Paleobiolinguis cs is used to determine when and where maize (Zea mays L.) developed significance for different prehistoric groups of Na ve America. Dates and loca ons of proto‐languages for which maize terms reconstruct generally accord with crop‐origin and dispersal informa on from plant gene cs and archaeobotany. Paleobiolinguis c and other lines of evidence indicate that human interest in maize was extensive millennia before the widespread development of a villagefarming way of life in the New World.