The status of phytolith analysis in the American tropics

Phytolith analysis is now sufficiently mature to provide an independent source of data in tropical paleoethnobotany and paleoecology. At the same time, ongoing studies of phytoliths from tropical plants and sediments are discovering new applications. There are, to be sure, problems in interpreting prehistoric plant use and paleoecology which cannot be addressed through phytolith analysis; some of the more important ones are listed. Through a review of recent studies in the New World tropics, this paper presents some contributions to, problems of, and prospects for phytolith analysis to inform the archaeological community about such issues as (1) the origins and dispersals of domesticated plants, (2) the development of tropical forest agriculture, (3) the uses of tropical plants in prehistory, and (4) the distribution and composition of past plant communities.     

Reconstruction of diets based on the Δ15N values of individual amino acids at three sites in Sichuan,China

This study analyzes the nitrogen isotope composition of individual amino acids in collagen extracted from human bone samples from the Gaoshan, Yingpanshan, and Xinyicun sites in Sichuan, where the isotope baseline is unavailable or incomparable with the isotopic data derived from human remains. It aims to understand the food compositions of the inhabitants at these sites, spanning the period from the late Neolithic to the middle Bronze Age, during which time agriculture and domestication of animals were introduced to the region and became increasingly important. The δ¹⁵N values of two amino acids, phenylalanine (δ¹⁵N_Phe) and glutamic acid (δ¹⁵N_Glu), indicate that the peoples on the Chengdu Plain mainly consumed terrestrial foods. The contribution of aquatic resources to their diet was limited. A possible explanation for the low dependence on aquatic foods is that the developed agriculture and domestication of animals offered sufficient foods. Such subsistence economies and dietary patterns were shaped in the early Baodun period (ca. 2,500–2000 BCE) at the latest and did not seem to change when transiting to the Bronze Age. This study also assesses the significance of these subsistence practices in supporting the social development of the Chengdu Plain.     

Place in legal geography: Agency and application in agriculture research

Systemic failure of our land management, legal, and regulatory institutions is revealed by the serious and adverse social and environmental impacts of land use practices in private agriculture, evident in severe land and water degradation, precipitous decline in biodiversity, and reduced resilience to natural hazards and climate change. The efficacy of the standard treatment of environmental law and regulation is often hampered by the cultural and legal priority of property rights. We take a different approach, using legal geography to refocus attention on the salience and agency of place and responses to degradation, such as conservation farming and regenerative agriculture, which are reforming dominant land management cultures and institutions from within. By recognising the role of place in leading geographically responsive land use decision-making and more sustainable, resilient, and productive agricultural practices, an alternative model of private land ownership may be possible, as well as greater environmental sustainability. For researchers, our approaches too must be sensitive and responsive to place agency and our methodologies must evolve to acknowledge the agency of place. Place agency in legal geography has great potential for application in reforming suboptimal industrial agricultural practices and legal models of property ownership, and also for revitalising our scholarship.     

西安市观光农业空间分区研究

本文首先根据观光农业的布局要求,并通过专家咨询,选取了15个不同的指标建立起西安市观光农业空间布局的指标体系;其次,在对原始数据进行相关处理后,运用主成分分析法和聚类分析法,将200个乡镇分成6种不同的类型。这6种类型乡镇发展观光农业的适宜性及适宜发展的项目类型各不相同。最后,根据有关区划原则,在分区聚类结果之上,在空间上将西安市观光农业划分为"四带两区",并指出了各自观光农业的发展方向及发展类型。     

关于陕西发展观光农业的研究

观光农业以其较好的经济效益和社会效益,成为我国各地竞相发展的朝阳产业。本文结合陕西实际和观光农业发展的一般规律,并借鉴国内外的发展经验,提出了陕西发展观光农业应遵循的基本原则:统一规划,合理布局;突出特色和文化内涵;因地制宜;可持续发展;循序渐进。     

Low-Level Food Production

Societies with low-level food production economies occupy the vast and diverse middle ground between hunting–fishing–foraging and agriculture. Efforts by Ford, Harris, Rindos, Zvelebil, and others to characterize this in-between territory are discussed, and a new conceptual framework is proposed. Domestication, the central landmark of this middle ground, is situated well away from the boundaries with hunting–gathering and agriculture, and separates low-level food production economies into two broad categories. Key issues and questions concerning societies with low-level food production, both with and without domesticates, are discussed. Hunter–gatherer and agriculture boundary zones on either side of the middle ground are considered, as are the developmental pathways that traverse them.     

大农业不是英国农业和经济衰落的原因——与徐正林和郭豫庆同志商榷

18世纪中期以后英国大农业的兴起和发展,从历史实际看,不仅没有导致英国农业的衰落,相反使英国农业进入了一个黄金时期;不仅没有削弱英国工业发展的基础,相反有利于工业资本的积累和农村人口向城市的流动,极大地推动了英国工业化的发展。英国丧失工业霸主地位、走向相对衰落,有着复杂的、多方面的原因,不能简单地归因于大农业。在吸收国外的研究成果时,盲目照抄,或根据某种需要而随意剪裁历史的做法,都是不可取的。     

农业结构调整的制度环境与在广东的实践

积极推进农业和农村结构调整,增加农民收入,是目前农业经济研究的核心问题。本文认为:农业结构调整的关键是必须做到构建好制度平台,改革农业组织结构,发挥区域资源、市场需求与技术创新等各种优势,及时转变观念。并以广东为案例,实证分析了农业结构调整的四种模式:建立土地流转机制、公司+农户模式、发展外向型农业经济、以政府为主导调整等。     

加入世界贸易组织对中国农业发展的影响及其对策

新一轮中国加入世界贸易组织多边谈判的开始,标志着中国入世进程的加快。中国作为一个有8亿多农民的农业大国,入世后农业的发展将首当其冲地受到影响。本文研究了加入世贸组织对中国农业产生的影响及应采取的措施。认为:中国加入世贸组织将有利于优化农产品出口的国际市场,有利于国际贸易争端的有效解决,有利于促进中国农村经济体制的改革;入世后随着进口关税的降低和我国农村经济体制存在的固有矛盾,国内农产品市场将遭受前所未有的压力,国内粮食生产将受到一定的冲击,且一定时期内政府用于进口农产品的外汇将显著增加;国际市场对我国不同种类农产品的生产及贸易产生的影响具有显著的差异性;加入WTO对中国农业发展的影响是机遇和挑战并存,有必要采取积极可行的措施促进中国农业的稳定发展以保证国家粮食的安全。     

中国都市现代农业产业化发展模式研究——以西安市为例

农业产业化是现代农业的重要内涵与农业经济发展的新形式。改革开发以来,我国社会经济尤其是城市化快速发展,都市现代农业产业化发展的条件已经具备。文章在对国内外农业产业化发展模式阐述评析的基础上。结合实地调研资料,分析了西安市农业产业化发展的现状特点,进而遵循劳动地域分工理论与产业经济理论,从发挥资源、区位、交通、市场、科技、组织方式等优势因素出发,构建出符合该市现代农业发展的"龙头企业(公司)＋农户"、"农户＋主导产业"、"农户＋合作经济组织(农业协会)＋超市"三种类型的农业产业化发展模式,并探讨了其实施机制。