Time and complexity in historical ecology : studies in the neotropical lowlands / edited by William Balée and Clark L. Erickson.

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Balée, William, author.

Contributor:

Balée, William L., 1954-

Erickson, Clark L.

Conference Name:

Symposium on Neotropical Historical Ecology (2002 : Tulane University)

Series:

Historical ecology series.

The historical ecology series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human ecology--Latin America--Congresses.

Human ecology.

Human ecology--Tropics--Congresses.

Rain forest ecology--Latin America--Congresses.

Rain forest ecology.

Ethnobiology--Latin America--Congresses.

Ethnobiology.

Agriculture--Tropics--Congresses.

Agriculture.

Land use--Latin America--Congresses.

Land use.

Landscape changes--Latin America--Congresses.

Landscape changes.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (777 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This collection of studies by anthropologists, botanists, ecologists, and biologists is an important contribution to the emerging field of historical ecology. The book combines cutting-edge research with new perspectives to emphasize the close relationship between humans and their natural environment. Contributors examine how alterations in the natural world mirror human cultures, societies, and languages. Treating the landscape like a text, these researchers decipher patterns and meaning in the Ecuadorian Andes, Amazonia, the desert coast of Peru, and other regions in the neotropics. They show how local peoples have changed the landscape over time to fit their needs by managing and modifying species diversity, enhancing landscape heterogeneity, and controlling ecological disturbance. In turn, the environment itself becomes a form of architecture rich with historical and archaeological significance. Time and Complexity in Historical Ecology explores thousands of years of ecological history while also addressing important contemporary issues, such as biodiversity and genetic variation and change. Engagingly written and expertly researched, this book introduces and exemplifies a unique method for better understanding the link between humans and the biosphere.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

Preface / Balée, William / Erickson, Clark

Contributors

Time, Complexity, and Historical Ecology / Balée, William / Erickson, Clark L.

PART 1

1. The Feral Forests of the Eastern Petén / Campbell, David G. / Ford, Anabel / Lowell, Karen S. / Walker, Jay / Lake, Jeffrey K. / Campo-Raeder, Constanza / Townesmith, Andrew / Balick, Michael

2. A Neotropical Framework for Terra Preta / Graham, Elizabeth

3. Domesticated Food and Society in Early Coastal Peru / Hastorf, Christine A.

4. Microvertebrate Synecology and Anthropogenic Footprints in the Forested Neotropics / Stahl, Peter W.

PART 2

5. Pre-European Forest Cultivation in Amazonia / Denevan, William M.

6. Fruit Trees and the Transition to Food Production in Amazonia / Clement, Charles R.

7. The Historical Ecology of a Complex Landscape in Bolivia / Erickson, Clark L. / Balée, William

8. The Domesticated Landscapes of the Bolivian Amazon / Erickson, Clark L.

9. Political Economy and Pre-Columbian Landscape Transformations in Central Amazonia / Neves, Eduardo G. / Petersen, James B.

10. History, Ecology, and Alterity / Heckenberger, Michael

11. Between the Ship and the Bulldozer / Cormier, Loretta A.

12. Landscapes of the Past, Footprints of the Future / Brondízio, Eduardo S.

Index

Notes:

Papers originally presented at the Symposium on Neotropical Historical Ecology at the Neotropical Ecology Institute of Tulane University in October 2002.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-231-50961-8

OCLC:

76705658