The prehistoric agricultural systems of the New World provided the foundations for a diverse set of complex social developments ranging from the puebloan societies of the American Southwest to the archaic state polities of Mesoamerica and the Andean region. From the tropical forests of Central America to the arid environments or northern New Mexico, Native American farmers made use of a distinctive set of cultigens and cropping systems that supported—with varying degrees of success—growing populations and expanding economies. Lacking most domesticated animals, so important to the mixed agricultural systems of the Old World, Precolumbian farmers developed intensive and resilient systems of agricultural production. These systems supported large societies of people who altered the landscapes they inhabited and generated a unique archaeological record of the evolution of farming in the New World.
IllustrationsPrefaceThe Archaeology of Settlement AgricultureKILLIONTHOMAS W.Factors Affecting Settlement Agriculture in the Ethnographic and Historic Record of MesoamericaSANDERSWILLIAM T.KILLIONTHOMAS W.Settlement and Agriculture in the Arid Lands of Greater MesoamericaThe Southwestern Ethnographic Record and Prehistoric Agricultural DiversityMAXWELLTIMOTHY D.ANSCHUETZKURT F.House-Lot Gardens in the Gran Chichimeca: Ethnographic Cause for Archaeological ConcernDOOLITTLEFWILLIAM E.The Productivity of Maguey Terrace Agriculture in Central Mexico During the Aztec PeriodEVANSSUSAN T.Artifact Distributions and the Organization of Prehistoric Agriculture: Evidence from Lowland MesoamericaResidential Ethnoarchaeology and Ancient Site Structure: Contemporary Farming and Prehistoric Settlement Agriculture at Matacapan, Veracruz, MexicoKILLIONTHOMAS W.A Consideration of the Olmec Phenomenon in the Tuxtlas: Early Formative Settlement Pattern, Land Use, and Refuse Disposal at Matacapan, Veracruz, MexicoSANTLEYROBERT S.Agricultural Tasks and Tools: Patterns of Stone Tool Discard Near Prehistoric Maya Residences Bordering Pulltrouser Swamp, BelizeMCANANYPATRICIA A.Prehistoric Cultivation, Landscape Modification, and Chemical CharacterizationIntensive Raised-Field Agriculture in a Posteruption Environment, El SalvadorZIERCHRISTIAN J.Prehistoric Intrasettlement Land Use and Residual Soil Phosphate Levels in the Upper Belize Valley, Central AmericaBALLJOSEPH W.KELSAYRICHALENE G.Summary and CritiqueTURNER IIB. L.SANDERSWILLIAM T.ReferencesContributorsIndex
Thomas W. Killion is a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at Boston University and an archaeologist in the Repatriation Office at the Smithsonian Institution.