Cultivated landscapes of middle America on the eve of conquest
By: Thomas M. Whitmore and B.L. Turner
Contributors: Turner, B. L. 1945-
Series: Oxford geographical and environmental studies
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 311
Subjects: Indians of Mexico -- Agriculture; Indians of Central America -- Agriculture; Traditional farming -- Mexico; Traditional farming -- Central America; Irrigation farming -- Mexico; Irrigation farming -- Central America; Shifting cultivation -- Mexico; Shifting cultivation -- Central America; Agriculture -- Mexico -- History; Agriculture -- Central America -- History
Description: "The human-environment conditions in the Americas on the eve of the sixteenth-century European conquest have of late attracted growing interest in both academic and public circles. Focusing on Middle America, this book completes a trilogy which has made the most comprehensive survey ever achieved of pre-Colombian agriculture and culture throughout the continents.

It addresses the question of what lands were permanently occupied; how they were used; and what the environmental and social implications of this use were. The answers to these questions are central to such wide-ranging themes as indigenous land rights, the conservation and preservation 'ethic' of these native people, and the global carbon cycle. The kind, scale, and location of land use is documented and mapped in detail. The book not only demonstrates the sophistication of the agricultural landscapes and their local integration, but also investigates the omissions and land degradation of the native agriculturalists.

Drawing on this wealth of data the authors make a contribution to the debate about resource, land, and population in the Americas."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [251]-289) and index