In Search of Ancient Fremont Maize Fields near Goshen, UT.

Maize agriculture was important to the agrarian Fremont cultures that inhabited portions of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau over 1000 years ago.  Residues of maize and beans have been identified in the households of Fremont villages.  We used soil physical and chemical properties along with stable carbon isotope analysis to identify ancient corn fields at Goshen, UT.  The C4 photosynthetic pathway of ancient maize crops imparted a carbon isotopic signature to the soil organic matter that persists in the soil.  The soil characteristics and isotopic signatures will help to identify the soil resources that the ancient Fremont found desirable for maize cultivation.