In 1955, geographer Carl Sauer and geneticist Edgar Anderson were reunited in Princeton, New Jersey for the conference “Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth.” Sauer, one of the conference organizers, delivered the paper “The Agency of Man on Earth,” in which he argued that although humans had always caused ecological damage, modern agricultural practices driven by industrial capitalism were particularly harmful. Consistent with his other work, Sauer painted in broad strokes, drew connections between ancient and modern man, and issued a scathing critique of contemporary profit-driven culture. In contrast, the paper of Edgar Anderson, “Man as a Maker of New Plants and New Plant Communities,” provided a careful study of how humans had cultivated vegetation. Anderson’s tone was diplomatic, and he concluded dispassionately that “man has been a major force in the evolution of plants and animals.”
Although these two papers were, at least superficially, quite distinct, Sauer and Anderson had, prior to the conference, formed a close friendship and had conducted expeditions to Latin America to collect and study indigenous maize samples. Sauer had inspired Anderson to consider humans as an active agent in biotic change, and in turn, Anderson had inspired Sauer to draw connections between macro and microevolution. And their mutual influence is apparent in their “Man’s Role” papers. Sauer and Anderson are just one example of the interdisciplinary collaborations that had taken place prior to the “Man’s Role” symposium. In this paper, I examine the relationship between Sauer and Anderson and explore some
