
Contents
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Introduction Introduction
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Retrospect on the Study of Plant Domestication Retrospect on the Study of Plant Domestication
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Types of Evidence and Techniques of Analysis Types of Evidence and Techniques of Analysis
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Parenchyma Analysis Parenchyma Analysis
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Phytolith Analysis Phytolith Analysis
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Starch-Grain Analysis Starch-Grain Analysis
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Modern and Ancient DNA Modern and Ancient DNA
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Stable-Isotope Analysis Stable-Isotope Analysis
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Domestication, Wild-Plant Management, and Intermediate Subsistence Domestication, Wild-Plant Management, and Intermediate Subsistence
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Tree Nuts Tree Nuts
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Roots and Tubers Roots and Tubers
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Grass and Forb Seeds Grass and Forb Seeds
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Transitions to Agriculture Transitions to Agriculture
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Conclusion Conclusion
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Note Note
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References References
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33 Plant Domestications
Get accessDavid R. Harris is Emeritus Professor of Human Environment at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
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Published:05 September 2013
Cite
Abstract
By intervening in the reproduction of wild plants procured for food and other purposes, hunter-gatherers began a process of morphogenetic domestication that led eventually to the emergence in many regions of the world of agricultural systems based on varied assemblages of crops. This profound transformation in human subsistence began some 12 000 years ago and resulted in cumulative losses of plant biodiversity as the human population became gradually more dependent for its food supply on fewer and fewer staple crops. In this essay four aspects of this phenomenon are examined: (1) how research on plant domestication and agricultural origins developed; (2) the archaeobotanical and genetic techniques currently used to investigate it; (3) hunter-gatherer management, cultivation and domestication of seed-reproduced and vegetatively reproduced food plants, particularly cereal grasses, herbaceous legumes (pulses) and root and tree crops; and (4) transitions to agriculture in several major world regions.
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