{"product_id":"feeding-cahokia-early-agriculture-in-the-north-american-heartland-archaeology-of-food-9780817360047","title":"Feeding Cahokia Early Agriculture in the North","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOffers an authoritative and thoroughly accessible overview of farming and food practices at Cahokia. The book presents evidence to demonstrate that the emphasis on corn has created a distorted picture of Cahokia's agricultural practices.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFeeding Cahokia\u003c\/i\u003e is an excellent summation of cultivated plant subsistence practices as evidenced by the material record from the interior Midwest. Because it is written in an accessible manner, it will appeal to anyone interested in the native cultivated crop complex; first in documenting its very existence and secondly for setting the record straight on its importance. As such, it is a good introduction to those topics for archaeologists wanting to understand and incorporate the archaeobotanical record into their research.\" - \u003ci\u003eMidcontinental Journal of Archaeology\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This is an excellent book that examines a topic with deep roots in American archaeology: the role of agriculture in the rapid growth, florescence, and decline of Cahokia Mounds, the largest prehistoric population center north of Mexico. As Fritz points out, numerous debates surround this topic. For years, the archaeological story maintained that Cahokia's ruling class governed via a wealth distribution system that relied mainly on corn grown by the lowest classes of society. Fritz sees this as a vastly oversimplified scenario that misrepresents the status of farmers, who were primarily women and girls of various socioeconomic levels. Further, the narrow focus on corn as the primary crop overlooks the abundant evidence that numerous other plants, including knotweed, chenopodium, and maygrass, were major contributors to the Cahokia diet. Fritz puts that diet in excellent perspective by examining the archaeobotanical record for the several thousand years prior to the rise of Cahokia. Twenty-two color plates add substantially to the text, and each chapter concludes with recipes for preparing the plants discussed. What fun! Highly recommended.\" - \u003ci\u003eCHOICE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In \u003ci\u003eFeeding Cahokia\u003c\/i\u003e, Gayle Fritz has provided new data that leads to new insights about the role of domestic crops and the farmers who grew them in such abundance that they supported Cahokia's population. This readable volume brings together years of research and paints a new and enlightened picture of the United States' greatest ancient city.\" - \u003ci\u003eAmerican Archaeology\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A significant contribution both to our understanding of food and farming among ancient American Indians and to our understanding of the largest American Indian polity north of Mexico.\" - C. Margaret Scarry, editor of \u003ci\u003eForaging and Farming in the Eastern Woodlands\u003c\/i\u003e and coeditor of \u003ci\u003eRethinking Moundville and Its Hinterland\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This thorough and accessible, beautifully written contribution provides a data-driven account of the agricultural systems of Cahokia. \u003ci\u003eFeeding Cahokia\u003c\/i\u003e reminds us that our agricultural systems have changed in the past, and they will change again. This epic work raises the intriguing question: could some of the crops grown by the residents of Cahokia have a role to play in the future of agriculture in the American Heartland? Dr. Fritz's book provides a deep historical description of agriculture in this region, and offers a sense of resilience and hope for future food systems.\" - \u003ci\u003eEconomic Botany\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Here, for the first time, dozens of monographs and syntheses are marshaled to deal with the many topics and problems that have arisen over the timing and nature of the biologically diverse agricultural system unique to the central Mississippi Valley.\" - James A. Brown, coeditor of \u003ci\u003eArchaic Hunters and Gatherers in the American Midwest\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eList of Illustrations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 1. Domesticating Gourds and Forests\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 2. Sunflower and Marshelder: Late Archaic Period Eastern Crops\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 3. Rise of the Eastern Agricultural Complex: Terminal Late Archaic and Early Woodland Periods\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 4. Seeds of Exchange: The Middle Woodland Period\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 5. Good Late Woodland Farmers in the American Bottom\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 6. Feasting at Early Cahokia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 7. Early Mississippian Plant Use\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 8. Guardians of All Vegetation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 9. Crop Production: Estimates of Yields and Dietary Proportions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 10. How to Feed Cahokia: Cultivating Fields and Social Relationships\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 11. The Farmers Vote with Their Feet\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 12. What Can We Learn from the Past?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReferences Cited\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlates follow page 000.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"The University of Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50577654120791,"sku":"9780817360047","price":23.36,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780817360047.jpg?v=1746096070","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/feeding-cahokia-early-agriculture-in-the-north-american-heartland-archaeology-of-food-9780817360047","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}