Maize Cobs and Cultures: History of Zea mays L. (eBook)

John Staller (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2009 | 2010
IX, 262 Seiten
Springer Berlin (Verlag)
978-3-642-04506-6 (ISBN)

Infos

Our perceptions and conceptions regarding the roles and importance of maize to ancient economies is largely a product of scientific research on the plant itself, developed for the most part out of botanical research, and its recent role as one of the most important economic staples in the world. Anthropological research in the early part of the last century based largely upon the historical particularistic approach of the Boasian tradition provided the first evidence that challenged the assumptions about the economic importance of maize to sociocultural developments for scholars of prehistory. Subsequent ethnobotanic and archaeological studies showed that the role of maize among Native American cultures was much more complex than just as a food staple.

In Maize Cobs and Cultures, John Staller provides a survey of the ethnohistory and the scientific, botanical and biological research of maize, complemented by reviews on the ethnobotanic, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary methodologies.

Inhalt

115845_1_En_BookFrontmatter_OnLinePDF 1
115845_1_En_1_Chapter_OnLinePDF 8
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Maize Cobs and Cultures 8
115845_1_En_2_Chapter_OnLinePDF 14
Chapter 2: Ethnohistory: Impressions and Perceptions of Maize 14
Ethnohistoric and Ethnographic Perceptions of Maize 14
Consequences of Conquest and Empire 16
Western Perceptions of New World Cultures 19
Using Sixteenth Century Accounts 21
Early Pre-Linnaean Botanicals 25
Earliest Sixteenth Century Accounts 27
Central America and Mexico 39
Sixteenth Century Agriculture and Plant Cultivation in Mesoamerica 43
Maize and the Chontal Maya 48
Storage and Redistribution: Mesoamerican Accounts 50
First Impressions of Andean Civilization 52
Storage, Tribute, and Redistribution in the Andes 58
Maize and Andean Political Economy 62
Maize and Ancient Religion 65
Maize and Religious Uses and Rites 69
Maize: Religious Significance to Mesoamerican Civilization 73
Early Accounts on Maize Alcohol Consumption 77
Maize Beer and Pulque in Mesoamerica 78
Maize Beer in Ritual and Religion in the Andes 81
Maize Ethnohistory: Summary and Conclusions 87
115845_1_En_3_Chapter_OnLinePDF 91
Chapter 3: Scientific, Botanical, and Biological Research on Maize 91
Introduction on a History of Science on Maize 91
Comparing and Contrasting Old and New World Approaches 92
Research on the Rise of Early Agriculture 96
Archaeological, Botanical, and Biological Research on Maize Origins 99
Early Botanical and Biological Research on the Origins of Maize 100
Historical Interface of Biological and Archaeological Maize Research 106
Teosinte and the Search for the Origin of Maize 111
Approaches to Finding Wild Maize 119
Pod Corn as Wild Maize 120
Teosinte as a Progenitor of Maize 123
Maize: Morphological, Biological, Genetic, and Taxonomic Approaches 125
Perennial Teosinte and a Reconsideration of the Tripartite Hypothesis 128
Maize Antiquity and 14C and AMS Chronologies 129
Phylogenetic Considerations 134
Early Research on Maize Landraces and their Classification 137
Maize Landraces in the Americas 140
Maize Landraces and Colonial Bioprospecting 143
Morphological versus Genetic Maize Landraces 146
Genetic Research and Paradigm Shifts 149
115845_1_En_4_Chapter_OnLinePDF 154
Chapter 4: Ethnobotanic, Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Methodologies 154
Methodological and Technological Breakthroughs 154
Comparing Research on Old and New World Ancient Economies 154
Paleoethnobotany: Methodological Approaches to Domestication 160
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Domestication, Agriculture, and Adaptation 164
Plant Domestication and Cultivation 172
Approaches to Domestication and Cultivation in the Tehuacán Valley 178
Approaches to Domestication and Cultivation in Oaxaca 184
Ethnobotanical Approaches to Early Agriculture and Biogeography 189
Classes of Ethnobotanical Evidence 192
Pollen Analysis and the Spread of Early Cultigens 193
Phytolith Analysis and Maize Biogeography 197
Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Analysis of Phytolith Assemblages 202
Ethnobotanic Approaches to the Origins of Maize: Central Balsas 203
Isotope Analysis, Paleodiet, and Geochemical Approaches 207
Multidisciplinary Approaches to Maize Biogeography 210
Ethnobotanic and Isotopic Research at La Emerenciana 216
Advantages to Multidisciplinary Approaches 224
115845_1_En_BookBackmatter_OnLinePDF 229
: Index 260

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 2.12.2009
• Zusatzinfo: IX, 262 p.
• Verlagsort: Berlin
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Altertum / Antike
• Themenwelt: Studium ► 1. Studienabschnitt (Vorklinik) ► Biochemie / Molekularbiologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: botanical research • Ethnobotanic • ethnohistory • Maize alcohol • maize cobs • Maize origins • Native American cultures • New World cultures • Plant domestication • Teosinte • Zea mays L.
• ISBN-10: 3-642-04506-5 / 3642045065
• ISBN-13: 978-3-642-04506-6 / 9783642045066