A scientific and historical study of crops and their age-old relationship with human civilization
The cultivation and harvesting of crops have been at the heart of human culture and development for thousands of years. As we have grown from hunter-gatherers into agrarian societies and industrial economies, our ongoing relationship with the plants that feed us and support our manufacturing has also evolved. So too, of course, have those plants themselves, with the combined forces of shifting climates, selective plant breeding, and genetic modification all working to alter their existence in profound and fascinating ways.
Coming some 30 years after its previous incarnation, the third edition of Harlan’s Crops and Man marks an exciting re-examination of this rich topic. Its chapters lay out the foundations of crop diversity as we know it, covering topics that range from taxonomy and domestication to the origins of agricultural practices and their possible futures. Highlights include:
- Archeological and anthropological studies of agriculture’s history and development
- Detailed examinations of the histories and classifications of both crops and weeds
- Explanations of taxonomic systems, gene pools, and plant evolution
- Studies of specific crops by geographical region
Updated to include the latest data and research available, this new edition of Harlan’s Crops and Man offers an illuminating exploration of agricultural history to all those engaged with plant science and the cultivation of crops.
Table of Contents
Preface viii
1 Prologue: The Golden Age 1
Crop Evolution 2
The Hunter-Gatherer Stereotype 3
What Do Gatherers Eat? 11
Understanding Life Cycles of Plants 20
General Botanical Knowledge 23
Manipulation of Vegatation 25
Food Plants in Ritual and Ceremony 26
On Sharing the Bounty 27
Population Control and the Aged 29
Conclusions 30
References 31
2 Views on Agricultural Origins 37
Agriculture as Divine Gift 37
Domestication for Religious Reasons 43
Domestication by Crowding 45
Agriculture as Discovery 46
Agriculture by Stress 49
Agriculture as an Extension of Gathering 50
Domestication by Perception 53
A No-Model Model 56
Geography of Plant Domestication 59
An Ecological Approach 63
Conclusions 73
References 73
3 What Is a Crop? 79
Definitions 80
Intermediate States 81
A Short List of Cultivated Plants 86
Crops That Feed the World 106
References 107
4 What Is a Weed? 109
Definitions 110
Intermediate States 113
Crop-Weed Complexes 116
Some Weed Adaptations 120
Weeds and History 122
Conclusions 127
References 127
5 Classification of Cultivated Plants 131
Botanical Descriptions and Names 132
Problems of Formal Taxonomy 134
The Gene Pool System 136
Evolutionary Implications 143
Conclusions 145
References 145
6 The Dynamics of Domestication 147
Domestication of Seed Crops 147
Domestication of Vegetatively Reproduced Crops 163
Conclusions 167
References 167
7 Space, Time, and Variation 171
Kinds of Patterns of Variation 171
Noncentric Crops 175
Diffuse Origins 178
Microcenters 180
Landrace Populations 181
Implications for Plant Breeding 183
Conclusions 190
References 190
8 The Near East 195
Introduction 196
Archaeological Prelude 200
A Note About Dating Archaeological Sites 202
Archaeological Sequence of Village Sites 204
Spread of Agriculture Out of the Nuclear Area 210
Recorded History 211`
Conclusions 212
References 213
9 Indigenous African Agriculture 216
Introduction 217
Archaeological Prelude 217
A Savanna Complex 223
Crop Competition and Distribution 227
Recorded History 228
Décrue Agriculture 230
Conclusions 232
References 233
10 The Far East 236
Archaeological Prelude 237
Recorded History 240
Far Eastern Crops 241
Hunter-Gatherers of Japan 257
Plant Domestication in India 258
Conclusions 259
References 259
11 The Americas 263
Archaeology 263
The Crops 269
Indigenous Americans as Biochemists 283
Conclusions 287
References 288
12 Epilogue: Who’s in Charge Here? 295
References 302
