Fishing: How The Sea Fed Civilization
by Brian Fagan /
2017 / English / EPUB
14.2 MB Download
Humanity’s last major source of food from the wild, and how it
enabled and shaped the growth of civilization
Humanity’s last major source of food from the wild, and how it
enabled and shaped the growth of civilization
In this history of fishing—not as sport but as
sustenance—archaeologist and best-selling author Brian Fagan
argues that fishing was an indispensable and often overlooked
element in the growth of civilization. It sustainably provided
enough food to allow cities, nations, and empires to grow, but it
did so with a different emphasis. Where agriculture encouraged
stability, fishing demanded movement. It frequently required a
search for new and better fishing grounds; its technologies,
centered on boats, facilitated movement and discovery; and fish
themselves, when dried and salted, were the ideal
food—lightweight, nutritious, and long-lasting—for traders,
travelers, and conquering armies. This history of the long
interaction of humans and seafood tours archaeological sites
worldwide to show readers how fishing fed human settlement,
rising social complexity, the development of cities, and
ultimately the modern world.
In this history of fishing—not as sport but as
sustenance—archaeologist and best-selling author Brian Fagan
argues that fishing was an indispensable and often overlooked
element in the growth of civilization. It sustainably provided
enough food to allow cities, nations, and empires to grow, but it
did so with a different emphasis. Where agriculture encouraged
stability, fishing demanded movement. It frequently required a
search for new and better fishing grounds; its technologies,
centered on boats, facilitated movement and discovery; and fish
themselves, when dried and salted, were the ideal
food—lightweight, nutritious, and long-lasting—for traders,
travelers, and conquering armies. This history of the long
interaction of humans and seafood tours archaeological sites
worldwide to show readers how fishing fed human settlement,
rising social complexity, the development of cities, and
ultimately the modern world.