Plants From the Past : Works Of Leonard W. Blake & Hugh C. Cutler

__Plants from the Past__ is a fascinating, comprehensive record of the work of two dedicated plant scientists who were instrumental in the establishment of archaeobotany and paleoethnobotany as vigorous subdisciplines within American archaeology. Hugh Carson Cutler and Leonard Watson Blake worked together for many decades at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, identifying and interpreting plant remains from archaeological sites all over North America. Covering a period of 30 years and tracing the development of the study of plant remains from archaeological sites, the volume will give archaeologists access to previously unavailable data and interpretations. It features the much-sought-after extensive inventory "Plants from Archaeological Sites East of the Rockies," which serves as a reference to archaeobotanical collections curated at the Illinois State Museum. The chapters dealing with protohistory and early historic foodways and trade in the upper Midwest are especially relevant at this time of increasing attention to early Indian-white interactions. The editors' introduction provides coherence and historical context for the papers and points to the book's potential as a resource for future research. Graced by Dr. Blake's brief introductions to each chapter, __Plants from the Past__ neatly compiles the earliest research in archaeobotany by two originators of the science.

Plants from the Past is a fascinating, comprehensive record of the work of two dedicated plant scientists who were instrumental in the establishment of archaeobotany and paleoethnobotany as vigorous subdisciplines within American archaeology. Hugh Carson Cutler and Leonard Watson Blake worked together for many decades at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, identifying and interpreting plant remains from archaeological sites all over North America. 

Covering a period of 30 years and tracing the development of the study of plant remains from archaeological sites, the volume will give archaeologists access to previously unavailable data and interpretations. It features the much-sought-after extensive inventory Plants from Archaeological Sites East of the Rockies, which serves as a reference to archaeobotanical collections curated at the Illinois State Museum. The chapters dealing with protohistory and early historic foodways and trade in the upper Midwest are especially relevant at this time of increasing attention to early Indian-white interactions. 

The editors' introduction provides coherence and historical context for the papers and points to the book's potential as a resource for future research. Graced by Dr. Blake's brief introductions to each chapter, Plants from the Past neatly compiles the earliest research in archaeobotany by two originators of the science.
 

Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 12 Map of Site Locations 16 1. North American Indian Corn 20 2. Cultivated Plants from Picuris 38 3. Corn in the Province of Aminoya 56 4. Corn from Three North Carolina Sites, 31Gs55, 56, and 30 59 5. Cultivated Plant Remains from Historic Missouri and Osage Indian Sites 65 6. Corn for the Voyageurs 73 7. Corn from Fort Michilimackinac, a.d. 1770–1780 78 8. Corn from the Waterman Site (11R122), Illinois 85 9. Plant Remains from the Rhoads Site (11Lo8), Illinois 91 10. Plants from Archaeological Sites East of the Rockies 112 11. Published Works of Cutler and Blake 167 Works Cited 176 Index of Latin Names for Plant Taxa 184 Index of Corn Races and Varieties 188 General Index 190 Covering a period of 30 years and tracing the development of the study of plant remains from archaeological sites, this volume gives archaeologists access to previously unavailable data and interpretations. It features the much-sought-after extensive inventory "Plants from Archaeological Sites East of the Rockies," which serves as a reference to archaeobotanical collections curated at the Illinois State Museum. The chapters dealing with protohistory and early historic foodways and trade in the upper Midwest are especially relevant at this time of increasing attention to early Indian-white interactions.