Chasing Centuries: The Search for Ancient Agave Cultivars Across the Desert Southwest

by Ron Parker

Overview

Chasing Centuries is a one-of-a-kind travel-history book that takes the reader along on an exciting and little known adventure at the crossroads of archaeology and botany that examines the depth and duration of human/Agave coevolution across the desert southwest. Travel with author Ron Parker as he discovers interesting assortments of unusual agaves apparently associated with archaeological sites long since abandoned by residents of extinct ancient cultures. These agaves appear to be anthropogenic cultivars; living archaeological relics developed and planted by indigenous pre-Columbian Native Americans, and many are still growing exactly where they were planted hundreds of years ago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941384480
Publisher:	Sunbelt Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/01/2019
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	624,898
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Part I The Historical Perspective 1

1 Regional Pre-Columbian Cultures 3

2 Dry Farming Techniques and Ancient Agave Cultivation 17

3 Traditional Agave Use 25

Part II Agaves of the Region 29

4 A Brief Introduction to Agaves 31

5 Naturally Occurring Agaves 37

6 Pre-Columbian Agave Cultigens 91

Part III Notes from the Field 119

7 The Chase 121

8 Impact on Naturally Occurring Agaves 131

9 Cultivation of Naturally Occurring Agaves 137

10 Inevitable Extinction 143

Part IV Addenda 151

Table of Agave Species 152

Glossary 153

Endnotes 156

Bibliography 157

Index 160