People and plants in ancient eastern North America / edited by Paul E. Minnis.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Minnis, Paul E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnobotany--East (U.S.).

Ethnobotany.

Ethnobotany--Canada, Eastern.

Paleoethnobotany--East (U.S.).

Paleoethnobotany.

Paleoethnobotany--Canada, Eastern.

Plant remains (Archaeology)--East (U.S.).

Plant remains (Archaeology).

Plant remains (Archaeology)--Canada, Eastern.

Eastern Canada.

Physical Description:

xvi, 423 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington : Smithsonian Books, [2003]

Summary:

The environmental diversity of North America is astounding -- from circumpolar tundra with few plants more than a few centimeters tall to the lush, semitropical forests of the southeastern United States and Caribbean Basin. No less remarkable is the record of plant usage by the various indigenous people who have been living there for more than twelve millennia. For the vast majority of this time, their livelihood -- food, shelter, fuel, and medicine -- depended on their knowledge and use of their environment. The most comprehensive overview in more than half a century about the interconnectedness of prehistoric Native Americans and their botanical world, this book and its forthcoming companion volume, People and Plants in Ancient Western North America, present the latest information on three major topics: the use of native plants, the history of crops and their uses, and how humans affected their environment. In this volume, expert scholars summarize the prehistoric ethnobotany of four regions. This volume contributes significantly to our understanding of the lives of prehistoric people as well as the forces that influenced their communities, their ingenuity, and their ecological impact. It also serves as a guide for designing environmentally sustainable lives today.

Contents:

Prehistoric ethnobotany in eastern North America: an introduction / Paul E. Minnis

Eastern woodlands overview / Kristen J. Gremillion

Patterns of wild plant utilization in the prehistoric eastern woodlands / C. Margaret Scarry

Domesticated crop plants and the evolution of food production economies in eastern North America / Bruce D. Smith and C. Wesley Cowan

Eastern woodlands anthropogenic ecology / Gail E. Wagner

Paleoethnobotany in the northeast / Gary W. Crawford and David G. Smith

Great Plains paleoethnobotany / Mary J. Adair

Trends in Caribbean island archaeobotany / Lee A. Newsom and Deborah M. Pearsall.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

158834133X

1588341089

OCLC:

50479269