MAIZE LIKE STRUCTURE AT SOMANATHPUR TEMPLE
OF SOUTH INDIA : WAS MAIZE BEING CULTIVATED IN INDIA
DURING PRE-COLUMBIAN PERIOD ?
T. Veena, Girija Prem, N.Sigamani

   Some carved structures in the hands of statue (Plate 1) at Somanathpur temple (12th Century A.D.), Karnataka are claimed to represent maize cobs because of their structural similarities (Johannessen, 1988). Based on this, it is inferred that maize was being cultivated in India even before Columbus (1498 A.D.) introduced it from America to Old World (Mangelsdorf 1974). This implies that there was pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact between America and India or that the centre of origin of maize might not be Mexico as is generally known.

   The strength of these inferences rests on whether the maize like structures (MLS) at Somanathpur do represent maize cobs. We compared these structures with the maize cobs on several quantitative (eg., length to breadth ratios of MLS and of their kernels) and qualitative features (eg., shape of the structures). Our results do not support the claim that these structures in fact are modelled on the maize cobs. Rather we (Veena and Sigamani l991) found that MLS at Somanathpur have their origin in the Jaina iconography of North India and argue that they are a result of a chronologically changing depiction of the Kalpa Vrksa, an important icon of Jaina Cosmology.

References :-
 

Johannessen, C.L., (1988) Nature 332 : 587
Mangelsdorf, P.C. (1974) Corn, its origin, Evolution and improvement, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, USA.
Veena T. and Sigamani N. (1991), Current Science 61(6) : 395-397

About the Author :-

T. VEENA, Deptt. of Veterinary Physiology,                       GIRIJA PREM, Deptt., of Veterinary Parasitology,
                      N.SIGAMANI, Deptt., of Plant Genetics & Breeding.
                      University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, 560 024.