Corn, Columbus, and culture

Abstract:

Christopher Columbus finally merged the eastward and westward migrations of humankind. From the heartland of humanity in Africa, they spread westward to the Atlantic Ocean, north into Europe, east into Asia, across the Bering Straits and down through the Americas, stopped again only by the barrier of the Atlantic Ocean. The spread over more than 200,000 years, perhaps leaving Africa a million years ago, was in a continuous search for food. At first most of the food came from hunting. It was supplemented by gathered food, especially if storable, such as nuts and seeds. Then farming developed, when it was discovered that food plants grew from seed that had been squirreled away or thrown into garbage heaps. Under farming, food plants became domesticated and technical agriculture developed. The new abundance of food under agriculture allowed for a more settled way of life, and for larger populations with …

Año de publicación:

1992

Keywords:

Fuente:

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