Niche Construction and Early Agriculture in Northeastern North America

Summary

Agriculture in the Northeast is a secondary development with research focusing on migration as a result of population growth in agricultural centers and the introduction of maize, bean, squash , sunflower and tobacco and the subsequent consequences of their introduction. Unlike pristine/primary origins whose explanations are couched in complex ecological considerations, be they interactive (ecological engineering, niche construction) or based in HBE (human behavioral ecology), ecological considerations are rarely considered in secondary origins. This paper explores varying modes of human-environment (particularly plant) interaction before and after the onset of maize production in Ontario. Human decisions and activities in Ontario before and after the introduction of maize appear to have played a significant role in agricultural development in the region, including the evolution of crops and the local landscape.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• New Perspectives on Agricultural Origins

Keywords

Spatial Coverage