Abstract

Globally, Chenopodium species reflect millennia of sustained interaction with human communities. As early successional plants adapted to dynamic environments such as riverbanks and floodplains, chenopods are predisposed to thrive in disturbed settings, a trait that facilitated their movement into anthropogenic landscapes. Through this ecological affinity—whether by proximity, tolerance, or intentional use—goosefoot became one of the earliest seed crops domesticated by Indigenous farmers in eastern North America. Unlike many domesticates that follow a clearer trajectory from wild stands to cultivated crops, goosefoot’s pathway to domestication is less linear and diverges from conventional models emphasized in major domestication literature. To refine archaeological criteria for identifying domesticated goosefoot, this research combines field surveys of free-living populations, controlled germination experiments, carbonization experiments, and morphometric analyses of archaeological assemblages. Results demonstrate that seed polymorphism—particularly variation in testa thickness—is more common and environmentally responsive than previously assumed, challenging the interpretation of thin-testa seeds as definitive indicators of domestication. Germination experiments further reveal that dormancy behavior is not determined solely by testa thickness, with thin-testa seeds requiring stratification and thick-testa seeds exhibiting high germination under favorable conditions. Carbonization experiments document consistent but uneven morphological changes and demonstrate differential preservation that biases archaeological assemblages toward thin-testa morphs, necessitating correction factors and caution in paleoethnobotanical interpretation. Morphometric analysis of six archaeological assemblages spanning approximately 3,000 years reveals substantial variability in domestication traits and limited evidence for a single domestication trajectory, instead suggesting regionally distinct cultivation practices and the possible existence of landraces. Framed through adaptive transgenerational plasticity and niche construction, this dissertation reinterprets goosefoot domestication as an ongoing, context-dependent process shaped by human–plant interactions rather than a fixed endpoint. These findings contribute to broader domestication theory and highlight goosefoot’s potential as a revived crop and genetic resource for improving quinoa and enhancing agricultural resilience under changing climatic conditions.

Committee Chair

Natalie Mueller

Committee Members

Gayle Fritz; Maria Bruno; Tristram Kidder; Xinyi Liu

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Anthropology

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

8-6-2026

Language

English (en)

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Available for download on Friday, August 04, 2028

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