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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Seeds As Artifacts Of Communities Of Practice: The Domestication Of Erect Knotweed In Eastern North America, Natalie Graham Mueller
Seeds As Artifacts Of Communities Of Practice: The Domestication Of Erect Knotweed In Eastern North America, Natalie Graham Mueller
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Humans are the ultimate ecosystem engineers, and in transforming ecosystems we also change the selective environment for the plants and animals that live among us. The bodies and behaviors of domesticated plants and animals are thus rich artifacts of traditional ecological knowledge and practice. I study the morphology and behavior of domesticated plants as a proxy for ancient agricultural communities of practice. The transition from food procurement to food production is one of the most significant shifts in human history. I consider this process as the evolution and spread of a knowledge system. Domestication studies are usually focused on differentiating …