The age of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in the northeastern United States

A radiocarbon date of A.D. 1070 +/- 60 was linked to the remains of maize ( Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), and squash (Cucurbita pepo) at the R oundtop site in the Susquehanna River valley of New York by William Ritchie in 1969 and 1973 publications. This date established the presence of beans in the Northeast at an earlier time than in most other areas of the easter n United States, where they are generally rave before A.D. 1300. Subsequent ly beans have been reported in pre-A.D.1300 contexts from at least eight ot her sites in the Northeast. Recent calibrated AMS dates on beans from Round top are no earlier than A.D. 1300 (Hart 1999a). Given that the original Rou ndtop date was responsible for the acceptance of early beans in the Northea st, the AMS dates suggested that beans may not become archaeologically visi ble there until ca. A.D. 1300. AMS dates on beans from four other sites, re ported here, substantiate the Roundtop results. Beans and by extension maiz e-beans-squash intercropping are not evident in the Northeast before ca. A. D. 1300.