Multiproxy analysis of indigenous maize ( <i>Zea mays)</i> use, lower Saginaw River, Great Lakes, USA

Evidence for the presence and pre-European use of maize on the lower Saginaw River drainage, southern Michigan, Great Lakes, USA, is presented and evaluated. An integrated multiproxy approach is employed, including macro-botanical data from feature contexts and micro-botanical data from adhered carbonized residues, δ13C isotope information derived from carbonized food residues, and dental disease data from a local mid-eighteenth-century indigenous burial population. Results of absolute dating and ceramic stylistic analysis reveal an early micro-botanical presence of maize ca. 1900 BP, with macro-botanical evidence lagging until 1000 years later. Absolute dates, both direct and associated, reveal macro-botanical evidence through the 18th century, when local populations display dental pathologies consistent with a high maize consumption diet. Of interest is the presence of an inverse spatial and altitude relationship between micro-botanical evidence of maize from carbonized food residues on ceramic vessels, and the presence of macro-botanical remains, suggesting a behavioral partitioning of maize-related activities.