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Book Cover
E-book
Author Spengler, Robert N., III, author.

Title Fruit from the sands : the Silk Road origins of the foods we eat / Robert N. Spengler III
Published Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2019]
©2019

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Description 1 online resource (x, 374 pages) : illustrations, maps
Contents Introduction -- Plants on the Silk Road -- Silk and spice routes -- Millets -- Rice -- Barley -- The wheats -- Legumes -- Grapes and apples -- Fruits and nuts -- Leafy vegetables, roots, and stems -- Spices, oils, and tea -- Conclusion
Summary "The foods we eat have a deep and often surprising past. Many foods we consume today--from almonds and apples to tea and rice--have histories can be traced along the tracks of the Silk Road out of prehistoric Central Asia to European kitchens and American tables. Organized trade along the Silk Road dates to at least Han Dynasty China in the second century B.C., but the exchange of goods, ideas, cultural practices, and genes along these ancient trading routes extends back five thousand years. Balancing a broad array of archaeological, botanical, and historical evidence, Fruit from the Sands presents the fascinating story of the origins and spread of agriculture across Inner Asia and into Europe and East Asia. Through the preserved remains of plants in archaeological sites, Robert N. Spengler III identifies the regions where our most familiar crops were domesticated and follows their routes as people carried them around the world. Vividly narrated, Fruit from the Sands explores how the foods we eat have shaped the course of human history and transformed consumption all over the globe"--Provided by publisher
Analysis agriculture across inner asia into europe
almonds and apples
america
china and east asia
comprehensive
entertaining
europe
food history
foods shaped human history
han dynasty china
organized trade along silk road
prehistoric central asia
preserved plants in archaelogical sites
second century bc
tea and rice
tracks of silk road
transformed cuisines all over globe
vivid
where familiar crops domesticated
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Food -- Social aspects -- History -- To 1500
Gastronomy -- Social aspects -- History -- To 1500
Agriculture -- Asia, Central -- History -- To 1500
Globalization -- Asia, Central -- History -- To 1500
COOKING -- General.
HISTORY -- World.
Agriculture
Food -- Social aspects
Globalization
SUBJECT Silk Road -- History -- To 1500
Subject Central Asia
Asia -- Silk Road
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2018047116
ISBN 9780520972780
0520972783