ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY & TRADITIONS LINKS

AGRICULTURE, FOODS, AND PREHISTORIC FOOD PRODUCTION

Here are 25 plants that were historically interesting to various cultures of the world. Do you have one of these plants?

Do you want to know what your flora looks like? Search the common name in UC Berkeley's plant photo collection!

Minnesota State University's Museum of Ancient Technology's site includes techniques for domesticating and growing maize, grinding corn, using acorns as a food source, harvesting wild rice, terrace farming, and also fishing, trapping, whaling and the production of beer and wine.

Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas has class notes on early propagation of plants. The first page of this PDF may be helpful.

Check out this food timeline to learn of the history of plant and animal domestication and distribution, as well as the origins to many contemporary popular foods.

The Agropolis museum in France has an incredibly useful Web site on the history of agriculture.

See a map of the world's earliest agricultural centers, and learn some of the plants domesticated there.

Here is the Agropolis museum's map of early animal domestication.

History and uses—both ancient and modern—of the worlds most prevalent grains.

Another commercial site on grains of the world at the Gourmet Store.

Got grains? If it's rice, wheat, or oats, you might check the Whole Grains Bureau's history.

Looking to find information on tropical fruits? Tradewinds Fruit's index is an excellent resource, with photos!

Their index of herbs and spices looks just as good. Here is another site on the uses of certain herbs

The Epicenter has a wonderful encyclopedia of spices—including many rarely found in the West.

ETHNOBOTANY—CULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH PLANTS

Agave (also known as maguey)—used for fiber, domestication techniques

Maize (corn) story, domestication, teosinte, uses