Cultivated Landscapes of Native North America

From a geographical standpoint, this text challenges the established theories about native agriculture in North America. Focusing on fields, emphasis is placed on modifications to the biophysical environment. It also looks at horticulture and techniques for dealing with water surplus or shortages.

Cultivated Landscapes of Native North America is unlike any other book dealing with native agriculture in North America. The book takes a geographical stance, focusing on fields, field features, and field systems. Grounded in the traditional landscapes of landscape studies, emphasis is placed on modifications of the biophysical environment, specifically vegetation, soil, slope, and hydrology. Four sections explore horticulture, and practices that took advantage of adequate rainfall, compensated for moisture deficits, and water surpluses. The author uses three types of data: documentary accounts of the early European inform of native practices; ethnographies from 19th and 20th centuries provide ecological understanding; and archaeological findings to shed light on the antiquity of various activities. Doolittle challenges established ideas and provides new innovative ones. Nearly 200 maps, drawings, and photographs richly illustrate the complexities of aboriginal American food production.