Last Hunters, First Farmers: New Perspectives on the Prehistoric Transition to Agriculture (School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series) [Paperback]

T. Douglas Price (Editor), Anne Birgitte Gebauer (Editor)

Book Description

Series: School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series | Publication Date: January 1, 1996

During the four-million-year history of mankind on this planet, humans have been hunters and gatherers, dependent for food on wild plants and animals. About 10,000 years ago, the most remarkable phenomenon in human prehistory was set in motion. Around the world, over a period of 5000 years, hunters became farmers. The implications of this revolution in human activity and social organization reverberate to the present day. In case studies ranging from the Far East to the American Southwest, the authors of Last Hunters-First Farmers provide a global perspective on contemporary research into the origins of agriculture. Downplaying more traditional explanations of the turn to agriculture, such as the influence of marginal environments and population pressures, the authors emphasize the importance of the resource-rich areas in which agriculture began, the complex social organizations already in place, the role of sedentism, and the advent of economic intensification and competition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Stands out as one of the most valuable multi-authored contributions, both methodically and substantively, to have appeared for many years. --Journal of Field Archaeology

Product Details

• Paperback: 354 pages
• Publisher: School of American Research Press (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933452918
• ISBN-13: 978-0933452916
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

T. Douglas Price was born in New Haven in 1945. Many homes during childhood. Louisville and Kansas City stand out. Educated and acculturated at the University of Michigan. Doug is Weinstein Professor of European Archaeology emeritus and Director of the Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he has been on the faculty for more than 35 years. He was also 6th Century Chair in Archaeological Science in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen, now retired. He does archaeological fieldwork on early agriculture in Denmark and laboratory studies of isotopes in human tooth enamel to look at questions of prehistoric migration. He is the author of a number of books and articles on archaeology. He likes archaeology, small children, food, football, Anne Birgitte, and the family dog Bagel. He doesn't like long, self-promoting descriptions of book authors.