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The initial spread of peaches across eastern North America was structured by Indigenous communities and ecologies

Author

Listed:
  • Jacob Holland-Lulewicz

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Victor Thompson

    (University of Georgia
    University of Georgia)

  • Amanda Roberts Thompson

    (University of Georgia)

  • RaeLynn Butler

    (Muscogee (Creek) Nation)

  • Dario J. Chavez

    (University of Georgia)

  • Jay Franklin

    (Logan Simpson Design)

  • Turner Hunt

    (Muscogee (Creek) Nation)

  • Mark Williams

    (University of Georgia)

  • John Worth

    (University of West Florida)

Abstract

We conduct a synthetic archaeological and ethnohistoric dating program to assess the timing and tempo of the spread of peaches, the first Eurasian domesticate to be adopted across Indigenous eastern North America, into the interior American Southeast by Indigenous communities who quickly “Indigenized” the fruit. In doing so, we present what may be the earliest absolute dates for archaeological contexts containing preserved peach pits in what is today the United States in the early to mid-16th century. Along with our broader chronological modeling, these early dates suggest that peaches were likely in the interior prior to permanent Spanish settlement in the American Southeast and that peaches spread independently of interactions with Spanish colonizers. We further argue that that eventual spread of peaches was structured exclusively by Indigenous communities and the ecologies produced through long-term Indigenous land management and land use practices, highlighting and centering the agency of Indigenous societies in the socioecological process of colonization.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacob Holland-Lulewicz & Victor Thompson & Amanda Roberts Thompson & RaeLynn Butler & Dario J. Chavez & Jay Franklin & Turner Hunt & Mark Williams & John Worth, 2024. "The initial spread of peaches across eastern North America was structured by Indigenous communities and ecologies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-52597-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52597-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lorena Becerra-Valdivia & Thomas Higham, 2020. "The timing and effect of the earliest human arrivals in North America," Nature, Nature, vol. 584(7819), pages 93-97, August.
    2. Tom Higham & Katerina Douka & Rachel Wood & Christopher Bronk Ramsey & Fiona Brock & Laura Basell & Marta Camps & Alvaro Arrizabalaga & Javier Baena & Cecillio Barroso-Ruíz & Christopher Bergman & Cor, 2014. "The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance," Nature, Nature, vol. 512(7514), pages 306-309, August.
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