<P> An influential 2002 study by Matsuoka et al. has demonstrated that , rather than the multiple independent domestications model , all maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago . The study also demonstrated that the oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands . Later , maize spread from this region over the Americas along two major paths . This is consistent with a model based on the archaeological record suggesting that maize diversified in the highlands of Mexico before spreading to the lowlands . </P>
<P> An influential 2002 study by Matsuoka et al. has demonstrated that , rather than the multiple independent domestications model , all maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago . The study also demonstrated that the oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands . Later , maize spread from this region over the Americas along two major paths . This is consistent with a model based on the archaeological record suggesting that maize diversified in the highlands of Mexico before spreading to the lowlands . </P>
where did maize cultivation begin in the americas
where did maize cultivation begin in the americas
9,000 years ago
9,000 years ago