Signs of a cassava field have been found under the several metres of ash that buried a Mayan village when a nearby volcano erupted in about 590 AD. Archaeologists excavating Ceren in San Salvador — dubbed the American Pompeii — found tubular hollows in the solidified ash, formed when the tubers decomposed. This is apparently the earliest evidence of cassava cultivation.
Hmm. Earliest evidence of that kind, perhaps. But the presence of obsidian chips in early Maya area sites, (that would have been encrusted in wood to grind cassava as found is South America), would suggest that cassava come up north long before maize was a staple. 1400 years is not so long ago for the Maya.
Thanks, Ron. What can you tells us further about evidence for cassava cultivation among the ancient Maya?