Reform Model for Prisoners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reform Model for Prisoners - Essay Example The judgment of effecting punishment as an alternative approach to reform prison inmates does not entirely help them become non-violent members of the society. Gilligan emphasizes on an overwhelming weight of empirical evidence that punishment in prison is the most potent stimulus or cause of violence contrary to the widespread belief to its adherence. With the current condition of our state prisons where inmates are crammed into tiny prison cells and brutal solitary confinements allows more room for violence in order to protect oneself from the onslaught of further invasion of privacy. Typical hatred of inmates is shown on our retributive type of justice when Bedau cited that "it is applied randomly at best and discriminatorily at worst upon those whose offenders who are people of color, poor and uneducated". Brutal punishments and solitary confinements imparts to the inmates that human life does not deserve an iota of respect thus punishment is legitimate. He further added "that threat of severe punishment cannot deter criminals especially ones who are in the drug trade". Gilligan for his part promotes "the successful re-entry of prisoner into society as productive people as a positive tool for their transformation". Support coming from the community itself by shunning the social stigma and stereotype attached to former prisoners erases the chance of evoking anger and trauma. Education according to him is the key to prevent or at least reduce the incidence of crimes by providing tools needed to acquire knowledge and skills, self-esteem and respect for others. Almaraz supports the reform model as an effective implementation tool that is best supported by the government and communities. He believes in a reform model which consists of programs such as college degree courses, therapy and job training opportunities for inmates while in jail. Although such pro-life activities require a costly maintenance the possibility of learning through one's own mistakes may create a morally subservient person. We cannot dismiss the fact that violence is perpetrated by violators and violators begets violence; hatred begets hate and thus allowing hatred while in the process of reform mentally implies that the negative attitude is a form of life. Mexico, heavily relies on the reform model and promotes the efficient scientific principle of the "positive" school by expanding treatment to low risk offenders and attempts at separating the violent prisoners form the non-violent ones. Viable education and behavioral modification and treatment programs are made available to prisoners who are willing to commit to reform. Drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation serves to lessen the chances for recidivism. Summary and Conclusion In support of the reform model of effecting a desirable change for the inmates especially among first time offenders, the Jacksonian theory of absolute and brutal distinction should be discarded. Prisoners have not repudiated their membership in the community thus temporary exclusion does not require branding with harsh treatment to accomplish moral and political correctness. The prosecution and persecution of

An acceptable defense Essay Example for Free

An acceptable defense Essay Insanity: Insanity defense has been considered by many as a â€Å"loophole† in the law allowing a number of guilty people to be set free. However, this so-called â€Å"loophole† does rarely set people free of criminal charges. Moreover, most of the cases involving insanity defense are murder cases. Many scholars, judges, attorneys and clinicians are said to be divided concerning the definition of insanity. In reality, though, it is not possible for them to be truly divided concerning the definition of insanity seeing that clinicians today have modernized means of determining a person’s mental state by means of psychological testing and interviews. What is more, psychologists are aware that there are neurological processes affecting a person’s mental state. Hence, brain scans can easily be used to understand the physiological condition of an individual charged with murder. Even the history of insanity will be made available through such brain scans, seeing that there is a genuine difference between the neurological processes of people showing abnormal and normal behavior. Therefore, scholars, judges, and attorneys must know that their understanding of the definition of insanity is irrelevant if clinicians are available with scientific evidence of insanity of an individual charged with murder. Given that psychological testing too is scientific, there should be no â€Å"loophole† whatsoever in this area. As a matter of fact, insanity is an acceptable defense. Eric Michael Clark shot a police officer to death because he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and believed that aliens were stalking him. According to the law of Arizona concerning insanity defense, the man had to prove with â€Å"clear and convincing† evidence that he was too mentally ill to know that he was wrong to murder an innocent police offer. The Supreme Court got involved in Clark’s case. Fortunately, the man was backed by the American Psychiatric Association in addition to the American Psychological Association – two entities based on true scientific principles. Most states of America have differing laws regarding insanity defense. Now with the support of both the American Psychiatric Association as well as the American Psychological Association – who believe in helping out mentally ill individuals that have been charged with murder although their mental health is not in their control – it is hoped that the states of America will work on a single law on insanity defense in order to make the â€Å"loophole† in the law completely vanish. This single law would also make insanity defense cases more straightforward than before. After all, abnormal psychology is a science which has made it clear that there is an illness called paranoid schizophrenia, and there are many people suffering from illusions, delusions, and hallucinations. To doubt that these people are ill is, in fact, insanity as well as a sin. This is because we will be depriving of treatment a lot of mentally ill folks if we do not even believe that they are mentally ill. And, what if these people enter jails to commit more murders? What if they kill themselves in prison after they have been unlawfully charged with crime? Whose responsibility would that be? In point of fact, mentally ill people require immediate healing instead of punishment. Besides, putting them through court trials may be worsening their mental condition. Many people who oppose the insanity defense have assumed that mental illness is a myth, and that those who label others as mentally ill are actually imposing violence and control on people. Thomas Ssasz argued that psychologists and psychiatrists use such labels only to make political and ethical decisions. It can be argued, however, that people who are unaware of the scientific basis of abnormal behavior are ignorant at best. Such people are the reason why books on the history of abnormal psychology claim that in the olden times people killed numerous mentally ill people simply because they were mentally ill. There was no treatment for such people, and nobody cared enough to stand for their right to be treated. Slowly but surely, future generations began to believe in the reality of mental illness. ‘Humane treatment’ of the mentally ill was suggested as a cure. Today, however, we are abusing the principles of ‘humane treatment’ by putting the mentally ill people through prolonged court trials. It would be best, therefore, for society to acknowledge that first of all, psychology is a science just as much as biology; and psychologists and psychiatrists are qualified to determine the mental condition of an individual. If, in fact, mental illness were a myth, the Supreme Court and everybody else involved in insanity defense trials would have worked on also closing down mental hospitals as well as the clinics of the well-educated psychologists and psychiatrists, who happen to know their science more than lawmakers would ever be expected to understand psychology. The fact that the government has not closed down psychiatric clinics and mental hospitals shows that society at large does instinctively believe in the reality of mental illness and realizes how painful it can be. Hence, it is utterly useless to argue against the insanity defense. Bibliography Lane, Charles. â€Å"Supreme Court to Review Insanity Defense. † Washington Post. April 20, 2006. â€Å"The Insanity Defense,† Cyber Essays, http://www. cyberessays. com/Politics/126. htm, Accessed 4 May 2007. â€Å"The Insanity Goes On,† Crime Library (2007), http://www. crimelibrary. com/criminal_mind/psychology/insanity/11. html, Accessed 4 May 2007.

Feudalsim :: European Europe History

Feudalsim During the Middle Ages, countries fought and argued for land and pride. The main goal of the leaders of these countries was global domination. With several countries fighting for one cause, there was no chance they would resolve their differences peacefully, often leading to wars and conflicts. Feudalism was the staple of European government. Although it served medieval statesmen well, the social structure was incredibly unbalanced, which was the main reason for its downfall. The creation of this form of government is believed by scientists to have been back in the ninth century, A... the institutions of feudalism gained accelerated organization in the ninth century ...@ (Bunsen 179). This states that the most influential countries and regions began to form during this time. AIts origins, however, were traced to the break up of centralization of the Roman Empire ...@ (Bunsen 179). This means that even before the feudal provinces began to develop, evidence of feudal societies was being thought up. When the Roman empire fell, it left many wealthy landowners spread throughout the European landscape. For every wealthy landowner there were many poorer, less prominent ex-roman citizens. AThey decided therefore to commend themselves to landlords, surrendering to a lord in return for safety and the right to farm the properties@ (Bunsen 179). This was the beginning of the feudal nations. Other provinces would evolve, but for the most part these were the more prominent countries. The children of the men who owned the land would inherit the land as well as any other property owned by their fathers. This tradition kept rich people rich and poor people poor. People who exchanged their land for protection were shielded from opposing enemies by knights, infantrymen and horsemen. "The vassal rendered to his lord certain services in addition to supplying his quota of armed knights " (Bishop 110). The primary defense for a lord was his knight. AThe knights formed the core of the lord=s household; many of them lived permanently within the castle walls and were fed and housed by him@ (Barbara 269). Knights that were given homage by their lords did not really need any land but were still paid in fiefs, which were stretches of land paid to whomever. AThese household knights did not need a grant of land on which to live, though they often received it all the same@ (Barbara 269). This showed the favoritism the lords and kings felt and expressed to upper class citizens.

Outsourcing Essay

†¢ Question 1: Is the accounting policy proposed by OSI to defer costs associated with the origination of the agreement an appropriate policy? What advice would you give OSI regarding its policy election? Accounting policy proposed by OSI to defer costs is an appropriate policy. Cost should be deferred if they create or add value to an asset. In FASB Concept Statement No. 6, Par 25 states asset as â€Å"probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by a particular entity as a result of past transactions or events.† In the case of Outsourcing, management believes all up-front cost incurred are a necessary investment and will generate substantial profits through call revenue, therefore we could say the costs associated with the contract are part of revenue generating arrangement. This arrangement could be consider as an asset because revenue (Set-up and Call revenue) provides a future economic benefit, and this arrangement is controlled by Outsourcing Services, Inc. †¢ Question 2: If the accounting policy to defer costs is appropriate, what costs, if any, would be eligible? Any cost directly relate to the revenue arrangement are considered eligible for deferral. SAB Topic 13Af provide descriptions of cost that are eligible for deferral. Eligible cost are in the case of Outsourcing are: a) $1,500,000 Direct costs to a third party to configure OSI – The direct cost is incremental direct cost incurred with third parties. (FAS-91 or ASC 605-20-25-4) b) $250,000 Sales Commission – allow deferring the cost under FTB 90-1 because it is associated with the contract. c) $50,000 corporate cost – corporate personnel dedicated to contract negotiation is direct loan origination costs, these cost are eligible for deferral under FASB Statement No. 91 or ASC 310-20-25-2. †¢ Question 3: If there are costs for which deferral is appropriate, what is the appropriate period over which to defer these costs Utilizing matching principle: recognize deferred cost at the same time as related revenue is recognized. In the case of Outsourcing, they will recognize revenue over the estimated customer life, therefore the costs listed in question 2 are deferred and expensed over the period of 4.3 years. Both SAB Topic 13Af, question 4 and SC 605-20-25-4 state â€Å"acquisition of that contract (incremental direct acquisition costs) shall be deferred and charged to expense in proportion to the revenue recognized†.

Incomplete related Literature Essay

According to Aquino (2005), importance of computer application is increasing day by day. Nowadays we can’t stop the innovation, technology help us from living. â€Å"Lacks of enrollment system in schools can lead to chaos ant troubles† as stated by Ace Adrian (2011). Students will be confused on what they should do to be able to enroll that is why such systems is extremely useful in the way that it retrieving vital information of the students. Without it can lead difficulty both the administration of school and student in enrollment processes. Many countries nowadays, especially the developing nations are challenged by the rapid technological changes. This has radically changed the living and working styles of the entire society. This transformation has been driven partly by rapid technological innovation. In the 20th century saw the rise of the industrial revolution with steam-powered machines intensifying and expanding human productive power, the 21st century was characterized by the birth of machine-powered flight and the human creativity even more made possible new ways by which humans could live and work together( Victoria L. Tinio, 2002) . Transformation of manual enrollment to a automated and now into web based automation is one example of what has driven partly by rapid technological innovation. Technology innovation had influenced man’s work from data processing, business transaction, research planning and monitoring. Web applications are popular due to ubiquity of its application. Significant advantage of building a web application to support a standard browser feature is the ability to perform as specified, regardless of the operating system installed on a given client (Bacala & Reanno, 2009). A web- bases enrollment system has featured that meet most of academic institution system’s needs and requirements. This includes standardized modules for students registration, enrollment, grade management and payment that are necessary to operate a school.

Economic development of Turkey from 1914 to 2013 Essay Example

Economic development of Turkey from 1914 to 2013 Essay Example Economic development of Turkey from 1914 to 2013 Essay Economic development of Turkey from 1914 to 2013 Essay Economic development of Turkey from 1914 to 2013 BY psy1001 Economic Development of Turkey From 1914 to 2013 The movement of Turkish economy in twentieth century was influenced by large number of historical, political and economic events. Externally, Turkish economy was influenced by large events such as World War 1. , Economic depression, and World war II. Internally, Turkish economy was influenced by changes in economical policy(Altug et al. , 2006). The changes in economical policy can be divided in the four major period. On the period of liberal economic regime from 1923 to 1929. The period of state accumulation which lasted from 1929 to 1945. The period of state guided by industrialization which lasted from 1950 to 1980. The period of liberal trade of goods, services and financial transaction which started in 1980. (Prof. Dr. M?kerrem et al. , 2009). The Turkey as a modern state aroused from the collapse of Ottoman Empire in 1923. World War I and its impact has a very harsh effects on the Turkish economy. Just in the period from 1914 to 1924 population of the areas comprising present day Turkey declined by 18 percent. Neverthless, during the liberalization of arket Turkey had slow growth rate from 1920 to 1929. With that pace Turkey reached a pre-war level of GDP Just in 1929. (Altug et al. , 2006). In 1929 Economic depression cast a shadow on classical laissez-faire economy which asserted that economy will automatically achieve full employment without any type of state intervention. (Prof. Dr. M?kerrem et al. , 2009, p. 5-6). As a response to that event almost all high official of that time such as president Atat?rk, prime minister in? ¶n?, and secretary general Recep Peker, decided to accepted Etatism. Etatism means that rom then onward Turkishm goverment had decided to have more control over economic and social politicy. Concerning that the Turkey was relativly new republic turkish government was sensitive toward any form of reactionism or religious extremism. In other words to secure stability, Turkish government wanted to find a middle way between socialism and capitalism. (Prof. Dr. M?kerrem et al. , 2009, p. 7). During the pure liberal faze from 1923 to 1930 the yearly average growth rate was 9. 12%. In the period of great depression 1930-35 Turkey still succeded to have small growth rate of 2. 4%. In the period of Etatism the rate was 7. 08% (Prof. Dr. M?kerrem et al. , 2009, p. 9-10). Etatist regime bring first industrialization phase in the hitherto predominately agricultural country. This enble Turkey to have steady growth rate until the beggining of the World War II. Even the Turkey officialy engaged in WWII just in the last two months and did not directly suffer from war destruction, it still have significantly higher expenditures for army. Also, in the period of WWII foreging trade drasticaly decreased. Both elements in the period of 1939 to 1945 produced an ecover. The average yearly growth rate was 11% (Prof. Dr. M?kerrem et al. , 2009, p. 14). In 1950 the newly elected Democrat Party started agriculturale reforms. This reforms were argubaly the most important in the course of Republican History. Reforms included increase in arable lands together with the mechanization of agriculture(Altug et al. , 2006). The succes of agricultural reforms are evident from the statistics which show rapid increase in agricultural output (Altug et al. , 2006, p. 6) (Turkish Statistical Institute). Even the new regime which look at private investment nd production as a basis of development, economy had still preserved intensive government inteverntions both at macro and micro levels. Also, the policy included intensive protection in foreign trade. This policy have a negative effects on private enterptise, and investment which were still inadequate to achieve satisfactory growth rate (Prof. Dr. M?kerrem et al. , 2009, p. 20). From 1950 to 1959 nominal GDP increased for 66. 11%. On the other hand, inflation in that period increased for 94. 1%, and population increased for 26. 1%. All this produced decline in real GDP per capita. Even reform proved to be successful in the first four years with an average yearly per capita GNP growth rate of 8. 9% and inflation of only 2. %, contrary, the period from 1955-1959 was catastrophic. To precise, the yearly average per capita GNP growth rate was 1. 2% and yearly average price rise to 13. 9%. (Prof. Dr. M?kerrem et al. , 2009, p. 20). In 1960 due to the harsh economic situation on May 27th, had the first coup d? ©tat, which led to change in the government and constitution. Also the hard economical situation forced Turkey t o find new credit through the IMF. To get loan from IMF Turkey had to accept IMF mesaures and guidlines. The general mesaures were devaluation of Turkish lira and austerity mesaures. This mesaures were designet to decrease domestic demand for foriegn goods and consequently reduce turkish deficit. Nevertheless, government spending were from decade to decade higher, and till 1980 external debt climbed to US$16. 2 billion. In 1980, Turkish economy experienced a large liberalization reform. ?–zals reform program included a reduced state role in the economy, a realistic exchange rate and realistic monetary olicies, cutbacks on subsidies and price controls, and encouragement of exports and foreign direct investment (Monabay). With thiese policies Ozal wanted to change Turkish economy from import-substituting to export led-growth economy. From 1980 to 1990 GDP per capita increased from USD$1 567 to USD$2 791(world sank). From 1980 to 1984 economy have a downturn, and 1984 GDP per capita was Just USD$1246. From 1985 to 1991 average grow was 9. 9%. The highest growth occured from 1989 USD$2019to 1990 USD$2791. The 1990 grow rate was 27. 6%. From 1991 to 1993 GDP per capita increased. In 1991 GDP per capita was USD$2751, 1992 USD$2850, and in 1993 USD$3180. In 1994 during the economic crisis GDP per capita dramaticaly decreased to USD$2268. From 1995 to 2000 GDP increased each year. Approximate growth rate for that period is 6. 6%. GDP per capita incresed from 1994 USD$2268 to 1998 USD$ 4392. GDP per capita decreased from 1999 USD$ 4392 to 2001 USD$ 3058 (World Bank). In the begining of 20th century Turkish economy achived major expansion. GDP per capita increased from 2003 USD$ 4595 to 2012 USD$10. 666 (World Bank). Average growth rate for that period is 5. 69%. As regards developed ountries Turkey is today one of the fastest growing economies. From 2002 onward major structural reforms has integrated Turkish economy into the globalized world. BIBLIOGRAPHY Prof. Dr. M?kerrem with Asst. Prof. Dr. Aysen Gencer (2009) Turkish Economy and Politics 1923 to 2002, from beykent. edu. tr/docs/mkrrm2. pdf? phpMYAdmtn=26b1 ab37aa748d52c4747d623bec741 b Mongabay, from mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/turkey/ ECONOMY. html Sumru Altug, Alpay Filiztekin, and #vket Pamuk (October 6, 2006) Sources of Long- Term Economic Growth for Turkey, from http://dev3. epr. org/meets/wkcn/111658/ papers/altug. df Turkish Statistical Institute from turkstat. gov. tr/PreTablo. do? alt_id=1045 World Bank, from http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/NY. GDP. PCAP. CD? page=6 http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/NY. GDP. PCAP. CD? page=5 http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/NY. GDP. PCAP. CD? page=4 http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/NY. GDP. PCAP. CD? page=3 http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/NY. GDP. PCAP. CD? page=2 http://data. worldbank . org/indicator/NY. GDP. PCAP. CD? page=1 http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/NY. GDP. PCAP. CD

The Domestication History of Cotton (Gossypium)

The Domestication History of Cotton (Gossypium) Cotton (Gossypium sp.) is one of the most important and earliest domesticated non-food crops in the world. Used primarily for its fiber, cotton was domesticated independently in both the Old and New Worlds. The word cotton originated from the Arabic term al qutn, which became in Spanish algodà ³n and cotton in English. Key Takeaways: Domestication of Cotton Cotton is one of the earliest domesticated non-food crops, independently domesticated at least four different times in four different parts of the world.  The first cotton domesticate was from the wild tree form in Pakistan or Madagascar at least 6,000 years ago; the next oldest was domesticated in Mexico about 5,000 years ago.  Cotton processing, taking the cotton bolls and making them into fibers, is a global technique; spinning those fibers into strings for weaving was anciently accomplished by the use of spindle whorls in the New World and spinning wheels in the Old World.   Nearly all the cotton produced in the world today is the New World species Gossypium hirsutum, but before the 19th century, several species were grown on different continents. The four domesticated Gossypium species of the Malvaceae family are G. arboreum L., domesticated in the Indus Valley of Pakistan and India; G. herbaceum L. from Arabia and Syria; G. hirsutum from Mesoamerica; and G. barbadense from South America. All four domestic species and their wild relatives are shrubs or small trees which are traditionally grown as summer crops; domesticated versions are highly drought- and salt-tolerant crops that grow well in marginal, arid environments. Old World cotton has short, coarse, weak fibers that are today primarily used for stuffing and quilt making; New World cotton has higher production demands but provides longer and stronger fibers and higher yields. Making Cotton Wild cotton is photo-period sensitivein other words, the plant begins to germinate when the day length reaches a certain point. Wild cotton plants are perennial and their form is sprawling. Domestic versions are short, compact annual shrubs which do not respond to changes in day lengththats an advantage if the plant grows in places with cool winters because both wild and domestic kinds of cotton are frost-intolerant. Cotton fruits are capsules or bolls which contain several seeds covered by two kinds of fiber: short ones called fuzz and long ones called lint. Only the lint fibers are useful for making textiles, and the domestic plants have larger seeds covered with comparatively abundant lint. Cotton is traditionally harvested by hand, and then the cotton is ginnedprocessed to separate the seeds from the fiber. After the ginning process, the cotton fibers are batted with a wooden bow to make them more flexible and carded with a hand comb to separate the fibers before spinning. Spinning twists the individual fibers into a yarn, which can be completed by hand with a spindle and spindle whorl (in the New World) or with a spinning wheel (developed in the Old World). Old World Cotton Cotton was first domesticated in the Old World about 7,000 years ago; the earliest archaeological evidence for cotton use is from the Neolithic occupation of Mehrgarh, in the Kachi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, in the sixth millennium BC. Cultivation of G. arboreum began in the Indus Valley of India and Pakistan, and then eventually spread over Africa and Asia, whereas G. herbaceum was first cultivated in Arabia and Syria. The two main species, G. arboreum and G. herbaceum, are genetically very different and probably diverged well before domestication. Specialists agree that the wild progenitor of G. herbaceum was an African species, whereas the ancestor of G. arboreum is still unknown. Regions of the possible origin of the G. arboreum wild progenitor are likely Madagascar or the Indus Valley, where the most ancient evidence for cultivated cotton has been found. Gossypium arboreum Abundant archaeological evidence exists for the initial domestication and use of G. arboreum, by the Harappan (aka Indus Valley) civilization in Pakistan. Mehrgarh, the earliest agricultural village in the Indus Valley, holds multiple lines of evidence of cotton seeds and fibers beginning about 6000 BP. At Mohenjo-Daro, fragments of cloth and cotton textiles have been dated to the fourth millennium BCE, and archaeologists agree that most of the trade that made the city grow was based on cotton exportation. Raw material and finished cloth were exported from South Asia into Dhuweila in eastern Jordan by 6450–5000 years ago, and to Maikop (Majkop or Maykop) in the northern Caucasus by 6000 BP. Cotton fabric has been found at Nimrud in Iraq (8th–7th centuries BCE), Arjan in Iran (late 7th–early 6th centuries BCE) and Kerameikos in Greece (5th century BCE). According to Assyrian records of Sennacherib (705–681 BCE), cotton was grown in the royal botanical gardens at Nineveh, but cool winters there would have made large-scale production impossible. Because G. arboreum is a tropical and subtropical plant, cotton agriculture did not spread outside the Indian subcontinent until thousands of years after its domestication. Cotton cultivation is first seen in the Persian Gulf at Qalat al-Bahrain (ca 600–400 BCE), and in North Africa at Qasr Ibrim, Kellis and al-Zerqa between the 1st and 4th centuries CE. Recent investigations at Karatepe in Uzbekistan have found cotton production dated between ca. 300–500 CE. G. arboreum is thought to have been introduced into China as an ornamental plant about 1,000 years ago. Cotton may have been grown in the Xinjiang (China) province cities of Turfan and Khotan by the 8th century CE. Cotton was finally adapted to grow in more temperate climates by the Islamic Agricultural Revolution, and between 900–1000 CE, a boom in cotton production spread into Persia, Southwest Asia, North Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. Gossypium herbaceum G. herbaceum is much less well-known than G. arboreum. Traditionally it is known to grow in African open forests and grasslands. Characteristics of its wild species are a taller plant, compared to the domesticated shrubs, smaller fruit, and thicker seed coats. Unfortunately, no clear domesticated remains of G. herbaceum have been recovered from archaeological contexts. However, the distribution of its closest wild progenitor suggests a northward distribution toward North Africa, and the Near East. New World Cotton Among the American species, G. hirsutum was apparently cultivated first in Mexico, and G. barbadense later in Peru. However, a minority of researchers believe, alternatively, that the earliest type of cotton was introduced into Mesoamerica as an already domesticated form of G. barbadense from coastal Ecuador and Peru. Whichever story ends up to be correct, cotton was one of the first non-food plants domesticated by the prehistoric inhabitants of the Americas. In the Central Andes, especially in the north and central coasts of Peru, cotton was part of a fishing economy and a marine-based lifestyle. People used cotton to make fishing nets and other textiles. Cotton remains have been recovered in many sites on the coast especially in residential middens. Gossypium hirsutum (Upland cotton) The oldest evidence of Gossypium hirsutum in Mesoamerica comes from the Tehuacan valley and has been dated between 3400 and 2300 BCE. In different caves of the region, archaeologists affiliated to the project of Richard MacNeish found remains of fully domesticated examples of this cotton. Recent studies have compared bolls and cotton seeds retrieved from excavations in Guila Naquitz Cave, Oaxaca, with living examples of wild and cultivated G. hirsutum punctatum growing along the east coast of Mexico. Additional genetic studies (Coppens dEeckenbrugge and Lacape 2014) support the earlier results, indicating that G. hirsutum was likely originally domesticated in the Yucatn Peninsula. Another possible center of domestication for G. hirsutum is the Caribbean. In different eras and among different Mesoamerican cultures, cotton was a highly demanded good and a precious exchange item. Maya and Aztec merchants traded cotton for other luxury items, and nobles adorned themselves with woven and dyed mantles of the precious material. Aztec kings often offered cotton products to noble visitors as gifts and to army leaders as payment. Gossypium barbadense (Pima cotton) G. barbadense cultivars are known for their production of high-quality fiber and called variously Pima, Egyptian, or Sea Island cotton. The first clear evidence of domesticated Pima cotton comes from the Ancà ³n-Chillà ³n area of the central coast of Peru. The sites in this area show the domestication process began during the Preceramic period, beginning about 2500 BCE. By 1000 BCE the size and shape of Peruvian cotton bolls were indistinguishable from todays modern cultivars of G. barbadense. Cotton production began on the coasts, but eventually moved inland, facilitated by the construction of canal irrigation. By the Initial Period, sites such as Huaca Prieta contained domestic cotton 1,500 to 1,000 years before pottery and maize cultivation. Unlike in the old world, cotton in Peru was initially part of subsistence practices, used for fishing and hunting nets, as well as textiles, clothing and storage bags. Sources Bouchaud, Charlà ¨ne, Margareta Tengberg, and Patricia Dal Pr. Cotton Cultivation and Textile Production in the Arabian Peninsula During Antiquity; the Evidence from Madà ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢in Sà ¢lih (Saudi Arabia) and Qal’at Al-Bahrain (Bahrain). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20.5 (2011): 405–17. Print.Brite, Elizabeth Baker, and John M. Marston. Environmental Change, Agricultural Innovation, and the Spread of Cotton Agriculture in the Old World. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 32.1 (2013): 39–53. Print.Coppens dEeckenbrugge, Geo, and Jean–Marc Lacape. Distribution and Differentiation of Wild, Feral, and Cultivated Populations of Perennial Upland Cotton ( PLoS ONE 9.9 (2014): e107458. Print.Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean.Du, Xiongming, et al. Resequencing of 243 Diploid Cotton Accessions Based on an Updated a Genome Identifies the Genetic Basis of Key Agronomic Traits. Nature Genetics 50.6 (2018): 796–802. Print.Mou lherat, Christophe, et al. First Evidence of Cotton at Neolithic Mehrgarh, Pakistan: Analysis of Mineralized Fibres from a Copper Bead. Journal of Archaeological Science 29.12 (2002): 1393–401. Print. Nixon, Sam, Mary Murray, and Dorian Fuller. Plant Use at an Early Islamic Merchant Town in the West African Sahel: The Archaeobotany of Essouk–Tadmakka (Mali). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20.3 (2011): 223–39. Print.Reddy, Umesh K., et al. Genome-Wide Divergence, Haplotype Distribution and Population Demographic Histories for Gossypium Hirsutum and Gossypium Barbadense as Revealed by Genome–Anchored SNPs. Scientific Reports 7 (2017): 41285. Print.Renny–Byfield, Simon, et al. Independent Domestication of Two Old World Cotton Species. Genome Biology and Evolution 8.6 (2016): 1940–47. Print.Wang, Maojun, et al. Asymmetric Subgenome Selection and Cis-Regulatory Divergence During Cotton Domestication. Nature Genetics 49 (2017): 579. Print.Zhang, Shu–Wen, et al. Mapping of Fiber Quality Qtls Reveals Useful Variation and Footprints of Cotton Domestication Using Introgression Lines. Scientific Reports 6 (2016): 31954. Print. Updated by K. Kris Hirst