Agriculture and Food Systems
4 reportsFertilizer use and supply chains are compared with direct observations. This record clarifies what lifecycle assessments include and how farming practices affect yields, distinguishing a consistent pattern from a uniquely established explanation.
Maya Household Gardens Reveal Ancient Strategies for Food and Water
Archaeologists analyzing soils and settlement patterns in the Northern Maya Lowlands have identified evidence that ancient Maya households organized their domestic plots to support agriculture and manage rainwater, offering new insight into daily life beyond monumental centers
Isotope Evidence Reveals Maize-Based Farming in Ancient Brazilian Cerrado
Analysis of stable isotopes from over 100 individuals across 37 archaeological sites in Brazil's Cerrado shows that some large precolonial communities relied on maize-based polyculture, challenging assumptions about Indigenous subsistence in tropical South America
How Physics Tools Are Shaping Food System Modeling and Policy
Sarah Bridle, a physicist with a background in cosmology, is applying quantitative modeling and open-data practices from astrophysics to analyze food systems, land use, and climate impacts, revealing new challenges for sustainable agriculture
Roman Female Farm Managers Oversaw Wine and Oil Production
A new analysis of Roman-era texts and archaeological evidence reveals that women known as vilicae managed large-scale wine and olive oil production, challenging the long-held view that their roles were limited to domestic tasks