Lecture 14
Later Prehistory and the origins of Agriculture

Expansion of territory
	Australia
		Need some kind of watercraft
		Earliest archaeological sites between 50-40 TYA
		Earliest human remains 30 TYA
	The Americas
		Probably across the Bering land bridge- Siberian peoples mixture of 
		    European & Asian traits
		Oldest sites problematic; 
			Not well-dated; range 30-12 TYA
			Very few and scattered
			Possible migrations that didn’t survive
		Oldest well-documented culture is Paleo-Indian one called Clovis
			13 TYA in Alaska, spread thoughout Americas by 9.5 TYA
			Fluted spear points
			Big-game hunters; giant bison, mammoth (grazer), 
			    mastodon (browser), giant ground sloth
			May have hunted to extinction; points change when species 
			    dissappear
			Oldest skeletons ~11 TYA
		Next two waves- Athabaskan & Inuit
			Language groups
			Genetic markers
	The South Pacific
		Earliest sites 6000-5000
		Probably several cultural groups; Polynesian, Melanesian
		Similar wave of extinction in New Zealand
	The Arctic
		The last pre-historic frontier
		Earliest at 4500 yrs ago- Inuit, an Asian people
Agriculture and Domestication
	Mesolithic & Neolithic
		Mesolithic 11,000 to 8,000 in Europe
			The demise of big-game hunting
			Greater sedentism & the invention of the bow and arrow
			Climate warming- interglacial or end of Ice Age; enviro changing
		Neolithic associated w/ rise of domestication
			begins around 12,000 years ago in Mid-East, bit later other parts of 
			   world
			ground-stone tools
			ceramics
			very first domesticates are dogs
			first cultivated plants are types of grains
	Origins & Areas
		Theories
			Opportunity theories;
				Oasis, 
				Sedentary, 
				Readiness, 
				Demographic 
			Happenstance theories; 
				Dump Heap, 
				Coevolution
			Need theories;	
				Marginal Zone, 
				Population growth
		Major Areas
			Old World
				Middle East
					Natufian- sedentary gatherers
					Wheat & Barley, Lentil & Peas
					Sheep & Goats
				East Asia
					Rice & Millet
					Pigs & Chickens
				Africa
					Egypt 1st, independently in W. Africa
					Sorghum & Millet
					Oil Plam & Yams
				Europe & Central Asia
					Horse & Cattle
			New World
				North & Central America
					Squash, Maize, Peppers
					Sunflower
				South America
					Beans, Cotton, Potatoes
					Llamas & Alpacas
	Processes
		Domestication
			Artificial Selection
				Reliable food supply
				Ease of harvest/ herding
				Not all wild plants/animals easy to domesticate
				Specific traits
			Markers
				Seeds- larger, thinner coat, larger clusters, difficult to
				   detatch
				Animals- size & shape changes, thinner bones; population 
				    differences
				Geographic distibution- found in new areas; works quicker
				    east-west than north-south
		Results
			Formation of farming villages
			Population growth
			Often lessened health- less varied diet