Agricultural studies of the Mississippian peoples and the population center of Cahokia have focused heavily on the adoption and spread of maize. Gale J. Fritz seeks to shift this focus to other crops domesticated in mid-continent North America that predate the adoption of corn (maize) and that remained important staple crops. These crops helped make the development of the complex society of Cahokia possible. She also seeks to highlight the roles of farmers, primarily women, in the production and preparation of food, offering an alternative to the interpretation of farming as a low-status occupation paying tribute to a ruling elite. Additionally, Fritz strives to present the archaeological evidence in a way that is comprehensible to the general public.
In Feeding Cahokia, Fritz challenges the zeacentric bias that dominates traditional and popular understandings of the development of agriculture in the American Bottom Region. This emphasis on corn, she argues, is...
