> the [antebellum] American south was probably the most advanced agriculture civilization ever I don't follow. Certainly the current farming system in the Amer

> the [antebellum] American south was probably the most advanced agriculture civilization ever I don't follow. Certainly the current farming system in the American mid-west is orders of magnitude more productive. But even if we're focussed on pre-industrial history, are you sure that the ancient South American agri-economies weren't better? And for productive land use, what about Japan and south-east Asia, where every square inch ran like clockwork.