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Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cultivation is usually terminated when the soil shows signs of exhaustion or, more commonly, when the ...
Some American civilizations, like the Maya, have used slash-and-burn cultivation since ancient times. American Indians in the United States also used fire in agriculture and hunting. [18] In the Amazon, many peoples such as the Yanomami Indians also live off the slash and burn method due to the Amazon's poor soil quality. [19]
A map of the pre-historic cultures of the American Southwest ca 1200 CE. Several Hohokam settlements are shown. The agricultural practices of the Native Americans inhabiting the American Southwest, which includes the states of Arizona and New Mexico plus portions of surrounding states and neighboring Mexico, are influenced by the low levels of precipitation in the region.
Shifting cultivation (or slash and burn) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then perennial crops for a period of several years. [144] Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10–20).
The history of agriculture in the United States covers the period from the first English settlers to the present day. In Colonial America, agriculture was the primary livelihood for 90% of the population, and most towns were shipping points for the export of agricultural products. Most farms were geared toward subsistence production for family use.
Rural American history is the history from colonial times to the present of rural American society, economy, and politics. [1]According to Robert P. Swierenga, "Rural history centers on the lifestyle and activities of farmers and their family patterns, farming practices, social structures, political ties, and community institutions."
The earliest cultivated plant in North America is the bottle gourd, remains of which have been excavated at Little Salt Spring, Florida dating to 8000 BCE. [7] Squash (Cucurbita pepo var. ozarkana) is considered to be one of the first domesticated plants in the Eastern Woodlands, having been found in the region about 5000 BCE, though possibly not domesticated in the region until about 1000 BCE.
The northernmost area of intensive maize cultivation on the Great Plains was along the Missouri River in North Dakota, although there is evidence of maize cultivation in neighboring Manitoba. The southernmost area of agriculture was in northern Texas among the Caddoan peoples The faming Indians traded their surplus production to non ...