Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat

Author:   Robert N. Spengler, III
Publisher:   University of California Press
ISBN:  

9780520303638


Pages:   392
Publication Date:   23 July 2019
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Our Price $57.95 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat


Add your own review!

Overview

"""A comprehensive and entertaining historical and botanical review, providing an enjoyable and cognitive read.”—Nature The foods we eat have a deep and often surprising past. From almonds and apples to tea and rice, many foods that we consume today have histories that can be traced out of prehistoric Central Asia along the tracks of the Silk Road to kitchens in Europe, America, China, and elsewhere in East Asia. The exchange of goods, ideas, cultural practices, and genes along these ancient routes extends back five thousand years, and organized trade along the Silk Road dates to at least Han Dynasty China in the second century BC. 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 found 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. With vivid examples, Fruit from the Sands explores how the foods we eat have shaped the course of human history and transformed cuisines all over the globe."

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert N. Spengler, III
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 20.30cm
Weight:   0.726kg
ISBN:  

9780520303638


ISBN 10:   0520303636
Pages:   392
Publication Date:   23 July 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

A Word on Semantics A Note on Dates Map of Central Asia part i. how the silk road influenced the food you eat 1. Introduction 2. Plants on the Silk Road 3. The Silk and Spice Routes part i i. artifacts of the silk road in your kitchen 4. The Millets 5. Rice and Other Ancient Grains 6. Barley 7. The Wheats 8. Legumes 9. Grapes and Apples 10. Other Fruits and Nuts 11. Leafy Vegetables, Roots, and Stems 12. Spices, Oils, and Tea 13. Conclusion Appendix: European Travelers along the Silk Road Acknowledgments Notes References Index

Reviews

?The volume is truly a mine of? ?information.? ?This book is a must for anybody interested in food, cultural diversity, archaeology, exchange? ?networks and the impact of modern globalisation on food and cultural homogenisation.? ? * Antiquity * Fruits from the sands is NOT a book you sit down and read in one sitting(!) But, it IS a book that you are likely to turn to again and again for that extra bit of insight into the story behind the food on your plate, which is the true test of great plants-and-people 'story-telling'. * Botany One * Fascinating reading. * Gothic Epicures * A?n entertaining and thought provoking historical, botanical and archaeological review of a vast swathe of the Old World. It is accessible for specialists and the general public alike, and should be read by policy makers as well, with a mind to thinking about agricultural diversity and sustainability.? ? * Central Asian Archaeological Landscapes * Spengler tells a fascinating tale of a culinary past that is just beginning to come into focus. . . .Spengler's book provides lots of food for thought. * Science News * Combines the studies of history, archaeology, and botany in an excellent account of where many of our foodstuffs originate, showing how they became distributed over most of Eurasia. * CHOICE * Fruitsfrom the Sands is an excellent example of a comprehensive and entertaining historical and botanical review, providing an enjoyable and cognitive read for scientists, general public, students and policy makers. * Nature *


A?n entertaining and thought provoking historical, botanical and archaeological review of a vast swathe of the Old World. It is accessible for specialists and the general public alike, and should be read by policy makers as well, with a mind to thinking about agricultural diversity and sustainability.? ? * Central Asian Archaeological Landscapes *


Fascinating reading. * Gothic Epicures * A?n entertaining and thought provoking historical, botanical and archaeological review of a vast swathe of the Old World. It is accessible for specialists and the general public alike, and should be read by policy makers as well, with a mind to thinking about agricultural diversity and sustainability.? ? * Central Asian Archaeological Landscapes * Spengler tells a fascinating tale of a culinary past that is just beginning to come into focus. . . .Spengler's book provides lots of food for thought. * Science News * Combines the studies of history, archaeology, and botany in an excellent account of where many of our foodstuffs originate, showing how they became distributed over most of Eurasia. * CHOICE * Fruitsfrom the Sands is an excellent example of a comprehensive and entertaining historical and botanical review, providing an enjoyable and cognitive read for scientists, general public, students and policy makers. * Nature *


Author Information

Robert N. Spengler III is the Archaeobotany Laboratory Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, a Volkswagen/Mellon Foundations Fellow, and a former Visiting Research Scholar at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World.  

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

ls

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List