The presence of pre-Columbian maize in the Old World - An overview

Abstract

An overview is presented on the reports available so far on pre-Columbian maize covering the regions of India, Mideast, Africa and Iberia. Frequent observations of maize recorded in the past on the East and the West Coast of Africa and at the ports in the Mideast show that maize was one of the staples of the natives well before 1492. It is also evident that maize in the West Africa was disseminated to Iberia and Lombardy in the pre-Columbian time. An earlier contact between the Old and the New World is strongly suggested. © 2006 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.