Research Catalog

Title

Cultivated landscapes of Native Amazonia and the Andes / William M. Denevan.

Author

Denevan, William M.

Publication

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xxx, 396 p. : ill., maps; 25 cm.

Summary

"This book examines Indian agriculture in South America. The focus is on field types and field technologies, including agricultural landforms such as terraces, canals, and drained fields, which have persisted for hundreds of years. The evidence utilized comes from abandoned fields, historical documents, and current practices. What emerges is a picture of mostly successful indigenous farming practices in rain forests, savannas, swamps, rugged mountains, and deserts. And while this knowledge may not always be directly applicable to development today, it does provide us with some unique techniques and some basic principles for farming difficult environments."--BOOK JACKET.

Series Statement

Oxford geographical and environmental studies

Uniform Title

Oxford geographical and environmental studies.

Subject

• Indians of South America > Agriculture
• Traditional farming > South America
• Irrigation farming > South America
• Chinampas > South America
• Terracing > South America
• Shifting cultivation > South America
• Agriculture > South America > History

Genre/Form

• History
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [324]-366) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Pt I. Introduction: Fields and associated features. Research on Native cultivated landscapes in the Americas ; Classification of field types ; Crops, tools, and soft technology -- pt. II. Amazonian cultivation. A diversity of habitats and field systems ; Fields of the Mojo, Campa, Bora, Shipibo, and Karinya ; Pre-European riverine cultivation ; Pre-European forest cultivation -- pt. III: Andean irrigation and terracing. Irrigated fields ; Terraced fields ; Terrace and irrigation origins and abandonment in the Colca valley -- pt. IV. Raised and drained fields. Lost systems of cultivation ; The Mojos raised fields ; The Titicaca raised fields ; Ditched fields, drainage canals, and river canalization -- pt. V. Conclusion. Implications of indigenous agricultural technology -- Appendix 1A. Cultivated plants of South America -- Appendix 1B. Roster of cultivated plants by species name.

ISBN

• 0198234074
• 9780199257690

LCCN

^^^00040077^

OCLC

46433654

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library