The Tropical Turn: Agricultural Innovation in the Ancient Middle East and the Mediterranean

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Sureshkumar Muthukumaran

The Tropical Turn

Agricultural Innovation in the Ancient Middle East and the Mediterranean

Sureshkumar Muthukumaran

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English

University of California Press
27 June 2023

General & world history; Asian history; Food & society; Botany & plant sciences; Palaeontology

This book chronicles the earliest histories of familiar tropical Asian crops in the ancient Middle East and the Mediterranean, from rice and cotton to citruses and cucumbers. Drawing on archaeological materials and textual sources in over seven ancient languages, The Tropical Turn unravels the breathtaking anthropogenic peregrinations of these familiar crops from their homelands in tropical and subtropical Asia to the Middle East and the Mediterranean, showing the significant impact South Asia had on the ecologies, dietary habits, and cultural identities of peoples across the ancient world. In the process, Sureshkumar Muthukumaran offers a fresh narrative history of human connectivity across Afro-Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the late centuries BCE.

By: Sureshkumar Muthukumaran
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 590g
ISBN: 9780520390836
ISBN 10: 0520390830
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 27 June 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents List of Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Historical Context 2. Wool from Trees: Cotton 3. The Golden Grain: Asiatic Rice 4. Persian “Apples”: Citruses 5. Familiar but Foreign: Eastern Cucurbits 6. The Egyptian Bean: The Sacred Lotus 7. A Forgotten Tuber: Taro 8. Timber for God and King: Sissoo 9. How to Turn Tropical References Index

Sureshkumar Muthukumaran is a historian of the ancient world. He is a Lecturer in History at the National University of Singapore and has previously taught at University College London and Yale-NUS College.

Reviews for The Tropical Turn: Agricultural Innovation in the Ancient Middle East and the Mediterranean

"""Based on an impressive collection of archaeological data and textual sources in many languages, Muthukumaran provides an inspiring voyage in space and time. . . . this original and innovative book provides a significant contribution to the growing literature on East-West connectivity in antiquity."" * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"