Research Catalog

Title

Southern United States : an environmental history / Donald E. Davis ... [et al.].

Publication

Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Davis, Donald E.
• Davis, Donald Edward

Description

xxi, 409 p. : ill., maps; 26 cm.

Summary

The melting of the Ice Age glaciers heralded the arrival of the Archaic peoples in the South and the lives of the South's peoples have long been shaped and challenged by the environment. Conversely, the human impact on the South's landscape has been dramatic, from the mound building of Native Americans to the construction of cities and the birth of modern industry. Southern United States explores the historical and ecological dimensions of human interaction with the environment throughout Southern history. Examining diverse issues from the impact of the end of the Ice Age to the consequences of the U.S. space program for Florida's environment, this invaluable guide synthesizes literature from a wide range of authoritative sources to provide a fascinating guide to the South's environment. --Publisher.

Series Statement

Nature and human societies

Uniform Title

Nature and human societies

Subjects

• History
• Southern States > Environmental conditions
• Indians of North America > Southern States > History
• Paleo-Indians > Southern States
• Nature > Effect of human beings on > Southern States > History
• Human ecology > Southern States > History

Genre/Form

History

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-379) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

• Series foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- 1. Pleistocene : the big chill / Donald E. Davis -- Ecological impact of the Ice Age -- Importance of climate change in the Pleistocene -- Plant migration and the warming trend -- Animal populations of the Pleistocene -- Effects of the glacial retreat -- Appearance of humans in the American South -- Theories of Pleistocene mammal extinction -- Paleoindian survival -- The younger dryas and the end of th Pleistocene era -- 2. Holocene : meltdown / Donald E. Davis -- Early archaic human habitats and culture -- Effects of the hypsithermal -- Middle archaic human culture -- Climate changes in the Middle Archaic period -- Late Archaic culture -- Woodland period -- Middle woodland culture -- Late woodland culture -- Mississippian culture.
• 3. Moundville : enter Zea Mays / Donald E. Davis -- Spread of Mississippian culture -- Maize cultivation among the Mississippians -- Beans -- Additional dietary elements -- Consequences of a mixed subsistence economy -- Timber and rive cane use in Mississippian settlements -- Plant and animal depletions in the Mississippean period -- Climate and Mississippian survival -- 4. Colony : the coast is cleared / Donald E. Davis -- Beginnings of the Spanish colonies -- Cabeza de Vaca's travails -- De Soto's conquests -- Early French settlements in the American South -- Continued Spanish dominance -- The Columbian exchange -- British arrivals -- 5. Plantation : seeds of change / Donald E. Davis -- Rice -- Indigo -- Sugarcane -- Cotton -- Effect of cotton crops on soil -- The effect of slaves on the environment -- Other crops.
• 6. Upland : growing pains / Donald E. Davis -- Hunting and the fur trade -- White settlers, population increases, and changes to the landscape -- Livestock and the environment -- Corn and livestock -- Bluegrass, hemp, and other crops -- Ores, mining, and environmental effects -- 7. Metropolis : paradise lost / Donald E. Davis -- Railroads and lumber -- Spanish moss and medicinal herbs -- Turpentine -- Commercial ports and the rivers -- Levee construction -- Dams and electricity -- The Tennessee Valley Authority and the river ecology -- Dams and marine life -- Electricity and industry -- 8. Paradise lost? / Craig E. Colten -- A century of transformation -- Conserving the wild -- Transforming the agricultural landscape -- Planting a new agriculture -- Managing hazards in the landscape -- Growing cities -- Enjoying nature -- Conclusions : The transformation continues -- Epilogue.
• 9. Case studies -- The Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia/Florida) / Megan Kate nelson -- A marginalized landscape -- Exploration and extraction -- Scientific inquiry, preservation, and tourism -- The making of Cancer Alley : a historical view of Louisiana's Chemical Corridor / Barbara L. Allen -- From plantations to petrochemical corporations -- Attempt at regulation -- Further expansion of the chemical industry -- From " environmental" to "environmental justice" movement -- Corporate versus human welfare -- Conclusion -- Imperiled and extinct birds of the South / Mikko Saikku -- Important people, events, and concepts -- Chronology -- Documents -- References and bibliography -- Index.

ISBN

• 1851097805 (hard cover : alk. paper)
• 1851097856 (ebook)

LCCN

^^2005035482

OCLC

• 62533847
• SCSB-11632255

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library