A Critical Assessment of Current Approaches to Investigations of the Timing, Rate, and Adoption Trajectories of Domesticates in the Midwest and Great Lakes
| Title | A Critical Assessment of Current Approaches to Investigations of the Timing, Rate, and Adoption Trajectories of Domesticates in the Midwest and Great Lakes |
|---|---|
| Publication Type | Book Chapter |
| Year of Publication | 2014 |
| Authors | J. Hart |
| Editors | Raviele, M., Lovis, W. |
| Keywords | common bean, maize, midwestern North America, paleoethnobotany, Phaseolus vulgaris, Zea mays ssp. mays |
| Book Title | Reassessing the Timing, Rate, and Adoption Trajectories of Domesticate Use in the Midwest and Great Lakes |
| Issue Number | 1 |
| Pagination | 161-174 |
| Publisher | Midwest Archaeological Conference, Inc. |
| City | Champlain, Illinois |
| Abstract | The adoptions of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) in the American Midwest remain critical lines of inquiry as the articles in this volume of Midwest Archaeologial Conference Inc. Occasional Papers amply demonstrate. Here I provide a critical assessment of current lines of investigation of crop adoptions and agricultural evolution. I argue that three changes are needed in order to build clearer understandings of these important issues: (1) the fuller integration of biological and social theories, (2) the adoption of probabilistic methods, and (3) the use of multiple lines of evidence. |