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> throughout the Americas you see really complex polycultural farming traditions including the famous chinampas. Interesting. Do you know of anything somewhat

> throughout the Americas you see really complex polycultural farming traditions including the famous chinampas. Interesting. Do you know of anything somewhat similar for Africa, ignoring the lands of Egypt and the lands near the Mediterranean Sea?

culi 2mo ago
I recall reading of somewhat similar rotational cropping traditions indigenous to Africa though those centered mostly around root crops like yams. Modern smallholder farms still often practice rotational cropping because of this history (something which the west has only relatively recently come around on). East Africa practiced stuff like homegardens which can be complex, multi-layered agroforestry systems that usually surround homesteads. I've heard the Hausa traditionally did something similar. I haven't read nearly as much on African agroforestry systems though so I can't recommend much readings. Most of what I recall comes from a college course I took a very long time ago on economic anthropology
- curioadu 2mo ago
  > (something which the west has only relatively recently come around on). I am not quite sure what you mean by this. Is it consistent with this? > From the 9th century to the 11th century, farmers in Europe transitioned from a two-field system to a three-field system. > Ancient Near Eastern farmers practiced crop rotation in 6000 BC, alternately planting legumes and cereals.[1][2][better source needed] > In China both the two- and three-field systems had been used since the Eastern Zhou period.[3] And shouldn't the "West" be capitalized in this context, since it is used as a name?
- curioadu 2mo ago
  > East Africa practiced stuff like homegardens which can be complex, multi-layered agroforestry systems that usually surround homesteads. I've heard the Hausa traditionally did something similar. Homegardens seem much smaller in scale than large-scale chinampas as practiced by the Aztecs, right?
  - culi 2mo ago
    They are larger than you'd think. A couple acres. But chinampas are definitely in another league
t-3 2mo ago
If you hadn't excluded them, Morocco has a 2000 year old managed food forest.

culi 2mo ago

I recall reading of somewhat similar rotational cropping traditions indigenous to Africa though those centered mostly around root crops like yams. Modern smallholder farms still often practice rotational cropping because of this history (something which the west has only relatively recently come around on). East Africa practiced stuff like homegardens which can be complex, multi-layered agroforestry systems that usually surround homesteads. I've heard the Hausa traditionally did something similar. I haven't read nearly as much on African agroforestry systems though so I can't recommend much readings. Most of what I recall comes from a college course I took a very long time ago on economic anthropology

curioadu 2mo ago
> (something which the west has only relatively recently come around on). I am not quite sure what you mean by this. Is it consistent with this? > From the 9th century to the 11th century, farmers in Europe transitioned from a two-field system to a three-field system. > Ancient Near Eastern farmers practiced crop rotation in 6000 BC, alternately planting legumes and cereals.[1][2][better source needed] > In China both the two- and three-field systems had been used since the Eastern Zhou period.[3] And shouldn't the "West" be capitalized in this context, since it is used as a name?
curioadu 2mo ago
> East Africa practiced stuff like homegardens which can be complex, multi-layered agroforestry systems that usually surround homesteads. I've heard the Hausa traditionally did something similar. Homegardens seem much smaller in scale than large-scale chinampas as practiced by the Aztecs, right?
- culi 2mo ago
  They are larger than you'd think. A couple acres. But chinampas are definitely in another league

t-3 2mo ago

If you hadn't excluded them, Morocco has a 2000 year old managed food forest.