4 ms·
1491 covers "Indian fire" quite a bit. Seems that much of North America was under some form of active management by native peoples before Europeans arrived, and
by Zippogriff 6y ago
1491 covers "Indian fire" quite a bit. Seems that much of North America was under some form of active management by native peoples before Europeans arrived, and one of the main ways, and probably the main way, by area, was very frequent fire-setting. The book even suggests that might be why there is a "Great Plains", in the nearly-treeless form European settlers found it, while in the East early European accounts tell of huge forest "wildernesses" so universally free of undergrowth one could easily ride a horse through them, which would become impassably full of low growth by a couple hundred years later as the burning stopped.
- jankotek 6y agoFire was used in ancient europe for agriculture by semi nomadic people.
- Max10101 6y agoFire is used for agriculture by modern people. Burning your farm at the end of the season was banned in Oregon in 2014 (with some exceptions), but is still practiced most places in the world.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y agoIf I recall correctly that practice is banned because it results in terrible land erosion from wind and rain. I could be wrong.
- WalterBright 6y agoI live next to a greenbelt. It is pretty much impossible to push your way through the undergrowth. I'm aware that if it ever catches on fire my house is toast.