num_pages: 392
description: A comprehensive and entertaining historical and botanical review providing an enjoyable and cognitive read. NatureThe foods we eat have a deep and often surprising past. From almonds and apples to tea and rice many foods that we consume today have histories that can be traced out of prehistoric Central Asia along the tracks of the Silk Road to kitchens in Europe America China and elsewhere in East Asia. The exchange of goods ideas cultural practices and genes along these ancient routes extends back five thousand years and organized trade along the Silk Road dates to at least Han Dynasty China in the second century BC. Balancing a broad array of archaeological botanical and historical evidence Fruit from the Sands presents the fascinating story of the origins and spread of agriculture across Inner Asia and into Europe and East Asia. Through the preserved remains of plants found in archaeological sites Robert N. Spengler III identifies the regions where our most familiar crops were domesticated and follows their routes as people carried them around the world. With vivid examples Fruit from the Sands explores how the foods we eat have shaped the course of human history and transformed cuisines all over the globe.
language: English
title: Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat
publisher: University of California Press