Origins of Agriculture in Eastern North America
Abstract
As a result of research carried out over the past decade, eastern North America now provides one of the most detailed records of the origins of agriculture available. Spanning a full three millennia, the transition from forager to farmer in eastern North America involved the domestication of four North American seed plants during the second millennium B.C., the initial emergence of food production economies based on local crop plants between 250 B.C. and A.D. 200, and the rapid and broad-scale shift to maize-centered agriculture during the three centuries from A.D. 800 to 1100.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Ambrose, S. H., Emergent Horticultural Economies of the Eastern Woodlands: 87 (1987).
Anderson, E., Man's Role in Changinig the Face of the Earth: 763 (1956).
Asch, D., UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 75: 149 (1985).
BENDER, M.M., FURTHER LIGHT ON CARBON ISOTOPES AND HOPEWELL AGRICULTURE, AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 46: 346 (1981).
BRAUN, D.P., EMERGENT HORTICULTUR: 153 (1987).
Brose, D., Hopewell Archaeology (1979).
BUIKSTRA, J.E., EMERGENT HORTICULTUR: 67 (1987).
CHAPMAN, J, EVIDENCE FOR EARLY MAIZE (ZEA-MAYS) FROM THE ICE-HOUSE BOTTOM SITE, TENNESSEE, AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 52: 352 (1987).
CHAPMAN, J, SOUTHEASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 1: 115 (1982).
CHAPMAN, J, TENNESSEE ANTHROPOLOGIST 6: 61 (1981).
Cowan, C. W., The origins of agriculture : an international perspective (1992).
COWAN, C.W., SE ARCHAEOLOGICAL C 24: 60 (1981).
COWAN, C.W., UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 75: 205 (1985).
Crites, G., Middle and Late Holocene ethnobotany of the Hayes site (unpublished report to the Tennessee Valley Authority) (1985).
CRITES, G.D., HUMAN-PLANT MUTUALISM AND NICHE EXPRESSION IN THE PALEOETHNOBOTANICAL RECORD - A MIDDLE WOODLAND EXAMPLE, AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 52: 725 (1987).
DECKER, D.S., ORIGIN(S), EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS OF CUCURBITA-PEPO (CUCURBITACEAE), ECONOMIC BOTANY 42: 4 (1988).
DECKER, D.S., NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF SEED MORPHOLOGY IN CUCURBITA-PEPO, SYSTEMATIC BOTANY 11: 595 (1986).
DOEBLEY, J.F., EXCEPTIONAL GENETIC-DIVERGENCE OF NORTHERN FLINT CORN, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 73: 64 (1986).
Ford, R., Dating early maize in the eastern United States, paper presented at the Annual Conference, Society of Ethnobiology, Gainesville, FL, 5 to 8 March (1987).
FORD, R.I., UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 75 (1985).
FORD, R.I., UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 75: 341 (1985).
Fowler, M., Prehistoric Agriculture: 122 (1971).
FRITZ, G, MIDCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 13: 3 (1988).
GARDNER, P.S., NEW EVIDENCE CONCERNING THE CHRONOLOGY AND PALEOETHNOBOTANY OF SALTS CAVE, KENTUCKY, AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 52: 358 (1987).
GREGG, S, FORAGERS FARMERS (1988).
HARLAN, J.R., COMPARATIVE EVOLUTION OF CEREALS, EVOLUTION 27: 311 (1973).
HARLAN, J.R., AGRICULTURAL ORIGINS - CENTERS AND NONCENTERS, SCIENCE 174: 468 (1971).
HEISER, C.B., FORAGING FARMING EVO: 471 (1989).
HEISER, C, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 75: 57 (1985).
HEISER, C.B., ASPECTS OF UNCONSCIOUS SELECTION AND THE EVOLUTION OF DOMESTICATED PLANTS, EUPHYTICA 37: 77 (1988).
JOHANNESSEN, S, AM BOTTOM ARCHAEOLOG: 197 (1984).
KING, F, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 75: 73 (1985).
LYNOTT, M.J., STABLE CARBON ISOTOPIC EVIDENCE FOR MAIZE AGRICULTURE IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AND NORTHEAST ARKANSAS, AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 51: 51 (1986).
McAdams, R., Contexts oftechnological advance, Darryl Forde Lecture, University of London, 30 November (1988).
Newsom, L., Paleoethnobotanical remains from a waterlogged Archaic Period site in Florida, paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Phoenix, AZ, 27 April to 1 May (1988).
OBRIEN, M.J., SEDENTISM, POPULATION-GROWTH, AND RESOURCE SELECTION IN THE WOODLAND MIDWEST - A REVIEW OF COEVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTS, CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 28: 177 (1987).
PEARSALL, D, PALEOETHOBOTANY (1989).
SMITH, B, BR ARCHAEOL REP INT 452: 203 (1988).
Smith, B. D., Emergent Horticultural Economies of the Eastern Woodlands: 3 (1987).
Smith, B., The Mississippian Emergence (1990).
Smith, B., The origins of agriculture : an international perspective (1992).
SMITH, B.D., J ETHNOBIOL 7: 29 (1987).
SMITH, B.D., A Newly Described Subfossil Cultivar of Chenopodium (Chenopodiaceae), PHYTOLOGIA 57: 445 (1985).
Smith, B., Hopewellian farmers of eastern North America, plenary session paper, 11th Congress International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, Mainz, West Germany, 1 to 6 September (1987).
SMITH, B.D., ADV WORLD ARCHAEOLOG 5: 1 (1986).
SMITH, B.D., DOMESTICATED CHENOPODIUM IN PREHISTORIC EASTERN NORTH-AMERICA - NEW ACCELERATOR DATES FROM EASTERN KENTUCKY, AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 52: 355 (1987).
SMITH, B.D., CHENOPODIUM AS A PREHISTORIC DOMESTICATE IN EASTERN NORTH-AMERICA - EVIDENCE FROM RUSSELL CAVE, ALABAMA, SCIENCE 226: 165 (1984).
SMITH, B.D., SOUTHEASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 4: 51 (1985).
SMITH, B.D., SOUTHEASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 4: 107 (1985).
WAGNER, G.E., MISSOURI ARCHAEOLOGI 47: 107 (1986).
WATSON, P.J., UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 75: 99 (1985).
WILLS, W.H., J WORLD PREHISTORY 2: 455 (1988).
WILSON, H.D., ORIGIN AND EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS OF HUAUZONTLE (CHENOPODIUM-NUTTALLIAE SAFFORD), DOMESTICATED CHENOPOD OF MEXICO, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 66: 198 (1979).
Yarnell, R., Prehistory of plant foods and husbandry in North America, paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh, PA, 11 to 13 April (1983).
YARNELL, R.A., ARCHAEOLOGY MAMMOTH: 113 (1974).
YARNELL, R.A., MISSOURI ARCHAEOLOGI 47: 47 (1986).
Yarnell, R., The importance of native crops during the Late Archaic and Woodland, paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, New Orleans, LA, 20 to 22 October (1988).
YARNELL, R.A., SOUTHEASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 4: 93 (1985).
Yarnell, R., The nature and status of ethnobotany: 289 (1978).
(0)eLetters
eLetters is a forum for ongoing peer review. eLetters are not edited, proofread, or indexed, but they are screened. eLetters should provide substantive and scholarly commentary on the article. Embedded figures cannot be submitted, and we discourage the use of figures within eLetters in general. If a figure is essential, please include a link to the figure within the text of the eLetter. Please read our Terms of Service before submitting an eLetter.
Log In to Submit a ResponseNo eLetters have been published for this article yet.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Science
Volume 246 | Issue 4937
22 December 1989
22 December 1989
Copyright
1989 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Published in print: 22 December 1989
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Usage
Altmetrics
Citations
Cite as
- Bruce D. Smith
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.
Cited by
- Early Allelic Selection in Maize as Revealed by Ancient DNA, Science, 302, 5648, (1206-1208), (2021)./doi/10.1126/science.1089056
Loading...
View Options
Check Access
Log in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
- Become a AAAS Member
- Activate your AAAS ID
- Purchase Access to Other Journals in the Science Family
- Account Help
Log in via OpenAthens.
Log in via Shibboleth.
More options
Purchase digital access to this article
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
View options
PDF format
Download this article as a PDF file
Download PDF