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The Origins of Agriculture

The Origins of Agriculture

An International Perspective

Edited by C. Wesley Cowan and Patty Jo Watson

Contributions by Paul Minnis, Deborah M. Pearsall, Bruce D. Smith, Robin W. Dennell, Gary W. Crawford, Jack R. Harlan, Emily McClung de Tapia and Naomi F. Miller

240 Pages, 8.50 x 11.00 x 0.70 in

Paperback
9780817353490
Published: May 2006

$29.95

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eBook
9780817382704
Published: June 2009

$29.95

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The eight case studies in this book -- each a synthesis of available knowledge about the origins of agriculture in a specific region of the globe -- enable scholars in diverse disciplines to examine humanity's transition to agricultural societies. Contributors include: Gary W. Crawford, Robin W. Dennell, and Jack R. Harlan.

Contents List of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments List of Contributors Preface to the New Edition 1 Introduction COWAN C. WESLEY WATSON PATTY JO 2 Prehistoric Plant Domestication in East Asia CRAWFORD GARY W. 3 The Origins of Plant Cultivation in the Near East MILLER NAOMI F. 4 Indigenous African Agriculture HARLAN JACK R. 5 The Origins of Crop Agriculture in Europe DENNELL ROBIN W. 6 Prehistoric Plant Husbandry in Eastern North America SMITH BRUCE D. 7 Earliest Plant Cultivation in the Desert Borderlands of North America MINNIS PAUL E. 8 The Origins of Agriculture in Mesoamerica and Central America DE TAPIA EMILY MCCLUNG 9 The Origins of Plant Cultivation in South America PEARSALL DEBORAH M. 10 Some Concluding Remarks COWAN C. WESLEY WATSON PATTY JO Index

C. Wesley Cowan is a retired anthropologist and museum curator, the founder and owner of Cowan's Auctions, Inc., a star on the PBS series, History Detectives, and a frequent appraiser on Antiques Roadshow.

Patty Jo Watson is Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor Emerita, Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis.

"Nowhere else are the diverse factors influencing the origins of agriculture summarized at comparably large scales and made accessible to a similar range of non-specialists."-- American Anthropologist

"Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of cultivated plants. . . . A particularly effective textbook. The chapters are each an excellent introduction to the history of plant cultivation and domestication in their region and include much data and many references."-- American Antiquity

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The Origins of Agriculture

An International Perspective

The Origins of Agriculture

An International Perspective

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