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Searching For Crops Long Forgotten
Photo Courtesy of Natalie Mueller
Over 2000 years ago many indigenous people living in North America were skilled at breeding and domesticating crops, such as the squash and sunflower we’re familiar with today. continue to Wisconsin Public Radio →
Air Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 3:15pm; Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 5:15pm
Why You Don’t See ‘Goosefoot’ On Your Thanksgiving Dinner Table
When we think of Native American agriculture, we think of corn—the stuff Europeans couldn’t get enough of once they got here. But before that crop became popular, indigenous people were farming things like erect knotweed, goosefoot, little barley. learn more at Science Friday →
Hunting for the ancient lost farms of North America
Adventurers and archaeologists have spent centuries searching for lost cities in the Americas. But over the past decade, they’ve started finding something else: lost farms. Over 2,000 years ago in North America, indigenous people domesticated plants that are now part of our everyday diets, such as squashes and sunflowers. continue reading →
Archaeology: Ancient seeds, pollen show Ohio’s ‘lost crops’
When you think of the plants that eastern North American Indian farmers grew in their gardens and fields, corn is probably the first thing that comes to mind. But corn, or maize, was not a local plant. It was domesticated in Mexico and did not become important in Ohio until after about A.D. continue reading →
The Secret Larder of Ancient America
“There’s a fascinating paper in Nature Plants by Mueller et al. Growing the lost crops of eastern North America’s original agricultural system. When you think of Native American agriculture you probably think of maize, beans and pumpkin. What Mueller et al. look at is a much earlier agricultural system.” continue reading →
The Chenopod: A Forgotten Plant
“Paul, director of the Ohio University Archaeological Field School and Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Food Studies curriculums, has rediscovered a prehistoric seed that could potentially fight against food insecurity in the Appalachian region.” continue reading →
Looking to the past for solutions today
“One of the most recognized environmental crises we face is food production. Many looking for alternatives to unsustainable industrial agriculture look to methods that are just as industrialized and concentrated as current methods, which is really just making food production less unsustainable rather than really getting to the root of the problem – maize.” continue reading →
