A New Paradigm for Pre-Columbian Agriculture in North America

Indigenous farmers in Pre-Columbian North America have frequently been characterized as shifting cultivators whose agricultural productivity was marginal and unstable, and whose actions were damaging to the environment. In this article I challenge this assessment. The presence of large tracts of highly productive soils in eastern and central North America suggests that farmers here would not have engaged in shifting cultivation, but rather practiced permanent, intensive cropping. The lack of plows, often cited as an impediment for Native American farmers was in fact an advantage. Agricultural systems with hand tools cause less destruction of soil organic matter and reduce soil erosion; they enable sustained crop yields over longer periods of time compared to plow-based systems. Indigenous farmers in North America also grew a highly productive cereal grain, maize, uniquely suited to no-plow conditions. Maize yields of 25 to 50 bu/acre were both realistic and stable, allowing indigenous farmers to support modest populations for extended periods of time. This combination of access to fertile soils, a cropping system that preserved soils, and a high-yielding grain crop enabled agriculture that was largely productive, stable, and with limited negative effects on the environment.