Introduction:

From “Cycad Hell” to Sacred Landscapes: Tracing the Cultural Significance of Cycads in the Ryukyu Islands and Japan

“…800 CE; Takamiya and Nakamura 2020). Significantly, these data may suggest that cycads continued to be used as a foodstuff even after the introduction of domesticates such as rice—a pattern observed in other world regions (Englehardt et al 2022; Pagán-Jiménez et al 2015; Smith 1982).…”

“…For example, the use of cycads as food is attested in the early archaeological record of Mexico, from ca. 4700 BCE (Englehardt et al 2022), and even earlier in the Caribbean (ca. 5800–4000 BCE; Pagán-Jiménez et al 2015) and Australia (ca.…”

“…For example, cycads are an ancient and edible botanical resource that thrives in diverse ecosystems with no need of direct human maintenance. It is thus likely that cycads, along with other wild and managed foods, played a significant role in preagricultural foodways and the transition to agricultural lifeways in many regions—particularly those that involved “non-linear” shifts between “tending” wild plants, cultivating “forest gardens,” and incipient horticulture (Ford 1985; Freeman, Peeples and Anderies 2015; Gremillion, Barton and Piperno 2014; Winterhalder and Kennett 2006). Indeed, cycad remains are evident in the early archaeological records of many regions, as noted above.…”

“…The role of cycads in Ryukyuan and wider Japanese culture thus appears to fit within a culturally connected region-wide pattern of garden symbolism which has yet to be examined in detail. Their culinary and symbolic uses in the Ryukyus also parallel similar practices throughout the world, highlighting widespread cultural patterns that researchers are only beginning to uncover (see Carrasco et al 2022).…”

“…11 kya. These plants have been-and continue to be-used in many ways, including as poisons, pesticides, narcotics, medicines, managed wild foods, and as components of indigenous agroecological systems (see, e.g., Beck 1992;Bonta et al 2019;Bradley 2005;Carrasco et al 2022;Khuraijam and Singh 2012;Osborne et al 2007;Patiño 1989;Smith 1982;Thieret 1958, among numerous others). Beyond such practical functions, cycads also play significant roles within indigenous epistemologies and symbolic complexes, rituals, artistic traditions, and cultural practices (see, e.g., Alcorn 1984;Bonta 2022;Bonta and Bamigboye 2018;Carrasco 2020Carrasco , 2022Cousins, Williams, and Witkowski 2012;Krishnamurthy 2014;Osborne et al 1994;Pérez-Farrera and Vovides 2006;Radha and Singh 2008).…”