ABSTRACT
This chapter presents diverse conceptual, archaeological and ethnoarchaeological perspectives on early plant domestication and the development and spread of agriculture in several non-Eurasian regions of the world. The systematic application of microfossil botanical analyses is revolutionizing the knowledge of early food production in the Americas. Molecular research is a second major addition to the arsenal of researchers in the Americas and elsewhere who seek to understand crop plant domestication. Palaeoecological analysis has also been very useful in documenting early slash-and-burn agriculture, which unlike irrigation canals, raised fields, and agricultural terraces, does not leave visible imprints on landscapes. The neotropics and the Americas in general have become cornerstones for understanding the regional and global processes associated with the transition to agriculture. Large complexes of raised-field systems were built in the seasonally flooded lowland savannas and also in perennially wet highland habitats, allowing farmers to carry out agriculture in the rainy season with flood-intolerant crops.
