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Rangeland ecosystems which include unimproved grasslands,shrublands, savannas and semi-deserts, support half of theworld’s livestock, while also providing habitats for some ofthe most charismatic of wildlife species. This book examines thepressures on rangeland ecosystems worldwide from human land use,over-hunting, and subsistence and commercial farming of livestockand crops. Leading experts have pooled their experiences from allcontinents to cover the ecological, sociological, political,veterinary, and economic aspects of rangeland management today. This book provides practitioners and students ofrangeland management and wildland conservation with a diversity ofperspectives on a central question: can rangelands be wildlands? The first book to examine rangelands from a conservationperspective Emphasizes the balance between the needs of people andlivestock, and wildlife Written by an international team of experts covering allgeographical regions Examines ecological, sociological, political, veterinary, andeconomic aspects of rangeland management and wildland conservation,providing a diversity of perspectives not seen before in a singlevolume
Today, the mention of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego conjures images of idyllic landscapes untouched by globalization. Creatures of Fashion upends this, revealing how the exploitation of animals—terrestrial and marine, domesticated and wild, living and dead—was central to the region's transformation from Indigenous lands into the national territories of Argentina and Chile. Drawing on evidence from archives and digital repositories, John Soluri traces the circulation of furs and fibers to explore how the power of fashion stretched far beyond Europe's houses of haute couture to entangle the fates of Indigenous hunters, migrant workers, and textile manufacturers with those of fur seals, gu...
The Incas is a captivating exploration of one of the greatest civilizations ever seen. Seamlessly drawing on history, archaeology, and ethnography, this thoroughly updated new edition integrates advances made in hundreds of new studies conducted over the last decade. • Written by one of the world’s leading experts on Inca civilization • Covers Inca history, politics, economy, ideology, society, and military organization • Explores advances in research that include pre-imperial Inca society; the royal capital of Cuzco; the sacred landscape; royal estates; Machu Picchu; provincial relations; the khipu information-recording technology; languages, time frames, gender relations, effects on human biology, and daily life • Explicitly examines how the Inca world view and philosophy affected the character of the empire • Illustrated with over 90 maps, figures, and photographs
The studies in this volume provide an ethnography of a plantation frontier in central Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Drawing on the expertise of both natural scientists and social scientists, the key focus is the process of commodification of nature that has turned the local landscape into anthropogenic tropical forests. Analysing the transformation of the space of mixed landscapes and multiethnic communities—driven by trade in forest products, logging and the cultivation of oil palm—the contributors explore the changing nature of the environment, multispecies interactions, and the metabolism between capitalism and nature. The project involved the collaboration of researchers specialising in...
Patagonia. The name connotes the exotic and a distance that seems nearly mythical. Tucked toward the toe of South America, this largely unsettled landscape is among the most varied and breathtaking in the world-aching in its beauty as it sweeps from the Andes through broad, arid steppes to pristine beaches and down to a famously violent sea. It is also home to a vast array of rare wildlife as diverse and fascinating as the region itself. Act III in Patagonia is the first book to take an in-depth look at wildlife and human interaction in this spectacular area of the world. Written by William Conway, former president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, the book is unique in its concentration...
In this book leading experts uncover and discuss archaeological topics and themes surrounding the long-term trajectory of camelid (llama and alpaca) pastoralism in the Andean highlands of South America. The chapters open up these studies to a wider world by exploring the themes of intensification of herding over time, animal-human relationships, and social transformations, as well as navigating four areas of recent research: the origins of domesticated camelids, variation in the development of pastoralist traditions, ritual and animal sacrifice, and social interaction through caravans. Andeanists and pastoral scholars alike will find this comprehensive work an invaluable contribution to their library and studies.
This book presents extensive and new information on the Cenozoic marine and continental systems of one of the most important World Heritage sites of Southern South America: The Península Valdés. Using an interdisciplinary approach, that includes geological, biological and archeological perspectives of more than 30 specialists, an integrated description and analysis of the Cenozoic environments of the study region is presented. The volume brings together an update of the geology, climate, geomorphology, soils, biodiversity, archeology and human impact of the Península Valdés. The scope of this book extends to any natural science researcher of the world interested on the Cenozoic history of the Península Valdés.
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'Exceptional...a subtle, fascinating braiding of travel, cultural and natural history... It is a pleasure and an education to journey with Posnett in these pages' ROBERT MACFARLANE In a centuries-old tradition, farmers in north-western Iceland scour remote coastal plains for the down of nesting eider ducks. High inside a cast cave in Borneo, men perched on rickety ladders collect swiftlets' nests, a delicacy believed to be a cure for almost anything. These luxury products are two of the seven natural wonders whose stories Harvest tells: eiderdown, vicuña wool, sea silk, vegetable ivory, civet coffee, guano and edible birds' nests. It follows their journey from the wildest parts of the planet, traversing Iceland, Indonesia, and Peru, to its urban centres, drawing on the voices of the gatherers, shearers and entrepreneurs who harvest, process and trade them. Blending interviews, history and travel writing, Harvest sets these human stories against our changing economic and ecological landscape, and makes us see the world with wonder, curiosity and new concern. (Previously published as Harvest)