The Origins of Agriculture in the Lowland Neotropics

Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Burlington : Emerald Publishing Limited 1998Description: 423 pContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780125571807
Subject(s):
Contents:
Front Cover; The Origins of Agriculture in the Lowland Neotropics; Copyright Page; Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1. Background of Tropical Agricultural Origins; Chapter 2. The Neotropical Ecosystem in the Present and the Past; Chapter 3. The Phytogeography of Neotropical Crops and Their Putative Wild Ancestors; Chapter 4. The Evolution of Foraging and Food Production; Chapter 5. From Small-Scale Horticulture to the Formative Period: The Development of Agriculture; Chapter 6. The Relationship of Neotropical Food Production to Food Production from Other Areas of the World
ReferencesIndex of Common and Scientific Plant Names; Subject Index
Summary: This first modern, full-bodied study of early horticulture and agriculture in the Neotropics unites new methods of recovering, identifying, and dating plant remains with a strong case for Optimal Foraging Strategy inthis historical context. Drawing upon new approaches to tropical archaeology, Dolores Piperno and Deborah Pearsall argue that the tropical forest habitat is neither as hostile nor as benevolent for human occupation and plant experimentation as researchers have suggested. Among other conclusions, they demonstrate that tropical forest food production emerged concurrent with that in
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
book Library of Archaeology & Prehistory 106.733 Pr ; AGR/LANDB 09 Available RMCA4161

Front Cover; The Origins of Agriculture in the Lowland Neotropics; Copyright Page; Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1. Background of Tropical Agricultural Origins; Chapter 2. The Neotropical Ecosystem in the Present and the Past; Chapter 3. The Phytogeography of Neotropical Crops and Their Putative Wild Ancestors; Chapter 4. The Evolution of Foraging and Food Production; Chapter 5. From Small-Scale Horticulture to the Formative Period: The Development of Agriculture; Chapter 6. The Relationship of Neotropical Food Production to Food Production from Other Areas of the World

ReferencesIndex of Common and Scientific Plant Names; Subject Index

This first modern, full-bodied study of early horticulture and agriculture in the Neotropics unites new methods of recovering, identifying, and dating plant remains with a strong case for Optimal Foraging Strategy inthis historical context. Drawing upon new approaches to tropical archaeology, Dolores Piperno and Deborah Pearsall argue that the tropical forest habitat is neither as hostile nor as benevolent for human occupation and plant experimentation as researchers have suggested. Among other conclusions, they demonstrate that tropical forest food production emerged concurrent with that in