Agricultural Adaptation in a Geographic Context.

这项研究的目的是研究长期和远距离的农业分散。这种早期粮食全球化进程产生了深远的长期社会和生态影响，改变了过去的社会，影响一直持续到今天。以前关于这一主题的工作主要集中在作物移动的路线和年表上。然而，事实证明，确定它们的种植和加工的具体方式是有问题的。了解过去的农业和饮食条件也有助于了解人们今天面临的一些挑战。传统耕作技术可以对全球粮食安全和现代边缘环境中的耕作做法有深刻的认识。这个项目通过具体提问来解决这些问题：小米是什么时候从其地理原产地向西传播的？蒸和煮等烹饪习惯也伴随着它吗？小麦和大麦什么时候向东传播的？古代农民是灌溉庄稼，还是在旱作系统中的水分胁迫条件下种植庄稼？研究小组专注于识别陶片中保存的有机残留物，以评估远离小米原产地的相关接收区烹饪技术。他们检查和评估了41个地点保存的小麦和大麦的同位素组成，以使人们能够深入了解这些地区的水管理战略。通过解决这些问题，该项目的影响超越了区域重点。调查的核心是非本土创新如何在本土社会和文化领域内转变。在此背景下，该项目将有助于理解基于实践和代理的早期全球化的全球主题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The goal of this research to study long term and long-distance farming dispersals. Such process of early food globalization had profound long-term social and ecological impacts, which transformed past societies with consequences lasting until this day. Previous work on this topic has focused on the routes and chronologies of crop movements. However, identifying the specific manner of their cultivation and processing has proven problematic. Understanding past farming and dietary conditions can also help to understand some of the challenges people face today. Traditional farming techniques can be insightful to global food security and cultivation practices in modern-day marginal environments. This project addresses these issues by specifically asking: When did millet spread westward from its point of geographic origin? Did culinary practices such as steaming and boiling travel with it? When did wheat and barley spread eastward? Did ancient farmers irrigate the crops or cultivate them under water stress conditions in rainfed systems? The research team focuses on identifying organic residues preserved in pottery sherds to assess relevant receiving areas cooking techniques far from millet’s origin. They examine and evaluate the isotopic compositions of wheat and barley preserved at 41 sites to enable insights into the water management strategies in those regions. By addressing those questions, the implication of the project moves beyond the regional focus. Central to the inquiry is how non-native innovations were transformed within the indigenous social and cultural spheres. In this context, the project will contribute to a global theme in understanding practice- and agent-based early globalization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.