ABSTRACT
Columbus's 1492 voyage in search of a western passage to the Spice Islands began a fundamental transformation in the eating habits of all humans. Material and cultural factors combined to determine the acceptance of new crops. Productivity and compatibility with existing rotations also mattered to farmers considering new crops. Although a global process, the Columbian exchange was nevertheless negotiated at the local level. The absence of domesticated animals, apart from Turkeys and small dogs, distinguished the civilizations of Mesoamerica from other classical empires. The Mesoamerican complex of maize, beans, squash, and chile peppers provided the foundation for a basically vegetarian diet. The Andes Mountains rise like some Brobdingnagian terraced field, with separate ecological niches providing a wealth of different foodstuffs. The Inca Empire built a highly productive economy on Andean traditions of reciprocity, whereby leaders organized labor and redistributed wealth for the benefit of the entire community.
