Twelve seed specimens of varying ages and from different archaeological sites were analyzed for the presence of polymerized DNA and RNA. Among the samples tested, a <i>Vitis vinifera</i> specimen from an archaeological site in Iran (2000-3000 B.C.) was found to be completely devoid of nucleic acids. <i>Zea mays</i> seeds of pre-Columbian age from Peru ( ~ 800 A.D.) contained depolymerized DNA and RNA. Samples of <i>Vitis vinifera</i> and <i>Rubus sp.</i>from a Lombard archaeological site (800 A.D.), as well as radiocarbon dated seeds from the site of the Spring Sanctuary near Metaponto (I-IV century B.C.), were found to contain polymerized DNA and rRNA bands. However, the electrophoretic properties of the rRNAs in one case, and hybridization experiments performed with cloned seed DNA in the other, clearly demonstrated that the polymerized nucleic acids were not of plant origin. -- AATA