Anthropological Discovery Reported in Peru
A team of U.S.-led anthropologists in northern Peru have discovered the earliest-known evidence of peanut, cotton and squash farming.
The evidence of such plantings dating 5,000 to 9,000 years was found on the western slopes of the Andes Mountains in the Nanchoc Valley, about 1,600 feet above sea level.
The discovery is said to provide long-sought evidence that some of the early development of agriculture in the New World took place at Andes farming settlements.
We believe the development of agriculture by the Nanchoc people served as a catalyst for cultural and social changes that eventually led to intensified agriculture, institutionalized political power and new towns in the Andean highlands and along the coast 4,000 to 5,500 years ago, said Vanderbilt University Professor Tom Dillehay, lead author of the research.
Dillehay and his colleagues found wild-type peanuts, squash and cotton, as well as a quinoa-like grain, manioc and other tubers and fruits in the floors and hearths of buried preceramic sites, garden plots, irrigation canals, storage structures and on hoes.
The discovery was detailed in the June 29 issue of the journal Science.
Source: United Press International