Books by James (Michigan State University Hancock

This book describes the central role that these exotic luxuries - spices, scents and silks - played in the lives of the ancients, traces the development of the great international trade networks that delivered them, and explores how the demand for such luxuries shaped the world.

Beginning with a description of the processes of evolution in native and cultivated plants, this fully updated edition reviews the origins of crop domestication and their subsequent development over time. It discusses all major crop species, from their origins to conservation of their genetic resources for future development.