Organized into four sections, the twelve chapters of Rivers of Change are concerned with prehistoric Native American societies in eastern North America and their transition from a hunting and gathering way of life to a reliance on food production. Written at different times over a decade, the chapters vary both in length and topical focus. They are joined together, however, by a number of shared “rivers of change.”
Introduction to the New EditionRivers of ChangeIntroduction: Fields of Opportunity, Rivers of ChangeThe History of Maize in Eastern North America and the Existence of Premaize Farming EconomiesEarly Gourds in the East—Introduced Tropical Domesticate or Indigenous Wild Plants?Plant Domestication in Eastern North AmericaPremaize Farming Economies in Eastern North AmericaNotesLiterature CitedAn Independent Center of Plant DomesticationThe Floodplain Weed Theory of Plant Domestication in Eastern North AmericaIntroductionEdgar Anderson and the Plants of Open HabitatsJack Harlan, J. M. J. de Wet, and the Adaptive Syndrome of DomesticationTechnological Advance and Documenting Eastern DomesticatesThe Initial Appearance of Anthropogenic Open Areas in Eastern North AmericaThe Floodplain Niche of Indigenous DomesticatesConclusionsLiterature CitedThe Independent Domestication of Indigenous Seed-Bearing Plants in Eastern North AmericaIntroduction: An Independent OriginThe 1920s: Linton and “Various Small Grains in the Southeast”The 1930s: Gilmore and JonesThe 1940s: Carter and QuimbyThe 1950s: Anderson and FowlerThe 1960s: Yarnell and StrueverThe 1970s: Discovery of Middle Holocene CucurbitsMiddle Holocene Cucurbits in the Eastern WoodlandsCucurbita Terminology and TaxonomyCucurbita RindsCucurbita SeedsGeographical Range ArgumentsAlternative ExplanationsThe Archaeobotanical Evidence for Initial Domestication of Seed-Bearing PlantsIva annuaHelianthus annuusChenopodium berlandieriThe Fourth Millennium TransitionThe Domestication of Indigenous Seed CropsEarly Holocene ForagersThe HypsithermalSedentism and the Emergence of DomestilocalitiesThe “Natural” Floodplain Habitat Situations of Initial Indigenous DomesticatesSelective Pressures and the Coevolution of Domesticates within DomestilocalitiesDiscussion: A Coevolutionary ExplanationThe Initial Establishment of DomestilocalitiesSelective EncouragementDeliberate Planting of Harvested SeedsNotesAcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedIs It an Indigene or a Foreigner?SmithBruce D.CowanC. WesleyHoffmanMichael P.IntroductionSingle Origin Explanations of the Late 1970s and 1980sThe Emergence of a Multiple Origins Explanation for the Domestication of Cucurbita pepoDocumenting a Developmental DichotomyThe Cophyletic Model: Recasting the Question of “Wi1d” versus “Escape”Recent Single Mesoamerican Origin ModelsWilson's 1990 ExplanationKirkpatrick and Wilson's 1988 ExplanationsThe Asches' 1991 ExplanationThe Geographical Range of Free-Living Gourds in Eastern North AmericaThe Niche and Habitat of Free-Living Cucurbita Gourds in Eastern North AmericaHerbarium Sheet and Published Habitat DescriptionsThe Western OzarksBryant Creek and the Gasconade RiverThe Buffalo RiverThe White RiverCucurbita Gourds as Agricultural WeedsThe Niche and Habitat of Free-living Cucurbita GourdsConclusionsAcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedPremaize Farming Economies in Eastern North AmericaThe Role of Chenopodium as a Domesticate in Premaize Garden Systems of the Eastern United StatesIntroductionThe Continuum of Human-Plant RelationshipsWild Status PlantsWeedy PlantsCultivated PlantsDomesticated PlantsPlacing the Plants of Premaize Garden Systems along the Wild to Domesticated ContinuumModern Weed AnalogsPrehistoric Range ExtensionArchaeological Abundance Relative to Modern Occurrence“Plausibility Arguments”Morphological ChangePremaize Plant Husbandry SystemsMorphological Indicators of Domestication in ChenopodiumInfructescence CompactionLoss of Natural Shatter MechanismsUniform Maturation of FruitIncreased Perisperm Food Reserves for Seed Germination and Seedling GrowthLoss or Reduction in Thickness of Outer EpidermArchaeological Indicators of Domestication in ChenopodiumBuilding a Case for Domesticated Chenopodium in Premaize Plant Husbandry SystemsThe Russell Cave Chenopodium AssemblageRediscovery: The Basket and its Temporal and Cultural ContextInitial Processing and General Condition of the FruitsUnruptured FruitsRuptured FruitsScanning Electron MicroscopyFruit SizeMorphology PericarpMargin ConfigurationOuter Epiderm Thickness MeasurementsThe Strength of the Case for DomesticationDiscussionNotesAcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedChenopodium berlandieri ssp. jonesianum: Evidence for a Hopewellian Domesticate from Ash Cave, OhioIntroductionThe Andrews ExcavationSubsequent Excavations by Wilson, Moorehead, and GoslinThe Temporal Context of the Ash Cave DepositsThe Cultural Context of the Ash Cave Chenopod AssemblageThe Ash Cave Chenopodium AssemblageGeneral DescriptionMaximum Fruit DiameterPericarp MorphologyTesta or Outer EpidermThe Case for Domestication: Summary of a Comparative Morphological AnalysisTaxonomic Considerations: C. berlandieri ssp. jonesianumDiscussion: Hopewellian Plant Husbandry SystemsNotesAcknowledgmentsCollectionsLiterature CitedThe Economic Potential of Chenopodium berlandieri in Prehistoric Eastern North AmericaIntroduction and Research DesignMethodsResultsWayne County, MichiganFulton County, PennsylvaniaMississippi County, ArkansasCherokee County, South CarolinaPrince Georges County, MarylandWashington County, MarylandPike County, OhioMississippi County, MissouriHardin County, TennesseeCullman County, AlabamaTuscaloosa County, AlabamaDiscussionThe Habitat of C. berlandieri in the Eastern United StatesThe Economic Potential of Chenopodium berlandieriHarvest Yield ComparisonsNotesAcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedThe Economic Potential of Iva annua in Prehistoric Eastern North AmericaIntroductionMethodsResultsMarshall County, KentuckyObion County, TennesseeCrittenden County, ArkansasChicot County, ArkansasEast Carroll Parish, LouisianaHinds County, MississippiRankin County, MississippiCrenshaw County, AlabamaMississippi County, MissouriCrittenden County, ArkansasHardin County, TennesseeAcorn County, MississippiColbert County, AlabamaJefferson County, AlabamaTuscaloosa County, AlabamaDiscussionThe Habitats of Iva annua in the Eastern WoodlandsThe Economic Potential of Iva annuaHarvest Yield ComparisonsMarshelder as a Premaize Field Crop: Half-Hectare Fields of Iva annua and Chenopodium berlandieriNotesAcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedHopewellian Farmers of Eastern North AmericaIntroductionThe Nature and Development of Hopewellian Food Production EconomiesHopewellian Farming CommunitiesThe Upper Duck River Valley of Central TennesseeBynum MoundsPinson MoundsThe Lower Illinois River ValleyThe American BottomConclusionsAcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedIn Search of Choupichoul, the Mystery Grain of the NatchezIntroductionLe Page, the Natchez, and ChoupichoulThe Passages that Refer to ChoupichoulIn Search of Belle Dame SauvageThe Case for Chenopodium berlandieriAlong the Sand Banks of the Mississippi RiverChenopodium berlandieri in PrehistoryConclusionAcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedSynthesisOrigins of Agriculture in Eastern North AmericaIntroductionAn Independent Center of Plant DomesticationThe Emergence of Food Production EconomiesThe Shift to Maize-Centered AgricultureNotesLiterature CitedPrehistoric Plant Husbandry in Eastern North AmericaIntroductionEarly and Middle Holocene Foragers prior to 7,000 B.P. (5050 B.C.)Middle Holocene Collectors 7,000 to 4,000 B.P. (5050 to 2050 B.C.)The Initial Domestication of Eastern Seed Plants 4,000 to 3,000 B.P. (2050 to 1050 B.c.)The Development of Farming Economies 3,000–1,700 B.P. (1050 B.C. to A.D. 250)The Expansion of Field Agriculture 1,700 to 800 B.P. (A.D. 250 to 1150)Maize-Centered Field Agriculture after 800 B.P. (A.D. 1150)AcknowledgmentsLiterature CitedIndex
Bruce D. Smith is an archaeologist at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and is the author, coauthor, or editor of a wide range of works, including The Emergence of Agriculture.
