Native American maize horticulture in New England has long been studied but often has not been viewed as part of an ongoing process of domestication. This process can be viewed as consisting of the four basic activities of perception of differences, selection for improved varieties, maintenance of genotypes, and dispersal of improved varieties. Information on maize horticulture from Native American informants and the ethnohistoric and archaeological records of the region has been analyzed for placement within these domestication activities. In New England, there is evidence that native peoples actively sought to improve maize and its production to suit their needs during the Contact and Early Historic periods. Native horticulturists developed maize varieties adapted to the New England climate and their maize technology allowed the long-term use of the same locations. Information from the sources of this study has been viewed in light of various theoretical models regarding the domestication of corn.
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