Cereal Chem. 2008, 83(3):409-416.
59. Rooney L.W., McDonough C.M., Waniska R.D. The corn kernel. Corn: Origin, History, Technology, and Production 2004, 273-303. John Wiley and Sons. C.W. Smith, J. Betran, E.C.A. Runge (Eds.).
60. Roys L. Engineering knowledge of the Maya. Contrib. Amer. Archaeol. 1934, 2(5-12):96-98.
61. Rylander K.A. Corn preparation among the Basketmaker Anasazi: a scanning electron microscope study of Zea maysremains from coprolites. Paleonutrition: The Diet and Health of Prehistoric Americans 1994, 115-133. Ctr. Archaeol. Invest., Occ. Pap. 22, S. Illinois U., Carbondale. K.D. Sobolik (Ed.).
62. Scrimshaw N.S., Bressani R., Behar M., Viteri F. Supplementation of cereal proteins with amino acids. J. Nutr. 1958, 66:485-499.
63. Scott M.P., Bhatnagar S., Betran J. Tryptophan and methionine levels in quality protein maize breeding germplasm. Maydica 2004, 49:303-311.
64. Sefa-Dedeh S., Cornelius B., Sakyi-Dawson E., Afoakwa E.O. Effect of nixtamalization on the chemical and functional properties of maize. Food Chem. 2003, 86:317-324.
65. Skibo J.M., Blinman E. Exploring the origins of pottery on the Colorado Plateau. Pottery and People: a Dynamic Interaction 1999, 171-183. U. Utah Press and Lake, Press, Salt Lake City. J.M. Skibo, G.M. Feinman (Eds.).
66. Stross Brian Maize in word and image in southwestern Mesoamerica. Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, Domestication, and Evolution of Maize 2006, 577-582. Academic Press, Amsterdam. J. Staller, R. Tykot, B. Benz (Eds.).
67. Sullivan A.P., Cook R.A., Purtill M.P., Uphus P.M. Economic and land-use implications of prehistoric fire-cracked rock piles, northern Arizona. J. Field Archaeol. 2001, 28:367-382.
68. Thoms A. The fire stones carry: ethnographic records and archaeological expectations for hot-rock cookery in western North America. J. Anthrop. Archaeol. 2008, 27:443-460.
69. Thoms A. Rocks of ages: propagation of hot-rock cookery in western North America. J. Archaeol. Sci. 2009, 36:573-591.
70. Torrence R., Barton H. Ancient Starch Research 2006, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA.
71. Trejo-Gonzalez A., Feria-Morales A., Wild-Altamirano C. The role of lime in the alkaline treatment of corn for tortilla preparation. Modification of Proteins, Food, Nutritional, and Pharmacological Aspects 1982, vol 198:245-263. American Chem. Soc., Washington, D.C. R.E. Feeney, J.R. Whitaker (Eds.).
72. Ulery A.L., Graham R.C., Amrhein C. Wood-ash composition and soil pH following intense burning. Soil Sci. 1993, 156(5):358-364.
73. Voorhies B., Gose W.A. Stone boiling technology at a Middle Archaic Period site of southwest coastal Mexico. Archaeology, Art and Ethnogenesis in Mesoamerican Prehistory, Art, and Ethnogenesis in Mesoamerican Prehistory: Papers in Honor of Gareth W. Lowe 2007, 43-61. Brigham Young U., Provo, UT, New World Archaeol. Found., Paper 68. L. Lowe, M. Pye (Eds.).
74. Wacher C. Nixtamalization, a Mesoamerican technology to process maize at small-scale with great potential for improving the nutritional quality of maize based foods. In: Food-Based Approaches for a Healthy Nutrition 2003, 735-744. Departamento de Alimentos y Biotecnologia, Mexico.
75. Warinner C., Tuross N. Alkaline cooking and stable isotope tissue-diet spacing in swine: archaeological implications. J. Archaeol. Sci. 2009, 36(8):1690-1697.
76. Weltfish G. Prehistoric American basketry techniques and modern distributions. Am. Anthropol. 1930, 38(3):1690-1697. N.S.
77. Whiting A.F. Ethnobotany of the Hopi 1939, vol. 15. Museum N. Ariz. Bull, Flagstaff.
78. Woodbury R.B. Prehistoric Stone Implements of Northeastern Arizona 1954, vol. 34. Harvard U., Cambridge, MA, Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeol. and Ethanol.