A reconstruction of the Indigenous maize farming niche of Utah
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6433550 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ishmael D Medina (0009-0003-5849-5982, University of Utah, corresponding author), Kenneth Blake Vernon (0000-0003-0098-5092, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (Canada)), Weston C Mccool (0000-0003-3190-470X, California Polytechnic State University), Jerry D Spangler (0000-0002-0316-310X, Archaeology Southwest), B F Codding (0000-0001-7977-8568, University of Utah) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 69 |
| Pages | 105493-105493 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105493 |
| OpenAlex | W7106343482 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
Machine learning reconstructs the Indigenous maize farming niche of Utah. • Early Utah farmers balanced elevation-driven precipitation and the growing season. • Farmers mitigate this trade-off by diverting perennial streams in drier regions. • Early Utah farmers settled in an ideal distribution model way. Maize ( Zea mays L . ) was one of the most widespread domesticated plants in the Americas before European colonization. Despite its widespread distribution, explaining how and why ancient maize farming spread into the northern reaches of the American Southwest remains a central research question in archaeology. To understand how ancient maize spread, we need a comprehensive suitability model for maize agriculture that incorporates multiple ecological variables to accurately predict where maize farming was suitable. In this paper, we construct a species distribution model for maize, using a novel machine learning approach from ecology, to produce a suitability model for Indigenous maize agriculture in Utah (ca. 3200–500 calBP). We then explore the variation in the suitability of maize farming settlements over time. Results suggest that Indigenous maize farmers selected settlement locations to minimize the distance to perennial streams and to balance the elevation-driven trade-off between growing degree days and precipitation. By comparing locations best suited for maize agriculture over time and relative to estimates of past population density, we suggest Indigenous maize farmer settlement patterns throughout the northwestern limit of ancestral maize farming follow predictions from an ideal distribution model, where increasing competition drove farmers into less suitable farming habitats. These results help elucidate the environmental and demographic patterns that influenced the spread of Indigenous maize farming.
Agriculture · Distribution (mathematics) · Domestication · Ecological niche · Habitat · Human settlement · Indigenous · Niche · Perennial plant · Population · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Rangeland and Wildlife Management
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Climate and Diet in Fremont Prehistory
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Northernmost Precontact Maize in North America
The Stable- and Radio-Isotope Chemistry of Western Basketmaker Burials
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The Distribution and Development of Fremont Maize Agriculture
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Predicting Maize Agriculture among the Fremont
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Quantifying Household Inequality in Early Pueblo Villages
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |