Renewed in-depth multi-disciplinary investigation of a large coastal mound settlement in Peru has extended the occupation back more than 7000 years to a first human exploitation ~13720 BP. Research by the authors has chronicled the prehistoric sequence from the activities of the first maritime foragers to the construction of the black mound and the introduction of horticulture and monumentality. The community of Huaca Prieta emerges as innovative, complex and ritualised, as yet with no antecedents.

Archaeological investigations of the effects of anthropogenic fire on the subsistence economies of small-scale societies, particularly those of the prehispanic northern American Southwest, are embryonic in scope and disciplinary impact. When burning has been mentioned in such studies it typically has been with reference to its alleged effectiveness in clearing land or deforesting areas for maize agriculture. In this article, in contrast, we present the results of our initial efforts to estimate the yield and socioecological consequences of cultivating a common fire-responsive ruderal—amaranth—whose growth is enabled by anthropogenic burning of understory vegetation in the Southwest's pinyon-juniper ecosystems. With data from the Upper Basin (northern Arizona), we show that, in an area that is not environmentally conducive to maize production, populations could be supported with systematic, low-intensity anthropogenic fires that promoted the growth of amaranth and other ruderals, such as chenopodium, which consistently dominate archaeobotanical and pollen assemblages recovered from a variety of archaeological and sedimentary contexts in the region. Based on this evidence, as well as modern fire ecological data, we propose that fire-reliant ruderal agriculture, in contrast to maize agriculture, was a widespread, sustainable, and ecologically sound practice that enhanced food supply security independently of variation in soil fertility and precipitation.

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Food production and consumption has a failing performance in terms of food security, nutrition and health, but also equality, environmental protection and climate change mitigation, posing a serious sustainability challenge as the planet's population grows while consuming beyond planetary boundaries, compromising future generations' well-being. Responses to the wicked problem posed by securing humanity's food are more likely to succeed if built on two pillars, as championed by the One Planet Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme. The first pillar refers to the need to adopt a food-systems approach, which enables identifying and addressing more holistic solutions. The second pillar proposes that multi-stakeholder, inclusive approaches are more likely to succeed, especially if they fulfil conditions for collective action, if they overcome polarization by embracing the inherent conflict in a locked-in system, and if they adopt a mindset that focuses on innovation. The SFS Programme has been built on both pillars, adopting five focus themes and organizing its work across four areas. Through its governance structure, the programme has launched a series of core initiatives that are participated in by coalitions of organizations from diverse sectors, and they were developed building on pre-existing projects, expertise and resources in order to leverage synergies and avoid effort duplication. They address key problems related to SFS and link several elements from production to consumption. The core initiatives are inclusive, enabling faster learning through constant communication and overall coordination, becoming mutually reinforcing activities to accelerate the shift to SFS, in support of the implementation of the Agenda 2030.