The Mesoamerican Archaic

The Mesoamerican Archaic

From Warfare, Advancement, and Revisionism by Thomas Preston Floyd

March 30, 2026 · 33 min · Season 4 · Episode 91

About this episode

This episode discusses the early domestication of crops in the Tehuacán and Oaxaca Valleys of Mexico and features a science article about dating a site in Chile.

This week we talk about two regions of what is now Mexico, the Tehuacán and Oaxaca Valleys. I discuss how each of these regions show clear evidence of continued hunter gather economies steadily beginning to embrace early domesticated strains of local cucubrita, beans, fruits, nuts as well as teosinte (zea maize) from the nearby Balsas River basin. I also discussed the science article about dating at an important South American site in Chile: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw9217?utm_campaign=ScienceMagazine&utm_medium=ownedSocial&utm_source=twitter Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPod YouTube: https://youtu.be/jC4PD1vkqYU

People in this episode

Host: Thomas Preston Floyd

Topics covered

  • Mesoamerican history
  • hunter-gatherer economies
  • domestication
  • archaeology
  • agriculture
  • Tehuacán Valley
  • Oaxaca Valley

Keywords

  • Mesoamerican Archaic
  • Tehuacán Valley
  • Oaxaca Valley
  • domesticated crops
  • hunter-gatherer
  • archaeology
  • Chile
  • teosinte
  • cucurbita

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Science

Books & works: science article

Places: Tehuacán Valley, Oaxaca Valley, Balsas River basin, Chile

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