Hunters in Transition: Mesolithic Societies of Temperate Eurasia and Their Transition to FarmingMarek Zvelebil Hunters in Transition analyses one of the crucial events in human cultural evolution: the emergence of post-glacial hunter-gatherer communities and the development of farming. Traditionally, the advantages of settled agriculture have been assumed and the transition to farming has been viewed in terms of the simple dispersal of early farming communities northwards across Europe. The contributors to this volume adopt a fresh, more subtle approach. Farming is viewed from a hunter-gatherer perspective as offering both advantages and disadvantages, organisational disruption during the period of transition and far-reaching social consequences for the existing way of life. The hunter-gatherer economy and farming in fact shared a common objective: a guaranteed food supply in a changing natural and social environment. Drawing extensively on research in eastern Europe and temperate Asia, the book argues persuasively for the essential unity of all post-glacial. adaptations whether leading to the dispersal of farming or the retention and elaboration of existing hunter-gatherer strategies. |
Contents
Part | 5 |
aspects | 17 |
ecological approaches | 33 |
The role of huntinggathering populations in | 43 |
Part | 53 |
Foragers and farmers in Atlantic Europe | 67 |
Foragers of Central Europe and their acculturation | 95 |
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Common terms and phrases
adaptations adoption agricultural animals appearance archaeological areas Asia Atlantic availability bones Cambridge Central Central Europe Chapter Clark coastal colonisation communities complex continued culture deer domestication early East eastern ecological economy elements environment Europe European evidence existence exploitation farmers farming fishing foraging forest forms gathering groups human hunter hunter-gatherers hunting important included increase indicate industries Italy Japan Jomon Kozłowski late later London major Mesolithic millennium bc nature neolithic northern occurred origin Palaeolithic patterns period phase Plain plant Pleistocene population postglacial pottery prehistoric present Press production range recent record region remains result river Rowley-Conwy seasonal settlement similar situation social societies southern species stage stone strategies subsistence suggest temperate territories transition transition to farming types University Press Urals Ware western wild zone Zvelebil