Prof Javed Asgraf at JNU Delhi has argued thsi
issue in several fo his papers and also another author who worte the book
American discoverers ( I forget teh name just now but can send it later) also
pointed out thsi possibility about maize.
there rae picytures of scuptures ( I have one
inmy office) of Budhdhist period in which corn is shown. It obviously was here
in such a case.
anil k gupta
Dear All
Thought you might
find this interesting!
-----------------------------------------------------
PRE-COLUMBIAN MAIZE IN CHINA AND INDIA?
The evidence of maize
in archaeological sites in
China and its depiction in Hoysala
Temples in India,
both dated before the 15th century A.D.,
suggests
that this domesticated crop was diffused by
human
action before the arrival of Columbus in the New
World. The implications of this evidence are of
great magnitude,
since the presence of maize in Asia
indicates that humans were
able to migrate between
both hemispheres; more than likely through
trans-
oceanic means of travel.
-----------------------------------------------------
This comes from
an article by Carl Johannessen and
Anne Z. Parker, "Maize Ears
Sculptured in 12th and
13th Century A.D. India as Indicators of
Pre-Columbian
Diffusion," Economic Botany 43 (2), 1989, pp.
164-180.
Just in case anyone is REALLY interested, I've
attached
some (what I think) useful WEB pages. The first is
Carl
Johannessen's own page at University of Oregon.
The second from the
University of Ohio, also talks about
the same thing, and has a rather
useful bibliography.
The last is an article from the Maize Genetics
Cooperation
Newsletter, called, "Antiquity of Maize in
India". It's
by M. Kumar and JKS Sachan from Rajendra
Agricultural
University in India. They also suggest that maize
being
grown in the very remote Northeastern Himalayan tracts
adjoining
Burma and Tibet, could be further evidence of
possible pre-Columbian
introduction.
I hope this stimulates interest!
I'd be
interested to hear what people think.
And anyone who knows any more
about the subject, I'd be
grateful for some illumination and further
leads.
All the best
Jibunnessa