journal article
Beyond Boundaries: Nature, Culture and a Holistic Approach to Domestication in the LevantJournal of World Prehistory
Vol. 18, No. 3 (September 2004)
, pp. 179-282 (104 pages)
Published By: Springer
//www.jstor.org/stable/25801222
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Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to suggest an alternative approach for the investigation of domestication in the Levant. First, basic data regarding domestication in the Levant are presented. Then the various traditional approaches towards domestication in the prehistoric Levant, labeled (1) environmental, (2) social and anthropological, and (3) cognitive, are briefly reviewed. This discussion forms the basis for a proposal of a "holistic approach," in which domestication is regarded as a long-term, multidimensional and multirelational phenomenon, including many elements—such as plants, animals, humans, material culture and ancestors—with increasing human manipulation of these various constituents. After a presentation of the theoretical framework, a growth metaphor is used to reconstruct the process of domestication (ca. 20,000–6500 B.P.) as a number of phases: (1) germination in the Kebaran; (2) development in the Early Natufian; (3) retreat/dormancy in the Late/Final Natufian; (4) growth in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A; (5) florescence in the Early- and Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B: (6) further development in the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B; (7) dispersal in the Final Pre-Pottery Neolithic B and the Pottery Neolithic. In each of these phases, relations between the various elements are dealt with, special attention being paid to symbolical relations, as evidenced by "art" and ritual.
Journal Information
Journal of World Prehistory is an international forum for the publication of peer-reviewed original articles that synthesize the prehistory of an area or of a time-horizon within a larger region, or describe technical advances of wide and general application. These overview papers provide in-depth, thoughtful development of data and concepts in a fashion accessible to all archaeologists. The journal focuses on prehistory, including the beginnings and early development of complex societies. Coverage extends to locales not normally available to American or West European archaeologists, including the Far East, parts of the Third World, and Eastern Europe. Benefiting both scholars and teachers, Journal of World Prehistory is a source of timely and authoritative research syntheses from all fields of archaeology.
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How has agriculture changed over time?
As we become more technologically advanced and as our beliefs and cultures diffuse across the globe, we develop new agricultural practices. For this section, you should know the earliest and most significant places where plants and animals were first domesticated and understand how these domesticated crops and livestock came to other regions around the world.
Early Hearths
*Note: You don’t need to memorize everything that came out of these regions, but do remember Mesopotamia and choose a few bullets to memorize (so that you can use them as examples on the AP HUG FRQ section).
Fertile Crescent/Mesopotamia
Located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Crops: Bread grains, grapes, apples, olives, and a variety of others
Animals: Cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats
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Hearth of the First (Neolithic) Agricultural Revolution
People transitioned from hunting and gathering to planting and harvesting food, allowing for the first civilizations
2. Nile River Valley
Second urban hearth
Lentils, beans, flax
Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs
3. Indus River Valley
Third urban hearth
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
wheat, barely, peas, lentils, mustard, cotton
Sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, cattle, dogs
4. East Asia
China : rice and millet
5. Southwest Asia (mostly Iraq and Saudi Arabia)
Barley, wheat, lentil, olive
Largest number of animals domesticated : pigs, goats, cattle, sheep, dog
6. Central America
Mexico and Peru were major hearths of crop domestication
Mexico : beans and cotton
Peru : potatoes
Maize was one of the most important crops that came from the Americas
7. Sub-Saharan Africa
Sorghum, Yams
Resources:
The Diffusion of Plants and Animals
There were many ways that newly domesticated plants and animals reached other parts of the globe, but the best ones to know about are the Columbian Exchange and the agricultural revolutions*. *I have only provided details of the First Agricultural Revolution in this section because the other two revolutions (the Second Agricultural Revolution and the Green Revolution) will be discussed in the following sections.
1. First (Neolithic) Agricultural Revolution
Transition from hunting and gathering to growing plants and raising livestock -> people began to understand seeds, watering, and plant/animal care
The practices developed overtime and diffused globally largely through contagious diffusion
First spread to Central Asia and eventually across Europe
2. Columbian Exchange
A variety of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies were exchanged between the Americas and the Eastern hemisphere
People became familiar with new plants and animals as the exchange continued