Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin - Hardcover

Zohary, Daniel; Hopf, Maria; Weiss, Ehud

4.5

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9780199549061: Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199549060 ISBN 13: 9780199549061

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

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The origin of agriculture is one of the defining events of human history. Some 11-10,000 years ago bands of hunter-gatherers started to abandon their high-mobility lifestyles in favour of growing crops, and the creation of settled, sedentary communities. This shift into an agricultural lifestyle triggered the evolution of complex political and economic structures, and technological developments, and ultimately underpinned the rise of all the great civilisations of recent human history.

Domestication of Plants in the Old World reviews and synthesises the information on the origins and domestication of cultivated plants in the Old World, and subsequently the spread of cultivation from southwest Asia into Asia, Europe, and north Africa, from the very earliest beginnings. This book is mainly based on detailed consideration of two lines of evidences: the plant remains found at archaeological sites, and the knowledge that has accumulated about the present-day wild relatives of domesticated plants. This new edition revises and updates previous data and incorporates the most recent findings from molecular biology about the genetic relations between domesticated plants and their wild ancestors, and incorporates extensive new archaeological data about the spread of agriculture within the region. The reference list has been completely updated, as have the list of archaeological sites and the site maps.

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About the Author:

Daniel Zohary is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Evolution, Systematics, and Ecology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Jerusalem, Israel. The late Maria Hopf was former head of the Botany Department at Romisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz, Germany. Dr. Ehud Weiss is with
the Institute of Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel.

Review:

"...an interesting mix of theoretical and historical explanations of foreign policy's domestic sources. Recommended for libraries focusing on Soviet studies or international relations theory. ...Recommended."--CHOICE

"This is an excellent book that will be consulted for many years. It has essentially been a classic since the first edition." -- Daniel F. Austin, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Economic Botany

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